Polestar, the independent Swedish premium electric performance car brand founded by Volvo Cars and Geely Holding in 2017, is guiding the Chinese automotive industry towards a more sustainable future with its state-of-the-art production facility in Chengdu, China. The Polestar Production Centre, where the Polestar 1 is produced, is the only automobile plant in China to have earned Gold status in the globally recognized Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. LEED, developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council, measures environmental performance in building design, construction, and use.
The designation makes it one of the most environmentally responsible car factories in China. Designed by Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta, the facility embodies the next level of automotive manufacturing, not only focusing on energy-efficient buildings and efficient land usage, but also employee well-being. (The collaborative architectural and landscape firm that also worked with Ford Motor Co. on the master plan to transform its Research & Engineering Center and greater Dearborn campus in Southeast Michigan.)
As a result of a newly signed supply contract, the factory runs on 100% renewable electricity. Around 65% of the electricity supplied is now hydroelectric, while the remainder comes from solar, wind, and other renewable sources. It is one of the latest concrete steps towards Polestar’s goal of becoming climate neutral.
The factory has no industrial water discharge and is implementing a circular approach to waste handling, including the recycling of the waste carbon-fiber material from the Polestar 1 building and the reduction of landfill waste. Polestar says it recognizes the importance of contributing to the community by being a responsible employer and safeguarding the factory’s surroundings from pollution.
The Polestar Production Centre has been created as an inclusive workplace where employees can develop their abilities in optimal conditions, surrounded by good indoor air quality, lighting, and reduced noise. By providing lectures on sustainability for employees and their families, Polestar is also raising environmental awareness in the local community.
Meeting spaces have been created both inside and outside the building to encourage spontaneous collaboration and social engagement across disciplines, simultaneously using the building’s surrounding green spaces. This not only promotes cross-functional interaction but helps to foster innovation by allowing the sharing of information and ideas across departments.
“For Polestar, sustainability is not just about the electric powertrain,” said Fredrika Klarén, Head of Sustainability at Polestar. “It impacts everything we do. We want to promote sustainable manufacturing in China. This objective entails a relentless pursuit of circular and climate-neutral solutions, and also being a responsible employer and presence in the area.”
Snøhetta worked on the Polestar project from 2016 through 2019 along with collaborators EDAG, SCIVIC, and Space Matrix.
According to Snøhetta, the building’s curved shape acts as a structuring gesture, creating associations to the movement and dynamics of the car industry and car racing, tying the landscape and the building together. The building curves out of the main factory volume to create areas for offices, canteens, and a visitor center. Vertically, the curved facade lifts to accentuate the building’s entrances. The performance line, designed as anodized aluminum structures or elegant strips of light, creates spaces within the space, guiding people through the factory.
Located in Chengdu’s suburbs, most of Polestar’s employees are transported to work by buses from pick-up points from around the city, unless driving or cycling themselves. Parking spaces for both bicycles and electric vehicles have been installed. A strong emphasis has been placed on creating inviting communal areas for the employees, using robust and durable materials with great longevity, such as steel, stainless steel, and concrete.
Central to the building is a glazed atrium, which visually ties the different spaces together and acts as a shared courtyard to connect all employees under one roof. Working in open shared workspaces designed before the COVID-19 pandemic enables dialogue and the exchange of knowledge and experience across departments. The intention of increased collaboration is further emphasized with a common front garden, creating shared outdoor spaces, daylight qualities, and views for everyone.
The design is based on an interaction scheme that gathers the researchers, producers, and designers in one place to bring together workers, administration, leadership, customers, clients, and visitors to create a feeling of openness and inclusion. Being within such close proximity to each other stimulates interaction and collaboration across disciplines.
The interior spaces are dominated by a light and clean color palette to reflect a car manufacturing laboratory that is focused on technology and production. An exterior black steel shell contrasts the luminous interiors, giving the building a distinct character in the surrounding landscape.
In the production area, large windows have been installed to create a view of the surrounding greenery and to allow maximal use of daylight. Meeting spaces have been created both inside and outside the building to encourage social engagement across disciplines, and simultaneously utilizing the building’s surrounding green spaces.
The production facility includes a customer experience center, staffed by product experts, as well as a customer test track, designed by Snøhetta in collaboration with engineers from Volvo, constructed within the campus to enable potential customers to evaluate the car to the extremes not possible on public roads. Upon entering the facility, the guests can experience Polestar’s “visitor loop,” walking along the mezzanine where you get a view of the whole factory, the different departments, and ongoing exhibitions. The visitor loop is intended for anything from potential customers, companies, and students who are intrigued to learn more about Polestar.
Polestar currently produces two electric performance cars.
The Polestar 1 is a low-volume electric performance hybrid GT with a carbon-fiber body; 454 kW and 738 lb·ft (1000 N·m) outputs, and an electric-only range of 60 mi (96 km)—a claimed longest of any hybrid car in the world. The Polestar 2 electric performance fastback is the company’s first fully electric, high-volume car. Launched in 2020 with an all-wheel-drive electric powertrain, it produces 304 kW and 487 lb·ft (660 N·m), with a maximum U.S. EPA range of 233 mi (375 km), 292 mi (470 km) according to the WLTP.
In the future, the Polestar 3 electric performance SUV will join the portfolio as well as the Precept. The latter is a design study vehicle released in 2020 that showcases the brand’s future vision in terms of sustainability, digital technology, and design.
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