The Haniel-Garage complex à Dusseldorf - par l’architecte Paul Schneider-Esleben en 1952

The large Haniel garage in Düsseldorf was built in 1951 as the first multi-storey car park in Germany. A motel was attached to the garage, in keeping with the leitmotif of the car-friendly city and in anticipation of an American development that would begin with the car boom. The Haniel garage offered a total of 500 parking spaces. The car park consists of a four-storey cube with a completely glazed facade. Noteworthy are the external access ramps, which are suspended from the cantilevered concrete girders supporting the roof with steel struts. The complete cladding with a glass skin created a lightness and transparency previously unattainable for functional buildings. The motel, which belongs to the Haniel garage and was erected on concrete supports, offered additional parking spaces below. The twelve rooms and the restaurant were accessible via an arcade. In 1985 the building was listed and renovated in 1992/1993. The renovation received an award at the German Architecture Prize 1997. The Hanielgarage is no longer accessible as a public car park and is now used by a car dealership. Awards: German Architecture Prize 1997 (E.ON Ruhrgas AG)