The BMW Group is the Exclusive Partner of the "Haus der Gegenwart" : From ConnectedDrive to Cultural Communications - The Company introduces itself

From ConnectedDrive to Cultural Communications - The Company introduces itself

Munich. When the "Haus der Gegenwart" is opened on January 28 by Munich's Lord
Mayor Christian Ude and on January 31 by Bill Gates on the future site of the
German National Garden Show (BUGA) in Munich Riem, the BMW Group will become
its exclusive partner from the automobile industry. With the beginning of BUGA
2005 from April 28 the "Haus der Gegenwart" will be officially opened to public
visitors. Until the end of 2006, the premises will be used for numerous events
of the BMW Group. Furthermore, at the end of January ten thousand readers of
the SZ magazine will be given the chance to choose the models of the two BMWs
which are both parked at ground level directly beneath the key building of the
"Haus der Gegenwart". Furthermore, for a two-year duration a BMW will be
provided for shuttle and representation purposes. BMW ConnectedDrive will
enable the operation of blinds and garden lighting of "Haus der Gegenwart"
directly from the car.

BMW Group and Architecture

From the time the acclaimed, Viennese architect, Karl Schwanzer (1918-1975)
applied BMW Group's vision in his design of the Four Cylinder headquarters
building in Munich back in 1972, the company has been fully committed to an
innovative presentation of its corporate architecture. In the direct vicinity
of the legendary BMW Four Cylinder, the BMW Welt designed by the architectural
team Coop Himmelb(l)au is scheduled to open its doors in 2006. On March 22,
2002, an international jury selected the designs of Zaha Hadid Architects,
London as the winning entry of the architects' competition (which had a total
of over 200 entries) for the central building of the new BMW Leipzig plant,
which is being opened in May 2005. With this company background, it is almost
self-evident that the BMW Group is promoting one of Munich's most exciting
architectural projects, the "Haus der Gegenwart", the renown of which extends
far beyond the city boundaries as it is causing a stir the whole world over.
When in 2001 the SZ magazin

e invited international architects to design a house for four people with a
usable floor space of 200 m2 and a total floor space of 500 m2 for no more than
250,000 euro construction costs, it was foreseeable that the idea would create
a furore. With the "Haus der Gegenwart" the well-known Munich architects'
office Allmann Sattler Wappner, which was commissioned with the construction
project, creates an allegorical symbiosis of landscape and architecture as well
as a playful link between the concepts of private and public living.

The "Haus der Gegenwart" and BMW ConnectedDrive

You are on your way to work and have forgotten to open the blinds? You come
home in the evening and your carport is invitingly lit up? Is this future
music? The BMW Group creates a direct network between their vehicles and the
"Haus der Gegenwart": It can, for example, be checked from the vehicle whether
the blinds on the top floor are open or closed. If required, they can be
directly controlled from the vehicle. The same goes for garden lighting, which
can also be operated from the car. The creation of a network between the BMW
automobiles and the Haus der Gegenwart is not the only one of its kind between
car and house. Since May 2002 the BMW Group has been involved in work on the
future house 'Futurelife' in Switzerland.

Further information available at:
http://www.bmw.com/generic/com/de/fascination/technology/connecteddrive/ and
www.futurelife.ch.

The "Haus der Gegenwart" as a Venue for BMW Group Events

Over the course of the next two years the BMW Group will use the "Haus der
Gegenwart" for approximately thirty events. With mainly evening programmes,
concerts, live performances, readings, podium discussions and exclusive events
for employees will be held and organised by a co-operation between BMW Germany
and BMW Group's Cultural Communications. The premises are ideal for this as the
spacious main room, the so-called "community box", holds about 50 people. BMW
Marketing for the German market will also make good use of the "Haus der
Gegenwart", above all in close co-operation with BMW Lenbachplatz, the flagship
showroom in Munich. Product presentations for select groups are just as
conceivable as inhouse meetings for the exchange of ideas. Ultimately,
organisers of lifestyle events as well as social responsibility and societal
commitment events will take the opportunity to use the "Haus der Gegenwart" to
draw the attention of an interested audience to various topics - above all
during the BUGA in Munich betw

een April 28 and October 9, 2005. Organised tours show the varied connections
of the BMW Group to architecture and applications of the "Haus der Gegenwart".

BMW Telematics, BMW Assist und BMW Online
Connecting BMW automobiles with online capability and the "Haus der Gegenwart",
the BMW Group is continuing to tread its pre-existing path of networking of
driver, vehicle and environment. The networking of car and apartment functions
via the BMW online portal. BMW Online enables access to a mobile BMW Internet
portal which provides the driver with exclusive service and mobility features.
This works via GSM mobile telephony in the BMW 5, 6, 7 Series and, from its
market launch, in the new BMW 3 Series saloon and, during the course of 2005,
in the BMW 1 Series. BMW Online is a component of the BMW ConnectedDrive
project of the BMW Group. With the help of interconnected telematics and online
services as well as driver assistance systems, BMW ConnectedDrive is already
making an important contribution to more safety, efficiency and comfort on the
roads. For example, BMW Assist enables the user to call up important traffic
information, information services, make emergency calls and call for breakdown
assistance v

ia text message. BMW Online also acts as an address manager and email account
and provides information on news and weather, the economy and the stock market,
hotels & restaurants. Further information available at: www.bmw-online.de and
www.bmw-telematik.de

Further information available from:
Haus der Gegenwart GmbH
Guerickestraße 25
80805 München
Internet: www.hausdergegenwart.de
U2 / U7 line, Messestadt Ost

For further information please contact:

Corporate Communications

Thomas Girst, Public Relations, Head of Cultural Communications
Telephone: +49 89 382 24753, Fax: +49 89 382 28017

Michael Kirsch, Head of Public Relations
Telephone: +49 89 382 25111, Fax: +49 89 382 28017

Michaela Müller, Technology Communications, Head of Research and Innovations
Telephone: +49 89 382 25358, Fax: +49 89 382 23927

Internet: www.press.bmwgroup.com, www.bmwgroup.com/culture
e-mail: presse@bmw.de