Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa September/October 2013 | Page 36

PROJECT

SMG Rocks

The key design feature of the project was the MINI brand’s retro,
funky and fun attitude, which can be experienced in all MINI cars

SMG Rocks
Umhlanga
Client
SMG Rocks
Architects
Reynolds Associate Architects
Quantity Surveyors
Construction ID
Consulting Engineers:
Structural
ARUP
Electrical
Khanyisa Africa
Mechanical
BDO
Main Contractor:
Construction ID/Jacoby Nichol
Text
Reynolds Associate Architects
Photography
Russel Cleaver

36

T

he MINI brand has, over the years, been associated with a fresh, young, vibrant and
funky attitude. For the young and trendy and those young at heart, this is the vehicle
to own. SMG Rocks (Sean McCarthy Group) has a new home in Umhlanga, KwaZuluNatal, which is designed to echo the brand’s attitude. Originally situated at SMG Durban on
Somtseu Road, MINI made the move to Umhlanga as part of MINI’s new corporate concept
of having one MINI dealership per province to enhance the brand’s niche market appeal.
Situated on a corner site on Lighthouse Road, SMG Rocks marks the gateway to Umhlanga
and captures the imagination of all those passing by.
Brief
The brief for the project was to incorporate a new MINI car showroom, used MINI car
showroom (MINI Next) and workshop, within an existing mixed use development of
residential, commercial, offices and retail building which was still under construction. SMG
Rocks forms part of a new node for development in the Umhlanga area.
The challenge posed to the architects was to utilise and maximise the spaces already
constructed in order to satisfy the varying criteria for each component of the new dealership.
With the dealership taking up a corner site on the prominent end of the building, visibility was
key to the success of the design. Clarity of planning in the design was also key to the design
in offering both tenant and customer ‘ease of use’ of the new dealership. Conceptually, the
MINI showroom is a ‘black box’ showroom highlighted with bright neon colours and square
boxes making \H