Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa September/October 2013 | Page 38

Design
Occupying a corner site meant that the architect
could take advantage of the high visibility for
showing cars to the public. This is key to any
dealership design. The new car showroom
holds 10 cars and is situated at the corner of
the building. With the main access road into
Umhlanga New Town centre (Lighthouse Road)
being elevated above a portion of the new car
showroom and running past the dealership the

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public are able to look directly into the new
car showroom.
The existing façade of the building on the
corner is curved which posed a challenge in that
it did not conform to the MINI brand corporate
architecture. MINI’s corporate architecture uses
primarily square boxes and frames in contrasting
black, highlighted with neon colours. This is
done to create the retro, young and fun feel of
the MINI brand.

SMG Rocks