Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa September/October 2013 | Page 40

The ‘active service
reception lane’ is
demarcated by a
red ‘runway’ ceiling
above the lane

An exclusive MINI merchandise shop is
also located within the showroom,. The MINI
exclusive display area is brought right out to
the public pavement thereby extending the new
car showroom to the street and drawing the
customer in.
The workshop is located at the back of the
dealership with 8 hoist bays and is accessed
via a shared vehicle entrance to the building.
With the structure already constructed, the
challenge here was to design a workshop that
would function within its existing environment
rather than creating a new workshop-specific
structural system.
Some existing walls were removed and the
floors lowered in order to accommodate the
vehicle hoists in the workshop. In keeping with
MINI’s funky and fun attitude, the workshop
is designed to enhance the experience the
customer will have at the dealership. This
is captured in the arrival of the customer
at the active service reception lane in the

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workshop. The ‘active service reception lane’ is
demarcated by a red ‘runway’ ceiling above the
lane. Illuminated direction arrows are used in
the ceiling in-keeping with MINI’s ‘retro’ theme
to the brand.
The used car showroom (MINI Next) holds 10
cars and faces the new access road off Lighthouse
Road. It is left open to allow customers to walk in
from the street and view vehicles at any time day
or night. The used car showroom is separated
from the new car showroom by a public entrance
lobby to the building above. Visual relationship
between the two showrooms is maintained
through the use of materials, colours, signage
and finishes.
Features
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. The
philosophy of the MINI corporate image within
the showroom explores the different elements

SMG Rocks