When SAAB America urged its largest dealer in Maine to provide a showroom separate from the other brands it sold, the owner commissioned a study of the entire complex, considering both additions to the existing building and a free standing facility. In one corner of the dealership, remote from the main showroom, we renovated 8,000 s.f. to provide service, parts, and administrative areas.

We also created a dazzling new 2,000 sf showroom for SAAB automobiles. The existing complex, expanded several times over the years, reads as a chunky mass of khaki-painted concrete block. The new showroom includes an extension of this heavy, linear mass and, in counterpoint, presents a curved, sloping, glazed element, virtually transparent. It demands attention.

We sought to provide a clean, cool, neutral back-drop for showing off SAABs. The lighting system focuses on the cars displayed, but also provides a general level of illumination which makes the showroom glow. Taking a strong cue from a SAAB’s eclectic, curvaceous form, this tiny addition stands back with confidence, its walls windshield like, its open plan allowing just three vehicles comfortable display space. Its transparency makes the entire lot a part of the showroom, and the showroom a focal point of the lot.

photos: Brian Vanden Brink