Maximizing MINI
Bringing to life the raw power behind the MINI brand, Raw Design envisions a bold, graphic new look for Canada’s first full-service MINI dealership.
Mirroring MINI’s fuel-efficient environmental outlook, the 20,000-square-foot MINI flagship in Toronto will feature a green roof, a solar thermal hot water system and an efficient foamed-in-place insulation system. MINI takes going green to the next level by integrating a special storm water detention plan that will reuse rainwater for landscape irrigation.
The new MINI Downtown dealership will feature extensive glazing and blend Raw Design’s vivid aesthetic with the graphic sensibility of the MINI brand. The design will play off the cool sophistication of the adjoining BMW Toronto dealership (also designed by Raw Design director Roland Rom Colthoff).
Named Best Emerging Practice in March 2009 by the Ontario Association of Architects, Raw Design is becoming known for avant-garde thinking evidenced by the MINI concept. When commenting on the recent ground breaking, director Roland Rom Colthoff, says, “The design captures the energy of the MINI brand through a straightforward modulation of rectangular showroom areas, which can be viewed as cars sweep up the curve of Eastern Avenue or onto the Don Valley Parkway.”
With completion expected in 2010, the showroom will not only be the flagship for MINI in Canada but will also ramp up the design standard for the brand internationally. All eyes are on Eastern Avenue.