The Sandia MINI Dealership

The owner of the Sandia MINI car dealership wanted his building designed to grab attention, despite his site’s position 12 feet below a nearby interstate, and it was his and Jon Anderson Architect’s vision of a glass-and-steel edifice with a cantilevered, second-floor display area that eventually won approval. The plans called for construction of a concrete-block structure at the rear of the site, which would house the dealership’s repair shop and anchor the steel frame of a larger front showroom. Because the frame would be fit with large panes of glass, bolting it together was not an option, so Jon Anderson Architect asked Duran Steel Fabricators to cut and field-weld all steel on site rather than shipping it in. The steel frame was painted with black epoxy, the glass windows were installed, and finishing details were added, including black anodized aluminum on the façade and black-stained concrete for the showroom’s floor. After construction was completed, the dealership owner drove the first car into the cantilevered display area via a forklift in the repair shop and two steel beams that extend over the length of the showroom floor. The second-floor space is now surrounded by glass thanks to special spider and corner fittings, and down lights illuminate the show car at night for passersby. ABQ