First-place finish

The term "racetrack" in retail design usually evokes images of the tried-and-true racetrack layout, where a retail store design is created to encourage the shopper to circle the perimeter of the space. But, in Maserati S.p.A.'s 7,500-sq.-ft. flagship showroom in its headquarters of Modena, Italy, the term racetrack refers to a whole lot more.

A marvelous, 3-D, elevated loop—a modern-day interpretation of a racetrack—is the central element of the showroom. It is part of a design that seeks to unite Maserati's past, present and future. "The past was very important to the client. Its genes have always been in racing," says Ron Arad, founder of Ron Arad Associates (RAA), London, the design firm responsible for the project. "So, we wanted the display to be some kind of road. The track became the main feature."

Arad characterizes the 3-D racetrack as a "feat of technology," which pulls in the futuristic element the design team wanted to include. The structure of the loop, custom-designed by RAA, was developed using advanced computer modeling software. The loop, manufactured by Bonansea S.p.A., Rome, is made up of a wooden skeleton that is laminated with carbon fiber on both sides. It is designed to be both strong, so the showroom's cars can drive on it, and lightweight, so it does not place an unnecessary weight load on the floor. Composite specialists, whose project experience includes aerospace, hydro-nautical and motor-racing applications, helped with the loop's implementation. The track is painted Maserati's signature blue, the same color of the company's legendary trident-logo. "It took a couple of months to decide on the paint," says Maurizao Primo, Maserati's media relations director. "We had to ensure it was not too slippery for the cars to drive on and that, if damaged, we could repaint a portion without seeing a difference in color." After the loop was installed—it arrived in "big chunks," Arad remembers—the Maserati vehicles were driven onto the track to be displayed.

Because the flooring also has to be tough, epoxy resin is used. The resin has added the advantage of allowing for embedded graphics. RAA embedded Maserati's logo into the flooring, with each trident pointing in a different direction within the showroom—an allusion to arrows on a roadmap.

The logo is also incorporated into other elements of the showroom, perhaps most uniquely on the ceiling. The logo here appears distorted, spread-out and inverted; its true, perfect form can only be seen when viewing its reflection in one of the stainless steel support columns.

As a showroom, the design of the space has to include all the traditional elements—such as a personalization area and a conference room—but the design team incorporates even these requirements in an innovative fashion. The Modena showroom's personalization area, where customers select features such as body and upholstery color, is a decorative wall of 198 doughnut-shaped samples. The Maserati logo is embossed on each upholstery sample, which is in the center, and a body frame and color surrounds it. "Usually, it's this boring process of color matching, holding one sample next to the others and trying to match them," Arad says. The personalization space is surrounded by four mirrors, implying "infinite possibilities," Arad says.

The conference room is less of a room and more of an ad-hoc space that can be configured, when needed, to hold meetings. Conference chairs can be placed beneath the uppermost sweep of the loop, with the showroom's windows then becoming projection screens. "Conference rooms are sad places when not in use, so we wanted to tuck it away under the loop," Arad says. When not in use, the space can be used to showcase additional vehicles.

The melding of the past to the present is enhanced by the vintage car grilles that are displayed in recessed showcases along the back wall. However, the melding of the present to the future is perhaps the most relevant aspect of the space. As a customer prepares to drive out in his or her new Maserati, an almost ritualistic process unfolds. A curved, mechanical carport opens, extending a ramp for the driver. "We hold a mini-ceremony, sometimes with champagne, and give the keys to the customer. We then push a button, and, like a knight leaving a castle, the car is able to leave the showroom," Primo says. The new Maserati owner then symbolically and literally crosses the threshold into the future.