Auto Motion Car Showroom

Auto Motion Car Showroom

Auto Motion Car Showroom is an award-winning interior space and exhibition design project that exemplifies contemporary approaches to automotive retail environments through its sophisticated integration of spatial planning, material selection, and atmospheric lighting design. Conceived and executed by Japanese designer Shunsuke Ohe of LUSTYdesign Inc. between September 2023 and January 2024 in Kyoto, Japan, this luxury automobile showroom represents a meticulously calculated synthesis of commercial functionality and experiential design principles, occupying a total floor area of 352.18 square meters within a site area of 1530.68 square meters. The architectural and interior design strategy centers upon a circular exhibition space that serves as the organizational nucleus, around which ancillary programmatic elements including conference rooms, offices, and restroom facilities are strategically positioned to optimize operational efficiency while maintaining visual and spatial coherence. The most distinctive architectural feature of Auto Motion Car Showroom resides in its innovative ceiling design, which employs a dual-level configuration comprising high and low sections, with the elevated portion constructed through the layering of thinly sliced panels that create a pronounced floating effect enhanced by indirect lighting installed at the panel joints, producing an ethereal and dynamic overhead plane that draws visitor attention and establishes a memorable spatial character. This lighting strategy extends throughout the interior, with carefully calibrated illumination systems deployed to accentuate the exhibited vehicles while simultaneously defining spatial zones and creating atmospheric depth. The material palette demonstrates refined restraint and durability, incorporating galvalume steel sheet roofing, metal siding for exterior walls, porcelain tile flooring in public areas, natural stone and cloth wall treatments, melamine tile and carpet flooring in interior zones, and silicate calcium board for eaves, reflecting both aesthetic considerations and practical maintenance requirements inherent to high-traffic commercial environments. The spatial organization facilitates a carefully choreographed customer journey, with negotiation rooms positioned to maintain visual connectivity to the exhibition space through glass partitions while employing reduced lighting levels to ensure privacy during sales consultations, thereby sustaining psychological engagement with the displayed vehicles throughout the decision-making process. This design approach addresses fundamental challenges in automotive retail design, specifically the imperative to attract potential customers from exterior vantage points while creating an interior environment that stimulates purchasing desire through the strategic presentation of luxury automobiles as aspirational objects within a carefully curated spatial context. The showroom's design philosophy acknowledges the variable nature of customer engagement patterns, recognizing that purchasing decisions may occur instantaneously or develop through multiple visits, necessitating an environment that maintains visual interest and emotional resonance across repeated encounters. The exterior finish materials and interior surface treatments work in concert to establish a cohesive aesthetic language that communicates luxury, precision, and contemporary design sensibility, qualities that align with the premium positioning of the vehicles displayed within. Auto Motion Car Showroom received the Silver A' Design Award in the Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design category in 2025, one of the world's most prestigious design competitions, which recognized the project's excellence in innovative use of space, material selection, functional layout design, lighting design proficiency, and aesthetic appeal. The Silver A' Design Award designation acknowledges designs that demonstrate outstanding expertise, original innovations, and strong technical characteristics while making notable contributions to advancing design practice and improving everyday life experiences. The recognition by the A' Design Award jury panel validates the project's successful integration of commercial objectives with sophisticated spatial design, confirming its significance within contemporary interior design discourse and its contribution to evolving standards in automotive retail environments. The showroom's design methodology reflects broader trends in experiential retail design, where physical commercial spaces increasingly function not merely as transactional venues but as immersive brand environments that engage customers through multisensory experiences, spatial narratives, and carefully orchestrated atmospheres that differentiate luxury retail from conventional sales environments. The project demonstrates how architectural and interior design interventions can transform utilitarian commercial programs into memorable spatial experiences that enhance brand perception, facilitate customer engagement, and ultimately support business objectives through design excellence. Auto Motion Car Showroom represents a significant contribution to the typology of automotive showroom design, offering insights into how spatial configuration, material selection, lighting design, and programmatic organization can be synthesized to create environments that effectively balance commercial imperatives with aesthetic ambition and experiential richness.

automotive retail design, luxury showroom architecture, experiential commercial interiors, indirect lighting systems, circular exhibition space, Japanese interior design

— Adam Dawson

CITATION : "Adam Dawson. 'Auto Motion Car Showroom.' Design+Encyclopedia. https://design-encyclopedia.com/?E=482822 (Accessed on May 20, 2026)"