Technology and design in Cedar Park

Cedar Park, a suburb of the metropolitan city of Austin situated about thirty kilometres outside the city centre, was the location chosen by Gulf States Toyota, the Toyota distributor for five US states including Texas, for its latest dealership. The Toyota of Cedar Park project was designed by Gensler and built by White Construction Company. The facility, spanning an 80,000 square metre site along the Texas 183 Toll Road, is a 6,000-square-metre composite building consisting partly of two above-ground floors. On the front of the building, an architectural glass portal and a bright red logo convey the brand image and clearly identify the entrance to the showroom. Inside, the building also houses the administration offices, a spare parts warehouse, a 1,100-square-metre covered surface area and a carwash. It also features the Java Park Café, comfortable waiting rooms, a gift store, a children’s play area and a park for dogs. Right from the preliminary stages, the project drew inspiration from the Texas Hill Country’s local construction techniques introduced by the first settlers in the nineteenth century and involving prevalent use of stone and solid wood. It would have been unthinkable to clad the exteriors with Toyota’s standard ACM composite aluminium panels. The initial idea was to use stone-look ceramic tiles which had proved cheaper in previous projects, but in the end natural stone sourced from a nearby quarry was chosen due to its lower price. The next step was to adapt the interiors to the local style. «As the project progressed, we felt that the interior finishes should reflect the nature of Cedar Park and Texas Hill Country in the same way as the exterior design and that we needed to tailor the use of historic materials to modern consumer sensibilities,» Rick Ferrera from Gensler explained. Incorporating LEED principles, the project was designed to utilise both regional materials and materials with recycled content. The unpaved external area resulting from the extensive excavation work necessary to build the large showroom was carefully landscaped to blend with the natural setting and reduce maintenance and water consumption. Hi-tech LED lighting fixtures and occupancy sensors were used to save electrical energy, while the reflective roof and parking areas with high-reflectivity concrete minimise microclimate heat island effects. In a car dealership, the flooring is inevitably exposed to intense stresses caused by foot traffic, heavy loads and chemical products, so it must be practical and reliable as well as aesthetically appealing. The designers of Toyota Cedar Park were impressed by the toughness and ease of maintenance of Italian porcelain tiles, so they opted for One collection concrete-effect slabs from Caesar for the showroom and Cement Frame vintage decorative tiles for the waiting rooms.