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Haitham Abdelrehim

Architecture—16 / 24

Gargash Multibrand Facility— Mercedes-Benz, GAC & Tesla

Al Ruqa Al Hamrah, Sharjah, UAE/Multi-brand automotive facility/2025/FACE Architecture + Design

A 34,800 m² automotive facility for Gargash bringing Mercedes-Benz, GAC and Tesla together on a single site, with shared back-of-house behind three distinct brand worlds.

01The extended canopy makes arrival part of the showroom experience before visitors enter the building.
Location
Al Ruqa Al Hamrah, Sharjah, UAE
Year
2025
Sector
Commercial / Automotive
Scope
Concept design
Status
Concept design report issued, January 2025

My contribution

My role
Senior Architect — led the Mercedes-Benz building
Responsibility
Concept design

Key contributions

  • Led the Mercedes-Benz building through concept design under the design director
  • Applied the Mercedes-Benz Retail Experience guidelines to plan, elevation and customer journey
  • Resolved the showroom-to-workshop and handover-bay sequence
  • Worked within Sharjah Municipality's setback, height and façade conditions
  • Coordinated with the multi-brand masterplan so the three showrooms share back-of-house and circulation

The project

Car brands arrive with thick rulebooks. Mercedes-Benz's Retail Experience guidelines and GAC's store construction handbook set materials, ceiling heights, display geometry, lighting levels and signage zones before a line is drawn, and a multi-brand facility has to satisfy all of them without becoming three unrelated buildings sharing a car park. The plan answers by separating identity from infrastructure: showrooms and customer lounges take the road frontage, while the workshop, stockyard, wash and back-of-house are centralised behind them and shared.

Within that framework the Mercedes-Benz building sets the tone — ground and mezzanine of about 3,190 m², with the showroom, G-Class lounge, boutique and consultation rooms on the ground floor, handover bays worked into the customer journey, and offices above on the mezzanine. Sharjah Municipality's plot conditions shaped the envelope: three-metre setbacks to side and rear, a G+M+1 height limit, and a rule against window units on the façade, which pushes the elevation towards glazed bays and solid panels rather than punched openings. Civil Defence, SEWA and RTA approvals were part of the same concept programme.

02Distinct brand frontages share the operational infrastructure behind them, concentrating service functions in one zone.
03Separate entrances keep each brand recognisable within a common site and approach.
04Reception and display share the open hall, making the first point of contact easy to find.
05Clear space between vehicle groups allows the showroom to be read and explored at walking pace.

“Separate identity from infrastructure: three brand worlds, one shared back-of-house.”

06A dedicated backdrop gives the featured vehicle a setting within the wider display floor.
07Consultation moves to a smaller scale, with seating and screens arranged for individual conversations.
08The G-Class display has its own architectural frame within the Mercedes-Benz showroom.
09An enclosed handover bay makes collection a distinct final stage of the customer journey.

Process

The programme diagram that separates the three showrooms from the shared back-of-house, and the Mercedes-Benz building's plans, customer journey, elevations and sections from the concept report.

  • DWG 01Programme diagram — three public showrooms share workshop, wash and stockyard facilities behind the frontage.

  • DWG 02Floor plans — customer-facing spaces occupy the showroom floor, with supporting rooms on the mezzanine.

  • DWG 03Customer journey — arrival, consultation and vehicle handover are arranged as successive stages.

  • DWG 04Elevations — the glazed showroom frontage is distinguished from the more enclosed service areas.

  • DWG 05Sections — the mezzanine fits within the showroom volume while retaining the main display height.

Diagrams

  • One roofMercedes-BenzGACTeslaShared service, handover and workshopCustomer frontage — full-height glazing under the canopy

    Three distinct showroom identities share the service and workshop spaces behind the public frontage.

Colophon

Location
Al Ruqa Al Hamrah, Sharjah, UAE
Year
2025
Sector
Commercial / Automotive
Typology
Multi-brand automotive facility
Scope
Concept design
Status
Concept design report issued, January 2025
Role
Senior Architect — led the Mercedes-Benz building
Client
Gargash Enterprises
Size
≈ 34,800 m² plot · Mercedes-Benz showroom G + M, ≈ 3,190 m²