Manhattan, NY Where Savile Row meets Park Ave., Aston Martin has opened the doors to Q New York, its first ultra-luxury flagship on 450 Park Ave. “The new location brings the highest levels of the iconic British brand’s bespoke service, Q by Aston Martin to North America for the very first time, providing the most sophisticated luxury specification experience available anywhere in the world,” said Aston Martin, who designed this handcrafted and high-tech showroom with architect Alexander Zilberman, AIA, NCARB, of the firm Alexander Zilberman Architecture (AZA).
“Congratulations to Aston Martin for this unparalleled experience and luxurious showplace of British craftsmanship and engineering in Midtown Manhattan, infused with immersive technology and an exclusive gateway into this thrilling brand,” said Zilberman, a published design leader noted for work in luxury retail. “We are delighted to collaborate with the Q New York team, which created this distinct expression of its ultra-luxury brand and a singular experience for specifying a truly bespoke, individual car.”
The new project opened in the summer with branding, presence, and positioning as its overarching goal, according to the globally active architecture firm AZA. The firm describes the two main functions to the showroom project as:
• Showcasing their most iconic models to the public, and
• Curating a strong brand experience for clients building and specifying their own cars.
“For showcasing these iconic products, our mantra was, ‘The car is the star,’ and so we strove to connect the model display areas to the street, making it feel like a part of the cityscape,” said Zilberman. “This is done with floor-to-ceiling, very-large-format and uninterrupted glass openings that replaced original building components, perfectly fitted within each storefront bay of this prominent building.”
Architectural Features
The storefront modification needed to be done in a way that “feels like it belongs to the building,” so AZA used similar materials and respected the lines of the façade. The design team then added champagne chamfered metal panels and custom mosaic tiles within each bay to define the Aston Martin showroom from the street perspective. The sign band and the interior ceiling lighting feature serve mainly focus the eye down onto the showroom floor, where the models are displayed with focused lighting, “like sculptures in a gallery.” The light sources reflect off the ultra-luxury vehicles in an echo of the stars and city lights at night.
The drawing room and the virtual stage, which make up the inner core of Q New York, are used for private spec sessions and are meant to feel intimate and fully immersive for the clien, according to AZA:
• “Overall the showrooms interior is a study in fine quality, from choice materials, precision joinery, and artisan applications with a very high degree of technical difficulty.”
• “It is painstaking work, making all interworking mechanical details virtually disappear from sight so that all focus is on the cars or the specification and brand experience functions of the showroom.”
These outcomes are achieved with walnut floors, millwork, and ceiling, as well as with residential feeling elements such as the fireplace, lounge seating arrangement, dining room spec table, and a library sample wall with a massive, video display as the backdrop and focus of the space. “The entire installation is backed by the most advanced technology available today for this purpose,” said Zilberman, who also works with such brands as Versace, Jimmy Choo, Soho House, Helmut Lang and Equinox.
“Luxury lives in the details, and it is the sum of the details, which may or may not be recognized by the observer, and the care and thoughtfulness behind them, that create the feeling of luxury,” said Zilberman. “Through these, we achieved a luxurious sensory brand experience for the public and the private clients we are serving.”
A First of Its Kind
The landmark location forms a key pillar of Aston Martin’s ultra-luxury brand and customer experience strategy, with the commitment “to provide the very best possible environment for its most discerning clients to create their own intimately personal Aston Martin.”
Designed to immerse onlookers into the thrilling world of Aston Martin, visitors to 57th St. and Park Ave. are greeted by a unique window installation of epic proportion, named the “Champagne Frame.” Created with one of the largest single panes of glass ever installed into a New York building, the grand window frame looks into the stars — Aston Martin’s most iconic models —which are carefully illuminated by a bespoke chandelier composed of 3,000 hand-blown, mirror-coated glass globes and spanning 40 meters. Meanwhile, the use of mosaic tiles and commanding dining tables helps define the new flagship, bringing the best of British to one of the most prominent streets in the world.
“The new location will serve as a showcase and launch venue for Aston Martin’s latest products, from unique special builds to limited-edition models and newcomers to Aston Martin’s breath-taking portfolio,” said the company. “From today, the flagship proudly displays the all-new DB12 in North America for the very first time, in addition to the era- defining Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro hypercar.”
Q New York offers an ultimate blend of digital and physical car configuration. As part of a custom-made appointment, clients will be able to visualize their personalized Aston Martin on a 35-foot-by-10-foot LED wall capable of providing an ultra-high definition, 360-degree view of any Aston Martin in real-life size. Said the company, “Sitting at the intersection between the physical and digital worlds, Aston Martin’s intention is to provide such a realistic configuration that clients feel as though they could open the door to their car.”
Project team and suppliers
Designer: Aston Martin and Alexander Zilberman Architecture
General contractor: JT Magen Millwork: Vizona
Storefront consultant: Withwork Lighting consultant: Viso Lighting Video screens: DigiLED
Stone flooring, mosaics, fireplace mantle, table: Grassi Pietre
Bespoke wood flooring: Havwoods Architectural lighting fixtures: Coronet, Apure MEP engineer: Rosini Engineering
Structural engineer: Silman
Lighting consultant: Lighting Workshop Configurator developer: MHP
Building owner and manager: SL Green Audiovisual, IT, security: Gazelle
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