New England Performance
Cars
Location: Nashua, NH
Electrical value: $675,000
New England Performance Cars had two dealerships at separate
locations. In 2002 the owners purchased the site of an old
Howard Johnson's on Route 3, a very busy highway, to
consolidate their business, raise their profile and showcase
the elegant, upscale German autos they offer. They decided
to build three new buildings totaling 54,000 square feet
from the ground-up - Audi Service, Audi Showroom and Porsche
Sales
and Service. All buildings were to be connected by tunnels
to move people about easily and keep them out of the weather.
MEI was the preferred electrical contractor on the project
which included lighting for the site and parking
facility as well as lighting, power and fire alarm systems
for all of the buildings' interiors including the workshops
and mechanical areas. The project schedule allowed 9 months
for MEI to complete their scope of work. However, due to
site development delays, we had to accelerate the pace and
turn this around in a 7-month time frame.
As with most MEI projects, this was a team effort
working in coordination with the owner, engineers, on-site
architect and contractor. The buildings and the site
had to complement the product image conveying speed, sophistication,
pleasure and reliability - all qualities associated with
high
performance cars - and at the same time be highly functional.
The
European-designed buildings with their futuristic look of
sleek silvery metal and walls of curved glass presented
a great challenge for our crews. Creating unique, state-of-the-art
lighting involved working with German-manufactured materials
and components and incorporating them into United States'
standards to fit the design. The showrooms feature ceiling
heights up to 30' with
suspended theatrical lighting fixtures to display the high-end
autos.
The external lighting was designed to
be dazzling, dramatic, visually stunning – to make
the site look like daylight 24 hours a day – and indeed
it does. Approximately fifty 25' multiple luminare pole stanchions
are strategically
located throughout the parking lot areas to evenly dispense
the correct amount of light output on the vehicles. All exterior
systems are controlled via a low voltage energy management
system designed and installed by MEI.
New England
Performance Cars Porsche/Audi dealership is a spectacular
addition to the Nashua business landscape. |
