Mercedes Benz-Porsche dealer-
ship, Brumos Pompano, Inc., was
designed to showcase, sell and
service luxury cars in luxury sur-
roundings. This premise while
recognized by Cadillac in the do-
mestic market had not been at-
tempted in the luxury foreign car
field until Brumos Pompano.
That this made good business
sense has been borne out by the
spectacular increase in sales vol-
ume since opening of the new
facility.

The Owner's requirements were
simple: An agency that was dif-
ferent from others, a personal
office complex for himself, a
low maintenance building and a
rigid construction budget. The
resulting multi-level building
brings together certain functions
by plan and multi-level relation-
ships and isolates others with the
same devices.

The elevated showroom and out-
door display area occupy a mid-
level between executive space
on the upper level and business
offices and service facilities on
the lower level.


The executive or top level over-
looks sales and service areas for
visual control, and psychological-
ly, authority elevated and observ-
ing has its effect. The Executive
Office complex provides the
owner with a satisfying environ-
ment to direct the affairs of the
agency and his many and varied
other enterprises. The furnish-
ings, the result of close collabora-
tion with the Interior Designer,
deliberately avoid the office at-
mosphere and is evocative of the
serene feeling of a gentleman's
club. Necessary business appur-
tenances and equipment are con-
cealed when not in use, further
contributing to this mood.

The mid-level of the showroom
sales area was necessary visually
to provide sight lines above the
top of cars parked at grade level
-both used car displays, and
customers' cars. The placement
of the sales manager's office gives
visual control of showroom and
outdoor displays. The salesmen's
octagon offices provide a num-
ber of sophisticated sales devices
including sound movies. The con-
tribution of carpeting to noise re-


duction is evident. Interior de-
sign and furnishings were
thoughtfully considered for their
effect on employees as well as
customers.
On the lower level, the work flow
in the Service Department was
carefully considered. Special at-
tention was paid to the relation-
ship between the Office, Parts
Department, and Service Depart-
ment, to furnish centralized con-
trol with a small work force. The
sequence of work through the
Service Department, Parts Issue,
and the parallel paper records de-
termined the layout.
Seemingly extravagant materials,
e.g., tile wainscots in shop areas,
brick and gravel wall and floor-
ing, it is felt will in the overall
view maintain their appearance
and not require periodic refinish-
ing as would another surface.
Signs were deliberately detached
from the building. Signs serve
their purpose equally well for
identification and do not vie with
the building and its purpose to
show the cars to their undis-
tracted advantage. E


In Pompano Beach

Brumos Pompano, Inc.


 ARCHITECT / James E. Lynskey, AIA
CONTRACTOR / Slater Construction Company


8./ THE FLORIDA ARCHITECT / May 1969