MINI Habitat wins President's Design Award

24th November, 2006. Singapore. At the inaugural President's Design
Award ceremony held yesterday in Singapore, MINI Habitat's design
received recognition with a prestigious award for Interior Design in
the category, Designs of the Year. The award was conferred by
Singapore President S R Nathan. MINI Habitat, the innovatively designed
focal point for MINI sales, servicing and owner gatherings in
Singapore, won the award after a rigorous judging process that
evaluated considerations such as 'ability to demonstrate outstanding
qualities within an international marketplace', 'additional value for
the industry'; 'commitment in pushing boundaries for Singapore design',
and 'industry leadership'. The judging process, by an international
jury comprising renowned Interior Design experts from Australia and the
USA, also involved interviews and close inspection of the design works.
MINI Habitat was also recently nominated for the recent 14th Asia
Pacific Interior Design Awards 2006 held in Hong Kong, where it
received an 'honourable mention' in the Retail Category. The Awards
were organized by the Interior Design Association of Hong Kong - a
member of the International Federation of Interior Architects and
Designers. The iconic MINI brand is a premium marque belonging to the
BMW Group. Managing Director of BMW Asia, Mr Roland Krueger said,
"The MINI showroom in Singapore is certainly an eye-catching
landmark that expresses the excitement and lively nature of the brand,
and we're just delighted that the design has been recognized by this
prestigious award. This certainly is further endorsement of the MINI
brand's remarkable appeal, seen and expressed here in a very attractive
manner. We congratulate Trans Eurokars on winning the award, which is
testament to the company's professionalism and commitment to the MINI
brand's continued success in Singapore." Executive Chairman of
the Eurokars Group, Mr Karsono Kwee, said: "With MINI Habitat, we
set out to ensure that current and future MINI owners alike are able to
engage in a unique lifestyle experience, and literally make the centre
MINI's home in Singapore." The Eurokars Group includes Trans
Eurokars, the distributor for MINI in Singapore. The entry for the
design awards was submitted by BMW Asia's consulting partner in design
concept, direction and construction, Kingsmen Exhibits Pte Ltd. The
three-storey, multi-million dollar MINI showcase was built by Kingsmen
in record time and launched at a packed party on 31st December 2005,
with over 600 guests that featured a facade unveiling, pyrotechnics and
a countdown to the New Year. The inauguration saw Trans Eurokars become
the official Singapore distributor for MINI. A MINI First On
receiving the award, Brett Cameron, Creative Director for Kingsmen
Exhibits Pte Ltd, said: "My team and I at Kingsmen are delighted
and honored to receive this inaugural award for our work on MINI
Habitat. As we developed this design we were fortunate to have the
close support and visionary guidance from BMW Asia. The management of
BMW Asia was extremely open to unconventional ideas, allowing MINI
Habitat to incorporate innovative design features." MINI Habitat,
which houses a total floor space of 1,660 sq.m, is the first MINI
centre in Asia to meet the latest BMW Group showroom display standards
and is the first of its kind in the world. The Singapore centre is now
used by the BMW Group worldwide as a benchmark for how the MINI brand
should be presented, and amply demonstrates the success of design as a
tool for competitive advantage. The centre houses a sales, parts and
service facility, as well as a boutique for MINI lifestyle accessories.
Located at 27, Leng Kee Road, the centre was designed to complement and
express the excitement and exuberance of the MINI brand. Creative
excellence Details range from LED mood lighting at the reception desk
to a water fixture on the open-air top floor. Natural and artificial
light is used in an innovative way. The MINI centre's uniqueness
reflects the car's individuality as well as the character of the MINI
owner or potential owners. Unlike other car showrooms, MINI Habitat has
three floors; the second floor being the unobstructed primary
presentation space of cars and third level an event space to host MINI
events such as parties, fashion shows and chef demonstrations. Finally,
a fiberglass car and two large frames of LED and neon lightings were
placed at the façade to catch the attention of pedestrians and
motorists along Leng Kee Road. The President's Design Award is
co-presented by the DesignSingapore Council and the Urban Redevelopment
Authority, Singapore to promote greater design excellence. It
acknowledges good design in the fields of architecture and urban
design, fashion design, industrial and product design, interior design
and visual communications design. Issued by: BMW Asia Pte Ltd
Corporate Affairs Department Michael T H Lim, Regional Manager Tel:
(+65) 6838 9638; Fax: (+65) 6838 9626; Mobile: (+65) 9619 3863 Email:
Michael.Lim@bmwasia.com Karyn Tan, Executive Tel: (+65) 6838 9630; Fax:
(+65) 6838 9626 Email: Karyn.Tan@bmwasia.com Fleishman Hillard Pte Ltd
Hal Serudin Tel: (+65) 6424 6952, Fax: (+65) 6424 6355, Mobile: (+65)
8161 2843 E-mail: serudinh@fleishman.com