March 27, 2025 • 20 mins
In this episode, my guest is Omar Gandhi, founder of Omar Gandhi Architects (OG) and the architectural genius behind Audi Haus.
Omar’s firm, Omar Gandhi Architects, has built a reputation for creating spaces that do more than just exist—they make people feel something. And as it turns out, when people feel something, they’re more likely to engage, connect, and even buy.
In this episode, we talk about the power of intentional design and how Omar, the brilliant architect behind Audi Haus shares insights on how design isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about business, customer psychology, and ultimately, ROI.
We get into:
- How retail spaces (not just products) can shape customer perception and influence buying decisions
- The ROI of great design—why creating the right environment can make or break a brand’s impact
- The wild ride of Omar’s career—from losing his job to building one of Canada’s most respected architecture firms
- Why saying yes to the smallest projects early on led to massive opportunities later
- And the secret sauce behind Audi Haus—how a single space can shift someone’s entire experience with a brand
This episode is packed with real-world insights that go way beyond architecture. Whether you’re in retail, marketing, or just someone who loves a great underdog story, there’s something here for you.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
MC (00:00):
This episode is brought to you by FlexDealer.
Hey auto industry.
Welcome to this special episodeof the Dealer Playbook Podcast.
(00:20):
We are here at the TorontoInternational Auto Show and I am
thrilled to be joined by OmarGandhi.
He is the chief architect atOmar Gandhi Architects and
happens to have designed what Ibelieve is the most beautiful
display here at the auto showfor Audi House.
Omar, thanks so much forjoining me on the Dealer
Playbook.
Oh, thank you.
Omar (00:39):
Michael, really excited to chat with you today.
This is definitely a differentkind of thing for me.
MC (00:49):
So, yeah, it's pretty exciting.
Well, there's so many thingsthat I want to ask you about.
Part of them are, I will say,are selfish, because I could
watch architects do theirsketches for hours and hours,
and I know there's an art formto that in and of itself, and I
can just imagine you probablyhave just drawers filled with
architectural sketches.
Omar (01:05):
Yeah, I mean often it's.
You know musings on the back ofthings, or you know collections
from my peers and my colleagues.
So yeah it's.
I think the beauty of it is itstarts with very messy things.
I love it no-transcript you know, in the 80s, 90s, ended up
(01:54):
going to a brilliant little artschool which was part of a
larger high school, mayfield inCaledon, and really started to
sort of focus on the visual artsand, you know, started to gain
a bit of an interest inarchitecture.
So decided to go down that path.
I went to the University ofToronto for a few years and then
ended up moving out east toHalifax where I did my graduate
(02:16):
studies.
You know, and you know, likemost people starting their
career was just trying to, youknow, navigate the process,
figure out you know what Iwanted to do, but was probably
more focused on the day to day.
So it wasn't really in the planto start my own practice.
It sort of happened,accidentally lost my job and was
(02:37):
just like, okay, well, let mestart with one little project,
if I can, and those were, youknow, decks and you know little
bathroom renovations and youknow nothing glamorous.
But then, yeah, very quickly itkind of picked up just by
trying to, I think, nail everylittle, even kind of unimportant
thing that I was working on.
And over that 15 years thatfollowed just tried to surround
(03:00):
myself with incredible people,including Jeff Shaw, who started
with me just after I startedthe practice and he's probably
the real car lover in thepractice and was the one that
really worked with me on AudiHouse.
So, yeah, I think the magicthere is just doing things
slowly focusing we're a prettysmall practice and just trying
(03:24):
to crush everything that comesour way.
MC (03:27):
I mean, there's so much to be said of that to unpack there.
We couldn't have planned thesegue here more perfectly,
saying, you know, some, itstarts with a little bit of
messiness, or, you know, forthose listening where they say,
ah it, you know, my career's notmoving as fast as I want it to,
especially in a day and agewhere everyone wants everything
so quickly.
(03:47):
Yeah, the beauty, as I see it,as you've explained it, of no,
I'm going to say yes to that oddjob.
I'm going to say yes to thatbathroom reno or that patio reno
and seeing it for what it was,like the stepping stones of it,
to now, all of a sudden you know, be named in Monocle magazine's
most influential Canadians tohaving a Canadian governor
(04:09):
general award in architecture.
As you look back, what weresome of the key lessons that you
learned that brought you alongthe way that you can look to in
hindsight and say, oh yeah, thatwas a building block for me.
Omar (04:21):
Yeah, I think I realized really early on that you know
you're only really judged on thework that you produce, and so
you know whether it was a littleproject, you know, leaving
people with a really positiveexperience and something that
tries to impact in a positiveway, I think, regardless of how
(04:41):
small it is.
You know it ended up kind ofgrowing in scale.
But you know I always talk alittle bit about leaving the
opportunity to say no to as manythings as possible.
So you know we don't do youknow kind of B work to support
the little fancy things we do.
You know we only do a smallnumber of really special
(05:02):
projects, this being one of them, and you know I think that you
need as much time as possible tokind of immerse yourself to
really produce something special.
So, yeah, I think the otherthing is you know those kind of
accolades that you mentioned.
I would say that they, you knowfire some, you know neurons or
(05:23):
something, for like half asecond, and I think part of the
trick of it all is to just notride the highs, because you know
you're going to be hit with anequivalent number of lows and
those are going to impact you inthe exact same way, if you let
it.
And so we're just kind ofobsessed with the process and
(05:44):
just want to do incredible work.
MC (05:46):
You've struck a chord in me.
This resonates so deeply.
I can't remember I was justwatching an interview with you.
Know this is going to soundcrazy, because now I'm letting
people know what my YouTubealgorithm looks like, but I was.
I want to say it was aninterview with Donny Osmond,
yeah, and somebody asked him aquestion about you.
(06:07):
Know, you've accomplished allthese things, like you just said
, omar, these accolades you've,you know, had 60 albums and you
know all these number ones.
And he said something almostsimilar to what you just said.
He said look, the highs aregreat, but if that's all I have,
then my lows would beincredibly low.
Omar (06:28):
Absolutely.
And you know, for any creativeperson, I think you encounter
the lows at a much higherfrequency and you can't really
take it as such Right.
I mean, I think part of thatcomes from you know, it wasn't
something that someone told me,it was probably watching people,
you know, go through that andjust think.
You know you just these thingsare kind of, you know, floating
(06:53):
in the wind.
You just can't let it impactyou.
You know we're just, we'reconstantly God, we're rushing
the high of just doing coolthings.
Like it seems like, you know,not very poetic to say that.
Like, you know, the fun is thethrill of a big part of it.
But you know, when we I'm surewe'll get to this, but when we
came the other day to see thefinal build, you know it looked
(07:16):
exactly like the renderings andwas, I think, with people in it.
You know, better than we couldhave imagined.
You know, for something likethis, it's been great seeing
people's reactions to that.
MC (07:29):
I do want to talk to you about this and you know, in
contrast to some of the otherexhibits that we see, which you
know were impressive, and notknowing what to expect, when we
approached Audi house exhibit,we our jaws actually dropped.
We went OK, there's an entrancehere and there was that
(07:49):
beautiful red I'm going to beawful with the names of the
vehicles, but there was abeautiful red vehicle that
actually lifts and lowers as youget into it and the lighting
and the smoothness and there'sno straight lines, and we walked
in there and it was like asolemn assembly almost.
There was this vibe, thisfeeling that I can't even
(08:12):
articulate words to.
I think you did a phenomenaljob, and that's with absolutely
zero architectural understanding, other than I knew how I felt.
Walking into that experience.
Yeah, how do you pull that off?
Omar (08:27):
First of all, you know, I think Audi for one sort of
disengaged from the car show fora few years and when they
decided to come back, you knowobviously all the credit to Vito
Palladino and Joseph Loterino,ceo and director of marketing
they wanted to do somethingspecial and you know, I think
they came with ideas, but theygave us a lot of room to really
(08:51):
push this through and it waspretty amazing to see varying
types of experiences in thespace.
In the first kind of night wewent, there were a lot of people
interested in design of thespace and so there was a lot of
discussion about that.
But then we came back, you know,unannounced, during the public
(09:12):
opening and you know peopleweren't talking about
architecture but they wereobviously impacted in the way
that we had hoped because, youknow, we shaped the design of
this thing, thinking about howpeople navigate the space from
the front door on front streetor whatever right, and they're
navigating through the maze ofeverything and a bit of chaos
(09:37):
and providing them with a littlebit of an escape where you
start to experience it, theminute you kind of get to a
point on the escalator and seethe logos, and it just was meant
to slow time down, whether it'sacoustically, whether it's
visually, it's, you know,visually, we wanted the, I think
(10:00):
, environment to really recedeinto the background, but that
you felt this kind of brutalistvibe that really kind of pushes
the cars to the forefront.
And, yeah, you saw kids and yousaw, you know, people of all
ages navigating the space andwe're treating it very
differently than they were justout in the corridor at the other
spaces, you know, unknowingly,and that for us, which we, you
(10:24):
know, really kind of watched,was the real kind of mark that
this did what we intended.
MC (10:32):
Hey, does your marketing agency suck?
Listen before we hop back intothis episode.
I know you know me as the hostof the dealer playbook, but did
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So if you want to sell morecars and finally have a partner
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(10:55):
.
Let's hop back into thisepisode.
I mean, it's beautiful and forsomeone like me as a marketer, I
appreciate so deeply the starkcontrast I'm a big fan of when
everyone else is doing this.
Maybe it's the inspirationalmusic and they want that, or the
(11:16):
vibe, or the theme park feel,or whatever it might be.
We walked into a space wherethe only word I can come up with
Omar is everyone becamereverent, yeah, and that created
a contrast to what is happeningjust on the other side of those
doors.
You walked in there.
I felt like Christian Bale'sBatman Nice.
(11:37):
I felt like if I was a bachelor, this is what I want the inside
of my house to look like.
I felt like I had so much morerespect for the vehicles and I
think the marrying of that,especially as someone who works
in the automotive industry,where we know OEMs like the
intent isn't just to makesomeone feel someone.
They want eyeballs on theirvehicles, they want people to be
(11:59):
aware of the product they push.
I think presents itself in themarketplace as well.
Omar (12:04):
Right, you know, a real quiet, coolness, maturity.
You know, without the bells andwhistles, it's not a coincidence
(12:27):
that we work with them.
I kind of manifest thatrelationship, maybe 10 years ago
, where, you know, I waspublished in one of their
articles and then we had acouple of their cars at one of
our projects.
For you know, I was publishedin one of their articles and
then we had a couple of theircars at one of our projects, for
, you know, one of theircampaigns, and so you know, I
think part of my own trajectoryand the trajectory of my studio
(12:48):
was driven by a commonaspiration, or at least I found
what they did really excitingand inspiring.
And you know, talk about originstory.
I remember my employer,probably back in 2004, having an
A4 all road and I just Iremembered looking at that and
(13:11):
just thinking like I want thatcar one day, and you know the
kind of the whole package thatcomes with it.
You know what I mean and youknow I don't normally dream like
that per se, but that was, youknow, certainly the start of my
love affair with the brand asyou're sitting down.
MC (13:29):
I'm so curious about this and you say, ok, we're going to
start with the concept.
Do you start with a feeling?
Do you start with a creativepalette, like, what does it
really look like to say, okay, Ineed to marry my design to true
ROI for my, in this case, forAudi house?
How do I, how do I make surethat what I put together
(13:51):
actually moves people to, to anaction that the customer is
wanting them to take First?
Omar (13:57):
of all.
It's certainly a lot of backand forth, but fortunately in
alignment right away withourselves and the team over
there.
But part of that vibe that wedesigned, that Jeff and I
designed, was driven bysomething we've been excited
about for a long time.
We've actually designed someprivate garages for people that
(14:18):
really kind of had that kind ofbat cave feel right, and you
know there's something reallysort of masculine and gritty and
you know the streets of Berlinkind of vibe to it that is very
different than everything else,and so we were fortunate that it
(14:38):
sort of fit in that thing thatwe've always riffed back and
forth like school kids justgetting excited about things.
But you know I always say thatwe use light and texture and
materials to shape an experience.
So you know, whether it's theareas that sort of widen or
compress, or there's a lot oftexture on the walls with light
(15:01):
that emanate through it, all ofthese things start with very
loose, rough sketches that arenot meant for public consumption
.
They're just throwing ideas onpaper and this was really the
culmination of both Jeff and, Ithink, dreaming for 15 years
about something like this andsomehow this opportunity allowed
(15:24):
for us to kind of really dothat.
MC (15:27):
It's fascinating to me.
Like I said, there are so manyfirsts for me walking into this
and knowing that I was going toget to speak with the architect
who put it all together.
Another first for me isrealizing how much the space
becomes its own character.
Right, it's almost like a playand every character has its.
(15:48):
You know, I've heard directorssay this before.
Like directors will say, wewanted the set to be a character
of the movie, but now Iexperienced it.
You know this was the firsttime I experienced it.
This space became a characterthat shaped a narrative for Audi
in what they wanted you to knowabout them, the position that
they take, that they are adifferent automaker.
(16:09):
You talked a lot about the backand forth, but from your angle,
as the architect, the one whoreally brought it all together,
what's your take?
What's your position on how thespace compels people to move to
a purchase, potentially of avehicle?
Omar (16:24):
I think, in the same way that a person's frame of mind
when going to a dealership isgoing to have an impact, I think
, their environment and theirability to kind of think and
dream, you know, with someclarity, and you can imagine,
you know, if anybody can do thatat the car show with, you know,
thousands of people around tohave the clarity to say, like
(16:46):
you know, this is the car Ireally want to try and get.
You know, thousands of peoplearound to have the clarity to
say, like you know, this is thecar I really want to try and get
you know in my next purchase.
You know it takes a lot ofclarity with, like you know,
kids screaming and, you know,people bumping into one another.
And so I think it's reallyimportant in a person's personal
collection to have that kind ofatmosphere, but especially in
(17:07):
the dealerships.
And you know, I think we'veseen that over the years where
you really have seen a change inthe way dealerships have been
set up for people to really, youknow, have the kind of spatial
and sensual experience that isgoing to allow for that dreaming
to happen.
You know, like I think that'sit right, like I think I can't
(17:35):
imagine in some of those otherspaces with the chaos and not
taking anything away from them.
I mean it just so happened thatAudi really wanted to go for it
in this scenario, but with theother ones, I mean I found it
overwhelming.
Yeah, yeah, like I said, revermean I found it overwhelming.
MC (17:48):
Yeah, yeah, like I said, reverence is kind of the word
and it made me my first instinct.
It made me want to put my handson the vehicles.
I needed to touch something andthe other ones, I will say
frankly, made me not want to.
I was, like, too afraid totouch this.
I went oh, I feel like I cansee this in my life and that's
(18:09):
just, I think, such a phenomenalfeat.
Omar (18:11):
Yeah Well, yeah, exactly, you know, I think your
environment shapes thatconfidence too, right Like it
shapes you know whether or notyou're going to actually grab
that handle and, you know, openthe door and sit down.
Some of those environmentsmaybe project.
(18:33):
That's not something you'resupposed to do, but in this case
I think there's time and spaceto do that and it's designed for
that sort of experience.
MC (18:44):
Well, like I said, phenomenal.
I really enjoyed it.
I wish everyone could be hereto see what we saw.
Of course, we did take somevideo and, as we're speaking,
we're going to we're going toinject some of the video that we
took of the space so thatpeople can at least experience
it who couldn't be here.
As we wind down, I would lovemore and more people to become
familiar with your work, becauseI think what I experienced was
(19:06):
just mind blowing.
How can those listening andwatching connect with you and
learn more about your firm?
Omar (19:11):
Oh, thank you, Probably check out some of the stuff we
do on Instagram.
It's probably, you know, it'salways sort of the easiest way.
Og underscore architect and, asI mentioned, jeff Shaw, jeffrey
, the creator on Instagram.
You know his love affair withCafe Racers through the years
and cars which he makes you knowthrough Kickmoto.
That's been a big.
(19:33):
You know I love cars, but notin the same way as him, I think.
Oh yeah, it's been a huge kindof itch scratcher for both of us
.
Pretty awesome, that's amazingOmar Gandhi.
MC (19:44):
thank you so much for joining me on the Dealer
Playbook Podcast.
Appreciate it very much.
Thank you, hey.
Thanks for listening to theDealer Playbook Podcast.
If you enjoyed tuning in,please subscribe, share and hit
that like button.
You can also join us and theDPB community on social media.
Check back next week for a newDealer Playbook episode.
Thanks so much for joining.
This episode is brought to you by FlexDealer.
Hey auto industry.
Welcome to this special episodeof the Dealer Playbook Podcast.
(00:20):
We are here at the TorontoInternational Auto Show and I am
thrilled to be joined by OmarGandhi.
He is the chief architect atOmar Gandhi Architects and
happens to have designed what Ibelieve is the most beautiful
display here at the auto showfor Audi House.
Omar, thanks so much forjoining me on the Dealer
Playbook.
Oh, thank you.
Omar (00:39):
Michael, really excited to chat with you today.
This is definitely a differentkind of thing for me.
MC (00:49):
So, yeah, it's pretty exciting.
Well, there's so many thingsthat I want to ask you about.
Part of them are, I will say,are selfish, because I could
watch architects do theirsketches for hours and hours,
and I know there's an art formto that in and of itself, and I
can just imagine you probablyhave just drawers filled with
architectural sketches.
Omar (01:05):
Yeah, I mean often it's.
You know musings on the back ofthings, or you know collections
from my peers and my colleagues.
So yeah it's.
I think the beauty of it is itstarts with very messy things.
I love it no-transcript you know, in the 80s, 90s, ended up
(01:54):
going to a brilliant little artschool which was part of a
larger high school, mayfield inCaledon, and really started to
sort of focus on the visual artsand, you know, started to gain
a bit of an interest inarchitecture.
So decided to go down that path.
I went to the University ofToronto for a few years and then
ended up moving out east toHalifax where I did my graduate
(02:16):
studies.
You know, and you know, likemost people starting their
career was just trying to, youknow, navigate the process,
figure out you know what Iwanted to do, but was probably
more focused on the day to day.
So it wasn't really in the planto start my own practice.
It sort of happened,accidentally lost my job and was
(02:37):
just like, okay, well, let mestart with one little project,
if I can, and those were, youknow, decks and you know little
bathroom renovations and youknow nothing glamorous.
But then, yeah, very quickly itkind of picked up just by
trying to, I think, nail everylittle, even kind of unimportant
thing that I was working on.
And over that 15 years thatfollowed just tried to surround
(03:00):
myself with incredible people,including Jeff Shaw, who started
with me just after I startedthe practice and he's probably
the real car lover in thepractice and was the one that
really worked with me on AudiHouse.
So, yeah, I think the magicthere is just doing things
slowly focusing we're a prettysmall practice and just trying
(03:24):
to crush everything that comesour way.
MC (03:27):
I mean, there's so much to be said of that to unpack there.
We couldn't have planned thesegue here more perfectly,
saying, you know, some, itstarts with a little bit of
messiness, or, you know, forthose listening where they say,
ah it, you know, my career's notmoving as fast as I want it to,
especially in a day and agewhere everyone wants everything
so quickly.
(03:47):
Yeah, the beauty, as I see it,as you've explained it, of no,
I'm going to say yes to that oddjob.
I'm going to say yes to thatbathroom reno or that patio reno
and seeing it for what it was,like the stepping stones of it,
to now, all of a sudden you know, be named in Monocle magazine's
most influential Canadians tohaving a Canadian governor
(04:09):
general award in architecture.
As you look back, what weresome of the key lessons that you
learned that brought you alongthe way that you can look to in
hindsight and say, oh yeah, thatwas a building block for me.
Omar (04:21):
Yeah, I think I realized really early on that you know
you're only really judged on thework that you produce, and so
you know whether it was a littleproject, you know, leaving
people with a really positiveexperience and something that
tries to impact in a positiveway, I think, regardless of how
(04:41):
small it is.
You know it ended up kind ofgrowing in scale.
But you know I always talk alittle bit about leaving the
opportunity to say no to as manythings as possible.
So you know we don't do youknow kind of B work to support
the little fancy things we do.
You know we only do a smallnumber of really special
(05:02):
projects, this being one of them, and you know I think that you
need as much time as possible tokind of immerse yourself to
really produce something special.
So, yeah, I think the otherthing is you know those kind of
accolades that you mentioned.
I would say that they, you knowfire some, you know neurons or
(05:23):
something, for like half asecond, and I think part of the
trick of it all is to just notride the highs, because you know
you're going to be hit with anequivalent number of lows and
those are going to impact you inthe exact same way, if you let
it.
And so we're just kind ofobsessed with the process and
(05:44):
just want to do incredible work.
MC (05:46):
You've struck a chord in me.
This resonates so deeply.
I can't remember I was justwatching an interview with you.
Know this is going to soundcrazy, because now I'm letting
people know what my YouTubealgorithm looks like, but I was.
I want to say it was aninterview with Donny Osmond,
yeah, and somebody asked him aquestion about you.
(06:07):
Know, you've accomplished allthese things, like you just said
, omar, these accolades you've,you know, had 60 albums and you
know all these number ones.
And he said something almostsimilar to what you just said.
He said look, the highs aregreat, but if that's all I have,
then my lows would beincredibly low.
Omar (06:28):
Absolutely.
And you know, for any creativeperson, I think you encounter
the lows at a much higherfrequency and you can't really
take it as such Right.
I mean, I think part of thatcomes from you know, it wasn't
something that someone told me,it was probably watching people,
you know, go through that andjust think.
You know you just these thingsare kind of, you know, floating
(06:53):
in the wind.
You just can't let it impactyou.
You know we're just, we'reconstantly God, we're rushing
the high of just doing coolthings.
Like it seems like, you know,not very poetic to say that.
Like, you know, the fun is thethrill of a big part of it.
But you know, when we I'm surewe'll get to this, but when we
came the other day to see thefinal build, you know it looked
(07:16):
exactly like the renderings andwas, I think, with people in it.
You know, better than we couldhave imagined.
You know, for something likethis, it's been great seeing
people's reactions to that.
MC (07:29):
I do want to talk to you about this and you know, in
contrast to some of the otherexhibits that we see, which you
know were impressive, and notknowing what to expect, when we
approached Audi house exhibit,we our jaws actually dropped.
We went OK, there's an entrancehere and there was that
(07:49):
beautiful red I'm going to beawful with the names of the
vehicles, but there was abeautiful red vehicle that
actually lifts and lowers as youget into it and the lighting
and the smoothness and there'sno straight lines, and we walked
in there and it was like asolemn assembly almost.
There was this vibe, thisfeeling that I can't even
(08:12):
articulate words to.
I think you did a phenomenaljob, and that's with absolutely
zero architectural understanding, other than I knew how I felt.
Walking into that experience.
Yeah, how do you pull that off?
Omar (08:27):
First of all, you know, I think Audi for one sort of
disengaged from the car show fora few years and when they
decided to come back, you knowobviously all the credit to Vito
Palladino and Joseph Loterino,ceo and director of marketing
they wanted to do somethingspecial and you know, I think
they came with ideas, but theygave us a lot of room to really
(08:51):
push this through and it waspretty amazing to see varying
types of experiences in thespace.
In the first kind of night wewent, there were a lot of people
interested in design of thespace and so there was a lot of
discussion about that.
But then we came back, you know,unannounced, during the public
(09:12):
opening and you know peopleweren't talking about
architecture but they wereobviously impacted in the way
that we had hoped because, youknow, we shaped the design of
this thing, thinking about howpeople navigate the space from
the front door on front streetor whatever right, and they're
navigating through the maze ofeverything and a bit of chaos
(09:37):
and providing them with a littlebit of an escape where you
start to experience it, theminute you kind of get to a
point on the escalator and seethe logos, and it just was meant
to slow time down, whether it'sacoustically, whether it's
visually, it's, you know,visually, we wanted the, I think
(10:00):
, environment to really recedeinto the background, but that
you felt this kind of brutalistvibe that really kind of pushes
the cars to the forefront.
And, yeah, you saw kids and yousaw, you know, people of all
ages navigating the space andwe're treating it very
differently than they were justout in the corridor at the other
spaces, you know, unknowingly,and that for us, which we, you
(10:24):
know, really kind of watched,was the real kind of mark that
this did what we intended.
MC (10:32):
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(10:55):
.
Let's hop back into thisepisode.
I mean, it's beautiful and forsomeone like me as a marketer, I
appreciate so deeply the starkcontrast I'm a big fan of when
everyone else is doing this.
Maybe it's the inspirationalmusic and they want that, or the
(11:16):
vibe, or the theme park feel,or whatever it might be.
We walked into a space wherethe only word I can come up with
Omar is everyone becamereverent, yeah, and that created
a contrast to what is happeningjust on the other side of those
doors.
You walked in there.
I felt like Christian Bale'sBatman Nice.
(11:37):
I felt like if I was a bachelor, this is what I want the inside
of my house to look like.
I felt like I had so much morerespect for the vehicles and I
think the marrying of that,especially as someone who works
in the automotive industry,where we know OEMs like the
intent isn't just to makesomeone feel someone.
They want eyeballs on theirvehicles, they want people to be
(11:59):
aware of the product they push.
I think presents itself in themarketplace as well.
Omar (12:04):
Right, you know, a real quiet, coolness, maturity.
You know, without the bells andwhistles, it's not a coincidence
(12:27):
that we work with them.
I kind of manifest thatrelationship, maybe 10 years ago
, where, you know, I waspublished in one of their
articles and then we had acouple of their cars at one of
our projects.
For you know, I was publishedin one of their articles and
then we had a couple of theircars at one of our projects, for
, you know, one of theircampaigns, and so you know, I
think part of my own trajectoryand the trajectory of my studio
(12:48):
was driven by a commonaspiration, or at least I found
what they did really excitingand inspiring.
And you know, talk about originstory.
I remember my employer,probably back in 2004, having an
A4 all road and I just Iremembered looking at that and
(13:11):
just thinking like I want thatcar one day, and you know the
kind of the whole package thatcomes with it.
You know what I mean and youknow I don't normally dream like
that per se, but that was, youknow, certainly the start of my
love affair with the brand asyou're sitting down.
MC (13:29):
I'm so curious about this and you say, ok, we're going to
start with the concept.
Do you start with a feeling?
Do you start with a creativepalette, like, what does it
really look like to say, okay, Ineed to marry my design to true
ROI for my, in this case, forAudi house?
How do I, how do I make surethat what I put together
(13:51):
actually moves people to, to anaction that the customer is
wanting them to take First?
Omar (13:57):
of all.
It's certainly a lot of backand forth, but fortunately in
alignment right away withourselves and the team over
there.
But part of that vibe that wedesigned, that Jeff and I
designed, was driven bysomething we've been excited
about for a long time.
We've actually designed someprivate garages for people that
(14:18):
really kind of had that kind ofbat cave feel right, and you
know there's something reallysort of masculine and gritty and
you know the streets of Berlinkind of vibe to it that is very
different than everything else,and so we were fortunate that it
(14:38):
sort of fit in that thing thatwe've always riffed back and
forth like school kids justgetting excited about things.
But you know I always say thatwe use light and texture and
materials to shape an experience.
So you know, whether it's theareas that sort of widen or
compress, or there's a lot oftexture on the walls with light
(15:01):
that emanate through it, all ofthese things start with very
loose, rough sketches that arenot meant for public consumption
.
They're just throwing ideas onpaper and this was really the
culmination of both Jeff and, Ithink, dreaming for 15 years
about something like this andsomehow this opportunity allowed
(15:24):
for us to kind of really dothat.
MC (15:27):
It's fascinating to me.
Like I said, there are so manyfirsts for me walking into this
and knowing that I was going toget to speak with the architect
who put it all together.
Another first for me isrealizing how much the space
becomes its own character.
Right, it's almost like a playand every character has its.
(15:48):
You know, I've heard directorssay this before.
Like directors will say, wewanted the set to be a character
of the movie, but now Iexperienced it.
You know this was the firsttime I experienced it.
This space became a characterthat shaped a narrative for Audi
in what they wanted you to knowabout them, the position that
they take, that they are adifferent automaker.
(16:09):
You talked a lot about the backand forth, but from your angle,
as the architect, the one whoreally brought it all together,
what's your take?
What's your position on how thespace compels people to move to
a purchase, potentially of avehicle?
Omar (16:24):
I think, in the same way that a person's frame of mind
when going to a dealership isgoing to have an impact, I think
, their environment and theirability to kind of think and
dream, you know, with someclarity, and you can imagine,
you know, if anybody can do thatat the car show with, you know,
thousands of people around tohave the clarity to say, like
(16:46):
you know, this is the car Ireally want to try and get.
You know, thousands of peoplearound to have the clarity to
say, like you know, this is thecar I really want to try and get
you know in my next purchase.
You know it takes a lot ofclarity with, like you know,
kids screaming and, you know,people bumping into one another.
And so I think it's reallyimportant in a person's personal
collection to have that kind ofatmosphere, but especially in
(17:07):
the dealerships.
And you know, I think we'veseen that over the years where
you really have seen a change inthe way dealerships have been
set up for people to really, youknow, have the kind of spatial
and sensual experience that isgoing to allow for that dreaming
to happen.
You know, like I think that'sit right, like I think I can't
(17:35):
imagine in some of those otherspaces with the chaos and not
taking anything away from them.
I mean it just so happened thatAudi really wanted to go for it
in this scenario, but with theother ones, I mean I found it
overwhelming.
Yeah, yeah, like I said, revermean I found it overwhelming.
MC (17:48):
Yeah, yeah, like I said, reverence is kind of the word
and it made me my first instinct.
It made me want to put my handson the vehicles.
I needed to touch something andthe other ones, I will say
frankly, made me not want to.
I was, like, too afraid totouch this.
I went oh, I feel like I cansee this in my life and that's
(18:09):
just, I think, such a phenomenalfeat.
Omar (18:11):
Yeah Well, yeah, exactly, you know, I think your
environment shapes thatconfidence too, right Like it
shapes you know whether or notyou're going to actually grab
that handle and, you know, openthe door and sit down.
Some of those environmentsmaybe project.
(18:33):
That's not something you'resupposed to do, but in this case
I think there's time and spaceto do that and it's designed for
that sort of experience.
MC (18:44):
Well, like I said, phenomenal.
I really enjoyed it.
I wish everyone could be hereto see what we saw.
Of course, we did take somevideo and, as we're speaking,
we're going to we're going toinject some of the video that we
took of the space so thatpeople can at least experience
it who couldn't be here.
As we wind down, I would lovemore and more people to become
familiar with your work, becauseI think what I experienced was
(19:06):
just mind blowing.
How can those listening andwatching connect with you and
learn more about your firm?
Omar (19:11):
Oh, thank you, Probably check out some of the stuff we
do on Instagram.
It's probably, you know, it'salways sort of the easiest way.
Og underscore architect and, asI mentioned, jeff Shaw, jeffrey
, the creator on Instagram.
You know his love affair withCafe Racers through the years
and cars which he makes you knowthrough Kickmoto.
That's been a big.
(19:33):
You know I love cars, but notin the same way as him, I think.
Oh yeah, it's been a huge kindof itch scratcher for both of us
.
Pretty awesome, that's amazingOmar Gandhi.
MC (19:44):
thank you so much for joining me on the Dealer
Playbook Podcast.
Appreciate it very much.
Thank you, hey.
Thanks for listening to theDealer Playbook Podcast.
If you enjoyed tuning in,please subscribe, share and hit
that like button.
You can also join us and theDPB community on social media.
Check back next week for a newDealer Playbook episode.
Thanks so much for joining.
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