Visual Terrain Designs Lighting for Automotive Retail Park at Dubai Festival City in Dubai


Visual Terrain, Inc. designed lighting for the world’s largest Toyota showroom, which recently opened in the Automotive Retail Park Area of Dubai Festival City in Dubai.  Toyota marks the first opening of several showrooms designed by Visual Terrain for the multi-dealership facility.  Additional showrooms currently in design include Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge, Honda, Lexus and Volvo.

Commenting on the overall design effort, Lisa Passamonte Green, Principal-in-Charge of the lighting design explained, “We listened carefully to the concerns of the Dubai Festival City Group and the Al-Futtaim Motor Group when developing the designs and incorporated their feedback into our design solutions.  We also worked closely with the local representatives of ERCO, Element Labs and TIR Systems to provide product on a very tight time schedule. From design creation to opening day was roughly nine weeks.  The task was to simultaneously design and meet with the engineers and contractor (Al. Futtaim Carillion and Al. Futtaim Engineering) to ensure they could install the lighting system once it was on site. It was this collaborative spirit and the commitment of all the design teams that made this project so successful.”

When asked about the concept for lighting the showrooms, Edward S. Marks, Associate Principal Designer on the Dubai project responded, “The architecture, which is strikingly grand in scale, set the tone for the design direction we chose.  The interior is comprised of round elements from the atrium and vehicle turntables, to the dominant columns throughout the space. The lighting enhances the dramatic structural statement by using a series of track elements with alternating spot and wash lights.” 

Al-Futtaim Motors is the United Arab Emirates sole distributor for Toyota and Lexus vehicles.  Dubai Festival City is a waterfront ‘city-within-a-city’ on the banks of Dubai Creek.  It is the largest privately-funded, mixed-use development in the Middle East.

For more information about Dubai Festival City, please visit, www.dubaifestivalcity.com