From Minimalism to Mishap: The Lexus Jeddah Showroom’s Architectural Decline

architectural criticism

I still remember back in the early 2000s, sitting in a university lecture when one of our professors projected the image of a newly completed Lexus showroom in Jeddah. It wasn’t a masterpiece in global terms, but in that moment it felt sharp, clean, and almost futuristic. A glassy, pyramid-like façade, with blue reflective surfaces and a sense of restrained confidence. For a country still experimenting with corporate identity in architecture, it stood out. Minimalistic, modest, but coherent.

This showroom is a perfect reflection of Jeddah's architectural landscape on Madinah Road during that era. It blends the city's modernizing aspirations with a clean, unpretentious style. The use of a simple color palette and a prominent facade made the building stand out through its elegance and clarity, rather than through extravagant details. It is a timeless example of how good design prioritizes form and function.

A beautiful example of the "plain and simple" aesthetic that defined commercial architecture in the 1990s. The design forgoes unnecessary ornamentation, focusing instead on clean lines, a large glass facade, and a functional layout that puts the product—the vehicle—at the center of the experience. It perfectly captures a moment when car showrooms were designed as serene, minimalist galleries.

Two decades later, the story has taken a darker turn.
archup.net/from-minimalism-to-mishap-the-lexus-jeddah-sho...

Taken on: September 15, 2025

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