Luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin has come up with a new design service for car enthusiasts and collectors, taking car ownership to another level, à la James Bond style. The luxurious garages, called Aston Martin Automotive Galleries and Lairs, employ exuberantly opulent design features. Revealed at Pebble Beach in California, this service designs a perfect space for one’s luxury car - as customised garages (automotive galleries) or total luxury retreats (automotive lairs) - with the car as the protagonist.

These lavish homes for vehicles are envisioned to provide a space as luxurious as the car in question – some have been imagined underwater, some enclosed in glass, and some emerging from underground as visualised in sci-fi films. The new design service is a part of Q by Aston, the automaker's bespoke service that engages in personalising their cars as per the client's requirements.  

Presenting a prospect for clients to work with the Aston Martin design team, the Automotive Galleries and Lairs will also enable possible collaborations with other prominent architects, with expertise in materials and understanding of the client’s wishes. Aston Martin’s design team has already proved their mettle through the design of 66-storey Aston Martin Residences in Miami, the House of Aston Martin Aoyama in Tokyo, as well as the stunning interiors of several Aston Martin dealership centres across the world. Marek Reichman, the Chief Creative Officer at Aston Martin, and his team, are also venturing into many other design projects, mainly residential, and their work brings in exciting possibilities as well as collaborations with leading architects.  

“Imagine a home or luxury retreat built around your car,” said Reichman. “Picture creating the ultimate space to showcase your own automotive works of art. This is now achievable with this new offering. For the car enthusiast the garage is as important as the rest of the house, and a bespoke auto gallery designed by Aston Martin that either focuses on showing off the car or is part of a larger, integrated entertainment space with simulators and such, taking Aston Martin ownership to the next level.” 

This is where the car takes centrestage – an entire home or luxury retreat built around it. Developing a sensational concept for an automotive lair, Obermoser arch-omo architecture has produced a design which can incorporate these posh works of art (of the likes of the iconic Aston Martin Valhalla) in a circular, subterranean space. Drawing most (if not all) attention to the chosen car, with its position in the centre of the lair, the luxury retreat also assigns spaces for entertainment and leisure, as well as living areas.

“Aston Martin has decades of expertise in staging cars in order to present them at their absolute best but also understands the importance of storage and maintenance of these living, breathing machines,” said Aston Martin Partnerships Director, Sebastien Delmaire. “Automotive Galleries can even be designed to fit the era if a customer has a heritage car. We are able to cover every requirement, whether it is to display single cars as pieces of automotive art or a full collection of cars in a private museum. These spaces provide an opportunity for people to create their own unique world where they can share their passion for cars with their guests. The opportunities are endless.”