Barcelona | Inner-city car showrooms follow different laws than large car dealerships in commercial areas in the periphery: the city focus is on modern brand experiences. The EV subscription provider Lynk & Co is at the forefront of the movement with unique city clubs – with exciting retail design but limit use of digital signage.
In Fall 2022 the Swedish-Chinese electric car mobility provider opened its largest club to date on Passeig de Gràcia – the main shopping street in Barcelona. Lynk & Co operates ten clubs worldwide, including in Berlin and Munich. The showroom concept initially sounds similar to that of its competitors: “At Lynk & Co, we don’t do car dealerships – we go to clubs.” But the club concept goes one step further than other inner-city showrooms. The only Lynk & Co car to date is well hidden between hip architecture and furniture, lots of greenery and a bar. The hip mobility provider calls the concept “Colourful. Creative. And a little weird.”
The Lynk & Co Barcelona Club was designed by the Spanish design studio Masqueespacio and is a pure experience that is difficult to describe. According to the architects, “The result is an eclectic, multi-story wonderland with bold sculptural centerpieces such as a meeting room with an underwater swimming pool, changing rooms set in an emerald mountain, and a 3D-printed dome inspired by the belly of a whale to house the car.” The former pool and a former bank vault are the visual highlight of the club and are worth the visit alone.
From digital signage perspective, the special club concept leaves little room for exciting, attention-grabbing digital signage installations. A wall projection with a consumer projector is too weak even on dark winter days; we were more impressed by the small, extremely bright window display.
