Twenty-four 530mm diameter Monodraught SunPipes, installed in a stunning ceiling pattern, introduce an additional flood of natural daylight within the Frosts Jaguar showroom, creating a remarkable customer experience.

From humble beginnings in 1952, the Frosts group has grown to be the largest car retailer in southern and central Sussex with nine dealerships holding Jaguar, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Vauxhall, Saab, Seat and Lotus franchises. The company also has one of the largest body repair centres in the south of England.

The Frosts dealership in Hove, East Sussex has recently completed a major expansion of its site on the Old Shoreham Road by transforming a petrol forecourt into a dramatic new showroom. The transformation features full-height frameless glazing to all four aspects, with an arrangement of 530mm diameter Monodraught SunPipes installed in a stunning ceiling pattern in the north facing area, to introduce an additional flood of natural daylight within the showroom, creating a remarkable customer experience.

As Paul Grover of Frosts explains: “When we started planning the building, which is the largest Jaguar and Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge showroom in the South, we made a conscious decision to light the interior in an environmentally-friendly way and natural lighting seemed the natural choice. Our architect, Norman Ray of Norman Ray Associates, recommended Monodraught SunPipes.”

Commenting on the building, Norman Ray says: “We started with a redundant petrol forecourt that was stripped to expose the steel frame; then we formed a fully glazed enclosure under a flat roof. Inside we wanted to incorporate a number of ‘green’ features and I suggested Monodraught SunPipes because I had installed one in a shower room at home where it proved to be an ideal way to bring light to an inner area.”

Monodraught was contacted at the early stages of the design with an idea to form the circular features in the ceiling area. Working from Norman Ray’s drawings Monodraught’s design team provided a number of schemes working around the steel roof structure and the suspended ceiling grid. Frosts’ preferred scheme featured three circles, using twenty-four 530mm diameter SunPipes.

Norman Ray says that besides creating a bright and airy interior environment, natural daylight from the SunPipes also mean Frosts do not need to have electric lights burning energy 24 hours a day.

Summing up, Paul Grover says: “We occupy a prominent site in Hove and the design for the showroom certainly does it justice. We are delighted with the effect created by the combination of the fully glazed enclosure and the SunPipes, which when viewed from both the road and inside the showroom itself, is quite spectacular.”

Email: info@monodraught.com