Retail of Tomorrow

Img 1: Traditional form of retail is under threat

Premise 

From, shop to the arcade to the department store and retail emporium, there has been a constant evolution of stories. Simultaneously from subscription boxes to the rise of quality packaging and the conscious consumer, the shopping culture has been changing. 

What remains constant though is the physical transaction taking place between consumer and seller. 

As they take part in exchanges but in the different typologies of spaces. But in the world of e-commerce and now Covid, where physical gathering can lead to fatal consequences - the traditional form of trade is under threat.

Img 2: Retails are operated with due covid precautions

Shifts

The pandemic has shown that the traditional form of trade cannot answer the problems that are likely to spread through physical touch. Throughout the process of retail shopping, a consumer has to touch different surfaces, objects and talk to different people. All of them being possible carriers. The uncertainty, lack of spatial flexibility in retail experience has led to a decrease in footfalls. 

The presence of the e-market further disrupts the space. With around 44% of the urban population choosing to avail online services even after the restrictions come down. The ongoing pandemic, in its fragility, has shown us how dispensable traditional spaces can be. 

Even though consumer satisfaction remains a priority, there is a constant need for its architecture to evolve. The design system must be open for further upgrades and improvements. 

 

Design for future retail 

Img 3: How can I re-imagine the shopping aisle?

Retail Stores, for long, have formed a significant part in shaping public spaces as well as defining a particular neighbourhood and its people. As soon as we entered the realm of the digital age, the popularity of online shopping services shifted the transactions from physical retail stores to online. Now with the pandemic, the architecture of shops has further raised questions. 

The brief is to design a retail store that redefines the traditional market prototype in today’s changing times. 

The architectural concept for a shop that brings back the lost ritual of buying, that improves upon the deficiencies present in the trade process, recovers the lost human senses of a buyer, provides the possibility to sense all properties of the good and cohesively includes such possible solutions. 

Objectives 

The aim of the competition is to propose a marketplace that is more flexible - evolving - incremental with growing trends of retail in the coming future. Refer to the objectives to understand the design expectations of this challenge. 

• Safety:  Retail space should be safe for consumers to use.
• Customise: The house should be customizable according to various users in perspectives. 
• Optimise: Furniture of the house units must be optimized according to space use.
• Agile: Looks at a flexible/evolving/ incremental strategy to build a marketplace.

Programmatic Outline 

The traditional routes between customer and seller that define the retail prototype need to be reinterpreted with ongoing changes. Participants are recommended to craft a schematic programme based on these given segments or they can propose something new.

Spaces to Shop

Consumers venture into a shop, touch samples, and take their time. Get a better idea of quality and then spend their money. With growing constraints, how will design respond to growing changes in consumer patterns?

Spaces to Sell

Fundamentally it's a transaction of money or exchange of credit to avail purchase. With e-commerce and physical distance, how will they evolve?

Space for services

Spaces for various services a marketplace conceptually needs like warehouses, storage, maintenance, etc

Loading and unloading 

Loading and unloading of produce into the shop. Can alternative programmes or routes be established for less/no travelling of produce?

Site Plan 

Participants can choose a site for the retail store anywhere around the world (Suggestively in an urban area). The chosen site need not be necessarily empty/undeveloped. If the site has built forms/buildings/construction on it, you can consider it as an empty lot and build your design on it for this design exercise. 

• Site area to be taken: 400 m2
• Height limit: 15 m
• Ground Coverage: 40% of Site area | Site can be of any shape.

 A cantilever of 5m on all sides of the above floors is permitted based on the site that is taken.