The Promontory

As we live through the COVID-19 pandemic, the future of retail has gone greatly under question. Most businesses approached the issue with technology-based solutions to continue operations, such as curbside pick-up, cashierless stores and self-checkout. In addition to these solutions for brick and mortar retail, the e-commerce market has taken over retail shopping traditions. These solutions eliminate the need for in-person socialization, thus how we approach the typology of public space needs to be reconsidered. 

The Promontory is a plant store which challenges these trends by minimizing the use of technology whilst still providing a safe and intimate shopping space for customers. By implementing a stylized concept, it is ideal for the attraction of individuals within a creative societal group. With certain stylistic responses in the design concept, it creates unification within the community. In relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is vital for structural implementations to unify the sense of community within certain commercialized companies. The proposed concept of commercialized shopping is to unify individuals that are shopping in a common environment.

The circulation of the Promontory is designed to create a one-way path to encourage efficiency and convenience; customers are able to stand apart if wanted, while verbal and visual forms of communication are still possible. The placement of the shelves and walls creates this path, but also forms several shortcuts for the convenience of the customers. While the structural implementations allow for safer interactions within the building, it also introduces newer approaches that allow individuals to build a relationship in the Promontory while shopping for their needs. 

To eliminate the large traffic of customers at big box stores, smaller stores with stylized concepts are a safer alternative which provide a larger selection of products for specific categories. The introduction to themed shopping environments is one of the initial approaches that allow for businesses to develop more intimate connections between shop owners and consumers. 

The Promontory is located in the heart of Singapore. To the North is a plot of land which frames the Marina Bay, creating an eye-catching backdrop that allows views of the city and bay to be seen from within the store. The large windows throughout the building frame the different views and scenes of the surrounding site, which creates moments of intimacy between the shopper and the cityscape. Singapore is one of the most diversified countries with an intrusive amount of commercialized buildings that attain for every consumer's needs. Alongside, Singapore is renowned for architectural structures that contribute to the skyline of significant Asian cities. While their buildings are strategically proposed for not only the aesthetic of the city, it is also approached with conceptualized ideas that are meant to attract certain individuals with similarities to certain commercialized buildings. 

The Promontory will continue to fit the typology of a public space whereby socialization is the primary issue in regard to the public health safety. Socialization is one of several concerns with public shopping whereby implementing structures such as the Promontory, could possibly eliminate the worry individuals attain with in-person shopping. Being that the most distinctive factor about the Promontory is the individual-shopping stylized approach, it is also expandable to the sense where individuals have the possibility to build connections with those who are also in the same space. While also diversifying the space to all consumers, the structural integrity of the Promontory takes the safety of their customers as their primary concern. 

The Promontory is designed to be an escape from the local environment through its contrasting atmosphere. Different types of wood and brick were used throughout the interiors of the store on walls, furniture and the floor. The contrast between the calming and natural interior from the fast-paced urban environment creates a social climate which promotes local engagement and relaxation.