Reflections Post 3

Sustainable future

Sustainable Retail Environments 

INTRA- The First Charrette

https://www.facebook.com/groups/397517723644652/

Discussion Main Points:

• Social Sustainability- educate by challenging consumers, creating a new retail experiences which reconnects the community. This is important as online shopping lacks the physical, emotional and sensual experience of being part of a physical community 

•  Removing Money: By using digital devices linked to bank accounts the shopping process becomes more sustainable and more fun. Paper, electricity and queuing in line are removed from the equation and the emphasis is taken away from what money can i get for my product to what experience will best benefit my customer relationships and my product. 

  

• The inner child's play ground for enriching boring, everyday experiences into spaces where you enjoy time rather than make time.  

  

• Enriching nightlife- in order to benefit from the densification of the suburb in the future the building and its envelope needs to  excite the passer by. Shown in the image above is a diagram of a person walking past a surface which projects back a virtual image of this person dressed in items from the shop and interacting with other virtual people during the day and night.

•  More organic retail experiences- less fake more fun. Since retail as it is is becoming less desirable we decided to take a different approach on marketing, rather than the over polished unreal displays we plan on moving to more organic market style shops. This would be achieved through a open plan floor plan which removes partitions separating stores and tasks as well as promoting flexibility and opening up the spaces to local and small businesses, breaking the big business death grip over shopping centers.

  

•  Creating retail theater, entertainment and fun in the retail environment was seen to be key to strengthening the industry and increasing customer numbers and enjoyment. This is especially true in the case of children/ teen shoppers who are increasingly present in shops and big influences on purchases. See facebook page for links to articles on parent-child purchase relationships in retail https://www.facebook.com/groups/397517723644652/

   

Sustainable Future:

Paddington Central is to become the scene of a redesign in retail. Shopping fulfills a variety of highly important needs and desires. Social was identified as being the most important but retail environments also provide food, water, shelter, clothing, light and energy. Our team has put an emphasis on creating a experience driven my interactive environments that engage the imagination of children and adults alike.