The Assembled Market

With the proliferation of e-commerce, ordering online grocery has become a norm in China. The purpose of a physical supermarket, therefore, is no longer about providing convenience but experience. It becomes a platform where customers learn new knowledge on food and preparation, a community where elders pass on lifestyle tips to youths, and a place for socializing and meeting others. At the fresh-vegetable section, the designers create the experience of walking down the aisles in a local Chinese outdoor market. This is realized by dressing the ceiling with a series of metal mesh canopies mimicking tarpaulin. Throughout the 670 sq m supermarket, a wooden frame is used as an infrastructure that ties all the different sections together: fruit & vegetable, fishmonger, butchery, dry goods, restaurant, cafe, and bakery. The dining area is conceived as an open-air street food stall. Bamboo tables, rattan chairs and flagstone pavers together compose a Chinese vernacular, recalling the memory of having humble, yet authentic dishes at an outdoor local joint. Following the flagstone pavement, the “open-air” food stall leads to a more intimate bakery and café area. The street facade, marked by stacked milk crates, provides a spectacular lighting feature at night and draws people into the shop. And the overall warm tone and rich texture help compose a welcoming and appetite-inducing atmosphere. By creating vernacular ambience in a modern supermarket, Lukstudio strengthens the collective memory of a vivid marketplace and creates new appeal for the brick-and-mortar shopping experience.