The image above is courtesy of inhabitat.com and is a drive-thru Starbucks in Washington state. This structure consists of four shipping containers and was dubbed the “Reclamation Drive Thru”. Do you think they’ll serve folks on bicycles as well? According to the article at inhabitat.com, they’ve also integrated rainwater harvesting. I tip my hat to any aspirations to implement sustainability… especially with GIANTS like Starbucks.
Here is another innovative re-use of shipping containers. Adidas designed a pop-up retail store for the Boston marathon in April of 2012 . The mobility was ideal for this temporary retail front.
In theory, companies can re-use shipping containers that initially transported raw materials and other resources for their products. Instead of possibly rusting away in a shipping yard, they can be up-cycled by setting up promotional ( & pretty darn creative) mobile retail shops. This reminds me of an article I read on Henry Ford. He was green before it was cool and re-used the wooden shipping crates that transported raw materials to his factory by installing them as floor boards for his automobiles. How amazing is that? I’ve also seen them used at trade shows and design fairs too. (see below)
The images above are of Kohler’s booth for the “Dwell on Design” design fair. Hard to think this shipping container traveled across oceans and railways. I’ve also been reading about Stockbox Grocers, a start-up business in 2011, that is attempting to bring healthy produce to urban food deserts. What is a food desert you ask? It is an area, usually urban, where the community lacks easy access to affordable and nutritious food. Check out their design concept & first storefront below.
The co-founders of Stockbox Grocers are Carrie Ferrence and Jacqueline Gjurgevich of Seattle, Washington. These super-cool girls are graduates of Bainbridge Graduate Institute’s MBA program where they studied sustainable business entrepreneurship. Of course they needed seed money for their pipe-dream and were able to raise $20,000 through Kickstarter. KickStarter is a funding platform for creative projects. It is a pretty phenomenal site that connects regular folks willing to invest with innovators, artists and entrepreneurs. You should very much check it out!
Love pop-up shop. I have an enclosed trailer that I turned into my costume jewelry shop.
That is fantastic! Any images I can share on my site?
Yes, I will share some images. asap