Sparsamhetsbutik
TEAM: Rafael Kingfisher Bear, United Kingdom
-FINALIST of BUYING Competition
(Re)Assembling the high street
#swapshop
#intervention
#publicspace
#socialritual
#celebration
As we recede into the depths of digital commerce, we are increasingly exposed to gorilla sales tactics such as dark patterns, cookie based advertising, and false product representation. The tactility of the conventional high street offers a retreat from these undesirable bi-products, granting the consumer increased autonomy, and affording a more intimate interaction with the product. The high street is therefore a largely underrated commodity which, if online retailers continue to operate as present, we will soon lose.
The Sparsamhetsbutik, meaning thrift shop, is an architectural device which can be placed in public spaces to simultaneously activate the space (drawing customers towards potential retail zones), and celebrate the social function of shopping (drawing attention to the social ritual that retail has become). The device subsequently takes the form of a large display case, in which visitors are invited to swap an item of their own with one from the case. The pavilion is largely based around circulating the display in order to swap the items, and is assembled from simple modular components which enables it to be disassembled, transported, and reassembled as necessary.
