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Architects: Kéré Architecture
- Year: 2015
Text description provided by the architects. As an addition to the Making Africa exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum, Kéré Architecture’s design for a Camper Pop-up store pioneers a new form of retail shopping. By combining the best attributes from in-store and online shopping, the project aims to create a fully-functioning shop with an embedded atmosphere of virtual, sensory, and communal interfaces.
Located inside the iconic Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome on the Vitra Campus, the interior retail space is shaped by an interactive boundary. Conceived as an interactive wall system made of lightweight composite timber panels, the architecture supports all functions of the store including product display and showroom, stock storage, welcome desk, transaction counter, fitting area and customer lounge.
The spacing and structure of the wall elements allow for a visual and acoustic permeability, promoting a sense of discovery, exploration and chance encounters between visitors. The design also seamlessly integrates individual and shared digital formats such as personal mobile devices, iPads, interactive signage, product information terminals, and 3D foot scanning.
Another main objective of the architecture is to respect and celebrate the unique corporate identity of Camper as a 140-year old family-owned shoe manufacturer.
The handcrafted aesthetic of Camper is highlighted by using materials and processes that are indicative of shoe fabrication such as braided cord and laminated wood.
In this way, an embedded company narrative can be perceived through a range of textures, colors, finishes, prints and graphics. Visitors are invited to shop, discover, and interact using a variety of senses.
Additional elements such as an in-house fabrication workshop produce a fun and exciting atmosphere within a highly-sophisticated consumer experience.
