Pop Up Shop Competition – Recycled and Energy Generating Pavilion

Following our success in The Dyson Competition last year, Brunskill Design Architects has entered an international architectural competition for a temporary ‘Pop Up Shop’, intended for seasonal, niche retail or advertising purposes. The competition had a fast turnaround with less than two weeks from start to finish and below is our proposed concept scheme.

PoppingUp is a temporary sheltered space that can provide an environmentally friendly accommodation for niche retail, promotional events and many other needs. The core principles of the PoppingUp pavilion is its use of pedestrian traffic to generate power from the floor and its swiss army knife style interchangeable roof attachments. These rotating elements include a solar panel, micro wind turbine or advertising board, depending on the prevailing environmental conditions. This micro generation is used to supplement the pavilions power needs and when in excess, to supply back to the grid, plugging in the power of the people.

PoppingUp’s materials comprise of recycled plastic bottles for the roof, floor and walls with which to create any specified colour and translucency required. The supporting structure is made from recycled aluminium cans which are used to produce a lightweight space-frame.

PoppingUp is made up of 3 modules to create the single PoppingUp pavilion with the ability to infinitely expand the size of area needed using a 4th unit. This allows for an adaptable space that can grow and shrink depending on the user needs. For example, the single pavilion for the promotion of a retail item or multiple joined pavilions for an exhibition.

PoppingUp is suitable for all climates, is easily assembled using the 3 standard modules and can be secured when not in use. It is ideal for sports events, city centres, transport hubs, festivals, markets and any other high profile, high capacity locations. With its large, cantilevered entrance and interactive light up floor, PoppingUp provides an engaging and active frontage to draw in large amounts of footfall. Its translucency allows it to glow from within which at night will act as a constant advertisement of its presence. This ‘after hours’ public engagement continues with the light up interactive floor remaining open to the public even with the main body of the pavilion locked up.

In a city centre location PoppingUp can be used to block physically and visually traffic, creating new and safe public spaces for pedestrians. This temporary intervention helps slow the pace of previously fast and unpleasant streets and provides the public with opportunities to engage with the city, PoppingUp and each other.

The 3 images illustrate the diverse range of users and locations PoppingUp accommodates. The first is set in Grand Central Station, New York, USA. It is envisioned as a promotional spot for a new Nintendo console designed for commuters. The second image is set at a music festival and hosts a Greenpeace eco shop and a space to increase awareness of the issues they deal with and who they are. The last image portrays the PoppingUp pavilion being used as a public realm shop to display a new line of clothes for the high end fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, outside its store on Grey Street, Newcastle, UK.

To read more about the competition and the other competitors go to: