Image Credit : Starbucks
Project Overview
Starbucks' Hualien store is a mobile cafe constructed from recycled shipping containers.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Project Context
A first for the Asia Pacific region, Starbucks Taiwan has opened its first store to be built from recycled shipping containers.
Starbucks is the first retailer to open a storefront in the yet-to-be opened Hualien Bay Mall, which is located in a tourist destination known for its cuisine and beautiful landscape facing the Pacific Ocean.
This unique exterior design was envisioned and brought to life by the famed Japanese architect, Kengo Kuma, who has also built Starbucks Japan’s Fukuoka store and is the exterior architect for the upcoming Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Tokyo.
Project Innovation
This is the first time Kuma has used shipping containers for his designs and was inspired by the foliage of coffee trees combined with the traditional Chinese bucket arch. The stacking of the shipping containers created a much taller space and provides natural sunlight through the various skylights found throughout the structure.
Inside the geometric space, customers find a tribute to the cultural vitality of Hualien. The brightly coloured wall mural represents the deep heritage of the aboriginal Amis people.
The store is designed to help bring people together over coffee. Inside, the containers feature create warm and comfortable seating areas for customers. From one end of the container, customers can enjoy views of the beautiful mountain range. The other end is decorated with graphics that tell coffee stories.
This drive thru location is built to meet customer needs, both today and in the long-term. It offers the convenience of Starbucks drive thru for customers on-the-go on Nanbin Road, but also continues Starbucks 30-year history of sustainability by recycling 29 used shipping containers to form the store’s structure. It’s 320 square meters and two stories tall.
Sustainability
This project is part of the recently announced the “Starbucks Greener Stores” initiative which will be a framework to design, build and operate sustainable stores around the world. This store joins a suite of Starbucks locations built from shipping containers.
The initiative creates an opportunity for the company to extend into sites not designed for traditional store locations while minimising the environmental footprint generally associated with new buildings. Through these store formats, Starbucks is able to reuse reclaimed materials throughout the design.
Commercial - Space
Commercial projects recognises that design is the means to create meaningful experiences for users, create value for people and drive profit for businesses.
The space category celebrates the design process and outcomes of planning, designing and constructing form, space and ambience that reflect functional, technical, social, and aesthetic considerations. It includes architecture, interior design and landscape design as well as set display and exhibition design.
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