Archinect - News

From grocery stores to mini-fulfillment centers

2020-07-02T18:54:00-04:00

Even before the pandemic reconfigured every aspect of our daily lives, it was clear that the cash register — the kind with a drawer that pops out after your groceries are tallied — was headed for the dust heap of technology, joining fax machines and CD players. Many convenience stores, like CVS, Rite Aid and Target, started installing self-checkout stations a decade ago.

Architecture critic Inga Saffron of The Philadelphia Inquirer examines the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has supercharged the automation of grocery stores and other spaces, finding that with the boom in grocery delivery services that has taken hold since the pandemic hit, some purveyors are adopting smaller scale versions of the fulfillment center model typically employed by digital behemoths like Amazon.

Amazon boosts brick-and-mortar offerings with new LA grocery store concept

2019-11-11T13:45:00-05:00

Amazon said the new store would be distinct from organic and high-end chain Whole Foods Market, which Amazon acquired in 2017 for $13.7 billion, but declined to answer further questions about how the store would be different or what it would be called.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the grocery store will feature conventional checkout services, unlike the company's Amazon Go stores, which do not have cashiers. The store, according to the report, will be distinct from Whole Foods Market establishments, as well.

The high psychological cost we pay for boring buildings

2016-04-12T20:24:00-04:00

Boring architecture may take an emotional toll on the people forced to live in and around it. A growing body of research in cognitive science illuminates the physical and mental toll bland cityscapes exact on residents. Generally, these researchers argue that humans are healthier when they live among variety — a cacophony of bars, bodegas, and independent shops — or work in well-designed, unique spaces, rather than unattractive, generic ones.

Tiny parking lots = big cost savings?

2016-03-23T17:43:00-04:00

Everyone loves the free samples, kitschy items, and affordable price points of SoCal grocer Trader Joe’s. The one thing that does spark ire about the chain is the small parking lots, which produce equal amounts of anxiety and horn abuse. But the website Strong Towns points out that TJ’s small footprints trickle down to cheaper prices for consumers.

If you're not within walking distance of a TJ's (or, if you're just lazy) parking in one of the lots requires the steady nerves of a Zen master and the spatial dexterity of an architect. Whatever method you use to get there, just don't forget your bag, or all of your kitschy sustainability cred will be erased.

Did you know: grocery stores aren't just great backdrops for Jane's Addiction videos (pictured above). For the best in grocery store design discussion:

A small pocket of Detroit is thriving, but it's not a comeback city yet

2013-06-11T19:32:00-04:00

Does the fact that Whole Foods Market is opening a store in Detroit surprise you? Well, a lot of Motor City residents were surprised by the decision, too. The move does signal that a little pocket of Motown is thriving. And that’s great news – especially to Detroiters, who have seen their city eulogized ad nauseum in recent years. But the level of affluence in the neighborhood surrounding Whole Foods is well below what you would see in other cities that have undergone urban revival.

This Super Local Brooklyn Whole Foods Will Have A 20,000-Square-Foot Rooftop Greenhouse

2013-04-03T16:56:00-04:00

Whole Foods is teaming up with rooftop garden company Gotham Greens for its next New York location. When the lettuce only has to come down a staircase from the roof, that’s about as local as you can get.