Conventional big box retail development consists of single-occupant stores arranged horizontally along arterial access roads, creating large, monolithic land-use zones of warehouse and parking. High land costs in congested metropolitan areas are rendering this land-intensive typology unfeasible. As retailers begin to collaborate in shared big box developments to overcome costs, opportunities arise to rethink relationships among landscapes, infrastructures, buildings and programs. This project focuses on the design of the ‘vertical power center’, an emerging building type with stacked big box retail space, service, and parking.

Awards
Honor Award, Unbuilt Architecture Category
Boston Society of Architects