ArchiMarket:  Designing the experiential revival of the traditional suburban grocery store.

Publishing venue:
CityLab

Thesis:
The historically stagnant suburban-style grocery store should utilize the advancements in smart-phone applications to re-imagine a store design that maximizes the consumer experience.

The first American grocery store opened its doors in 1910’s Memphis, a move responsive to the growing population of consumers settling in residential pockets within driving distance of the city.  The ‘suburbs’ as they were later coined utilized these mega-stores stocked with shelves of groceries as a functional neighborhood hub that was constructed along the highway.  It was a place to see and be seen by neighbors, and where impromptu socializing took place in an area that was saturated with single-family homes.  Today, urban dwellers continue to weave in and out of conveniently-located grocery stores in sustained twenty-four hour cycles.  However, the suburbs of the 21st century are a more dynamic place than they were in the 1940’s.  Both men and women are pushing the shopping cart and while the grocery store remains in consumerized shopping plazas, it has evolved from a social destination to a painful and necessary stop on the way home.

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