AUSTRIA’S FIRST POP-UP MALL HAS OPENED IN VIENNA

Apr 20, 2015

The first Austrian pop-up mall, made of fifteen used shipping containers, opened in early August in Vienna. Designer stores, organic market and cafés await customers in the special, environmentally friendly shopping centre.

Stadtbiotop, Austria’s first pop-up mall, located in Krieau, is an example of the creative use of a temporarily empty construction site. The special shopping centre was built on the model of London’s Boxpark and Zurich’s Frau Gerolds Garten. Functioning just like any ordinary mall, Stadtbiotop contains designer stores, restaurants, cafés and an organic market.

The pop-up mall consists of fifteen transformed shipping containers where young designers as well as world-famous brands sell their products. Stadtbiotop also functions as a meeting point for young artists that also gives home to several gastronomic events and a flea market.

Gerolds Garten, Zurich (Photo: Matthias Mueller, Flickr CC)

Stadtbiotop is only a temporarily existing cultural and shopping oasis, as the mall will give its place to the construction of the new quarter of Vienna. According to the plans, the pop-up mall will continue its existence on another vacant construction site before moving again to a new location.

The concept of pop-up shops, or flash retailing with another expression, originates from the United States. The idea originally consisted of selling limited edition products in a temporarily set up store which moves to a new target once all the merchandise has been sold. These temporary retailers are sometimes open only for a couple of hours, in other cases for longer periods such as Stadtbiotop in Austria or Boxpark in London.

Pop-up shops are considered as the most environmentally friendly way of retailing as building malls is not only costly and requiring huge amounts of energy but also environmentally damaging. However, temporary stores utilize a site which is temporariy unused and vacant. Usually recycled objects and materials are used for setting up the temporary establishments which saves a considerable amount of energy for us and our planet.

Source: Greenfudge