Puma's Flex City

Apparently connections between brands and spatial interventions are succesful, considering the rise of the pop-up stores. The formule though seems to change slightly from using temporary empty spaces to a more profound architectural strategy. Complete new flexible constructions are set up with the singular issue of promoting a brand. PSFK comes up with the new Puma flagship store in the docklands of Boston, called Puma City.

“Puma City is a three level indoor-outdoor structure, constructed out of 24 steel shipping containers. Designed by architectural group LOT-EK, the building acts as a store, lounge and mobile home base at different ports around the world for the Puma Volvo Ocean Race sailing team. The structure is designed to be easily taken apart, shipped and reassembled anywhere in the world.”

Puma City is a travelling promotion circus related to the Volvo Ocean Race. Two interesting developments are being revealed. First, pop-up marketing gets attached to worldwide events, spreading costs and spin-off. Second, flexible interventions seem to broaden its perpective from interior design through architecture to urbanism. Puma City has an impact on public space as well. It is not only a hidden spot for the well informed, but a brutal intervention in worlds harbour spaces in terms of form, colour and dimension. The idea of flexible building turns to an urban strategy, which also means that the plannig of our cities gets more and more influenced by private actors and initiatives. This is definitely a very interesting new perspective on planning and urbanism, drawing the question: what can brands mean to the urban realm?

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