FANlondonWEEK_071230

I just came back from london, where stayed for a week. it is always amazing how inspiring this place is. the crack at the tate modern is impressive, the streets busy as usual and the people very disciplined.
one thing that got me thinking the most was once more the new concept at the apple store. the store is innovative and changes a lot, but this time it is mind blowing. it is not so much about the interior design, although they have expanded the upper floor quite a lot. the interior is still similar to the one two years back. focusing on the machines and products. letting people get their hands on the equipment. it always felt more like a mix of office, living room, meeting place or even workspace, rather than a shop. one big element, that is still on, is the genius bar, where qualified staff help out with apple computer related problems.
the new thing now is buying on spot. it is now possible to buy the article you want right where you are in the store. this means literally everywhere in store you can pay and walk out. this is done via mobile card readers. most of the staff are equipped with mobile card readers so one can pay anywhere in store. there is still a till for coins, but it s been moved way to the back of the store.
I was surprised buying stuff like that and only realized what's going on as I walked out of the store. this is a new way of shopping. it finally comes to the ultimate freedom of shopping. do you remember those eighties shopping centers where the shoppers where lead along rows of shelfs from the entrance to the tills in one way. this is the opposite now. one goes in and buys something and pays right there. there is strolling around before and afterwards and there is even the possibility of buying something else. the main point is that shopping is no longer a linear process. the act of paying is no longer the climax of the shopping experience and this is definitely a big step.
this calls for brand new ideas in shop design. I don't think the apple store, in terms of interior, already takes advantage of this new experience. they look rather overstrained with what they created and the staff seems not to know how to handle this new situation (they're all standing around the till) but I am sure they'll work on it.
or someone else will. there is a lot of potential.

weekFAN46_071114

plymouth AfTeR LiFe
there is a nice city center. I am sorry but I can't keep my hands off it. this peace of urban structure just attracts me.
we'll even if it wouldn't there is no way on e can escape. last week we went to the swimming pool and I discovered a whole new world. its what I call here "plymouth after life".
it is some kind of secondary structure that serves the main streets in the city center. I discovered the space earlier on the map as I draw the sketch with all the parking facilities, but this time I experienced it, not only by going into, rather by navigating trough a really complex structure of connections.
it is mainly about parking spaces. the blocks in the city center are used as parking spaces. very often the courts are filled with a multi story parking. these parkings then are usally connected to a larger retail unit via a elevated walkway. there are secondary connections where visitors can sneak into other areas of the city center.
it can be looked at as a backdoor of the city center. as described earlier the center of plymouth acts as a main attractor as all the shops are located here. lots of people travel here from all over the wider area. mainly they travel by car so they have to park somewhere. and this is not anywhere, this is actually in the heart of the heart, in the center of the block. this means that the visitors/shoppers experience this piece of urban structure from the inside out.
there is from this sied no point in having this large scale axis thing in the master plan as non of those visitors experience it.

I tried to find a path trough those spaces and actually found more or less a route trough from east to west. cheque the map... some impressions will follow.
the amazing thing is, that from those top floors of the multi story parkings one has a beautiful view on plymouth.