A House’s Journey around the World

A House’s Journey around the World

PUMA City

For the company Puma, LOT-EK have realized a clever marketing idea and created Puma City, a highlight of container architecture.

Puma and the Volvo Ocean Race

The Volvo Ocean Race is one of the toughest challenges in yachting. For nine months the participants sail around the world and face the hardest wind and weather conditions. In 2009, Puma accompanied the race. The PUMA Ocean Racing Team was part of the game with PUMA City, a mobile sales and event building, consisting of 24 discarded shipping containers. Not only the sailors had to give all they had, also the LOT-EK architects, awarded with planning PUMA City, had to face great challenges. LOT-EK are experienced in turning shipping containers into architecture, but a project of that size, which even had to be mobile, was something new even to them.

Two Dozens of red Containers

The architects were willing to accept the challenge and designed a building of 24 shipping containers, providing space for sales areas and event locations on nearly 1,022 square meters. The twelve containers, each twelve meters long, have been stacked on top of each other to form a three-story building. The containers have also been arranged towards each other in a staggered manner, creating terraces, passages and projections, resulting in the complex having some permeability. The containers have not been left in their original state, of course. Windows have been cut out and whole separating walls have been removed. Despite the industrial look and the containers’ strict shape, brightly lit and generous areas can now be found inside. Each of the 11 tons heavy container units can be closed and sealed separately through specially designed facings, so that they, after fulfilling their purpose, can be used as common shipping containers around the world again.

Massive and yet in Pieces

Due to the sheer size of the individual containers, PUMA City has received an almost monumental and massive appearance. The typical Puma red and the company’s logo is printed in white on the two long sides of the building, shifted, as if the containers were standing precisely on top of each other, so that the “heraldic animal” of the company is also a complete picture. The fact that the containers are arranged towards each other in a staggered manner resulted in that the logo is also fragmented. This effect emphasizes the purpose of the building, and the mobility of Puma City across the Seven Seas has turned into a deliberate and constitutional design property.

Thanks to the vertical openings, the interior of Puma City has received various room sizes and heights. At some places, visitors can look up into the fourth floor, large glass fronts and roof lights let plenty of natural light inside. The container structure creates an unusual atmosphere Puma was able to make use of with clever lighting and presentation of their goods.

Mobile Architecture as a Marketing Instrument

PUMA City is not only an unconventional architecture, it also was a successful marketing tool. Puma has adopted the idea of the race through the use of shipping containers and made use of the stopovers in a clever way to realize their marketing concept and to establish the PUMA brand in the field of yachting. And the plan worked: During a stopover of PUMA City in Boston more products were sold during one day than in all the PUMA stores worldwide.

The ecological aspect of the container architecture in the sense of “upcycling“ was probably not the main thing for PUMA. But still, the company LOT-EK has developed a usage concept for mobile architecture, which could prove to be a model for the future before the backdrop of international networking and increasing mobility.

According to PUMA, PUMA City is currently kept at a secret place and waits for its “next exciting deployment”.

Project details

Architect:

LOT-EK

Status:

Completed in 2009

Size:

1,022 m²

Constructor:

PUMA

Comments

You need to login or register to post comments.
This comment will automatically be synchronized on social networks.
wilges.marcio 4. November 2015 - 5:27

This concept store is really quite amazing! I've heard of homes that are made from old storage containers, but to see what it could potentially look like, like this.. No wonder so many people are calling for house removals into homes such as this!

modhuleenab's picture
modhuleenab 17. December 2015 - 8:11

The place looks absolutely wonderful, the color red suits it well and in fact it lends elegance to the whole place. Even the lighting looks spectacular. Christmas is coming, so it is time to deck up your house and get it ready for the guests. Just make sure that you buy some beautiful exterior lighting from the best lighting stores in Jacksonville FL.

«Back