The Netherlands – Shift Architecture Urbanism has developed a model for a street food market that allows people to buy fresh produce while remaining socially distant.
Created in response to current restrictions on market trading, the design studio’s Hyperlocal MicroMarkets concept provides a solution for a network of public markets. The design consists of 16 square grids that can be easily replicated in towns and cities to reduce the strain on supermarkets and enable the public to shop locally and safely.
Allowing customers to buy fruit, vegetables, meat and fish in an orderly way, the model is presented as a low-risk method of maintaining market trade. Thijs van Bijsterveldt, Oana Rades and Harm Timmermans, architects at Shift Architecture Urbanism, explain: ‘As urban planners face the current reality and the future likelihood of global pandemics, they are having to consider new ways of placemaking to suit both safety and economic concerns.’
Consumers and retailers are facing challenges in their ability to continue trading as normal. For more retail solutions in the current climate, read our Covid-19 Contingency Planning report.