From Fast Company:
"Like any of the other 800 Costco big-box stores around the world, the new Costco in the Santa Fe district of Mexico City is gigantic. Its warehouse-like shopping area and three-story parking structure add up to more than 524,000 square feet of real estate. But looking at it from the outside, it’s almost hard to see that a megastore behemoth is even there at all. Unlike most of those other Costcos in the world, this one has been designed to conceal itself underneath a massive public park … Though some other locations in the retailer’s portfolio have taken interesting design approaches, from adaptive reuse of older buildings to the preservation of nearby natural features, the Santa Fe store may have Costco’s most adventurous design."
The story goes on:
"Over the store itself is a green roof, the largest element of the design, which is off limits to human use. Barba says the space has 10 species of native plants that creates a large sanctuary for birds, bees, and insects. The parking garage is topped with a large soccer field, two basketball courts, and a beach volleyball court. On the edge of the store that connects to the broader park, walking paths and the children’s skating area create a transitional space between the store roof and the park, while covering up the utilitarian loading area below. Designed specifically to blend into the groundscape, the store hides beneath walkways in the skatepark that seamlessly blend the rooftop and the greater park."
- KC's View:
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I love the notion of retail that is integrated into the environment, as opposed to dominating it. It just feels like an enlightened, 21st century approach.
