Supermarket is a collective project on the spatial implications of the food industry in the Netherlands and beyond, redesigning this now considered essential architecture to entail a paradigm shift in its journey towards optimization, sustainability, and health consciouness. It imagines a future supermarket that integrates retail experiences with distribution, supply chains, and product display to ensure a frictionless future for conscious consumers; while, at the same time, creating a new civic presence for the city and its residents.
2030: A Supermarket Odyssey
The envisioned supply chain for the future supermarket commences with the Blue Banana, enhancing the position of the Netherlands— one of the world’s largest food exporters and home to world-class research institutions—in this urbanized trade corridor. From Genoa to Delft, and from the supermarket’s back of house to the sales floor, Supermarket addresses multifaceted aspects of the food industry— scarcity, trade, inclusivity, sensorialism, tastemaking, craft, reshoring, protectionism, automation, and extinction—through ten architectural and urban design contributions.
Albèrt seeks to display products and their supply chain by integrating the once stand-alone and distance distribution center with an automated Ocado grid system, asserting itself as the generator of a just-in-time production system—thereby disrupting the seriality of infinite supermarket aisles. With all Albèrt supermarkets operating as distribution centers for multiscalar Ahold Delhaize branches—such as Albert Heijn and Albertje—the supply chain, and its resultant territories, are condensed and reconfigured.
Albèrt offers an omni-channel consumer experience in both physical and digital forms. It reflects on the traditional supermarket’s backstory, effectuating sustainability goals throughout a reimagined supply chain. The supermarket assure optimization in unison with the country’s circular economy by implementing reusable packaging for all Albèrt products, extending shelf-life from data-driven decision making, offering digitized scanners informing conscious consumers of product particularities, and by providing dynamic pricing for food security. Along with a flexible open-plan allowing various iterations of product displays to maximize profits and render a unique shopping experience, Albèrt ‘s business models are diversification, generating revenues from branded products staged in shop-in-shops and electric car-sharing facilities to encourage consumer traffic.
Albèrt seeks to display products and their supply chain by integrating the once stand-alone and distance distribution center with an automated Ocado grid system, asserting itself as the generator of a just-in-time production system—thereby disrupting the seriality of infinite supermarket aisles. With all Albèrt supermarkets operating as distribution centers for multiscalar Ahold Delhaize branches—such as Albert Heijn and Albertje—the supply chain, and its resultant territories, are condensed and reconfigured.
Albèrt offers an omni-channel consumer experience in both physical and digital forms. It reflects on the traditional supermarket’s backstory, effectuating sustainability goals throughout a reimagined supply chain. The supermarket assure optimization in unison with the country’s circular economy by implementing reusable packaging for all Albèrt products, extending shelf-life from data-driven decision making, offering digitized scanners informing conscious consumers of product particularities, and by providing dynamic pricing for food security. Along with a flexible open-plan allowing various iterations of product displays to maximize profits and render a unique shopping experience, Albèrt ‘s business models are diversification, generating revenues from branded products staged in shop-in-shops and electric car-sharing facilities to encourage consumer traffic.
Ten products, along with their associated building types and territories demonstrate how a modified food distribution network converges at the future supermarket—Albèrt—on Martinus Nijhofflaan in Delft.
Lab Oratory
Georgia Katsi (GR)
GMO Crops
Georgia Katsi (GR)
GMO Crops
Whole Milk
Maria Finagina (RU)
Mixed Milk
Maria Finagina (RU)
Mixed Milk
Pink is Not a Color
Ana Herreros Cantis (ES)
White Pacific Shrimp (HOSO)
Ana Herreros Cantis (ES)
White Pacific Shrimp (HOSO)
The Tastemaking Estate
Michael Tjia (NL)
Santana Apple
Michael Tjia (NL)
Santana Apple
Aardkt
Heng Yu (TW)
Non-fungible Potato (NFP)
Heng Yu (TW)
Non-fungible Potato (NFP)
The Sensatorium
Jacklyn Mickey (US)
Holyberry
Jacklyn Mickey (US)
Holyberry
Domus Leo Wine
Maria Christopoulou (GR)
Domus Leo Wine
Maria Christopoulou (GR)
Domus Leo Wine
Food Utility
Jin Young (KR)
Banana Powder
Jin Young (KR)
Banana Powder
Fresh Forward
Ryan Ridge (ID)
Fresh Forward Box Set
Ryan Ridge (ID)
Fresh Forward Box Set
Crafted with Care
Nishi Shah (IN)
Hermès Craft Chocolate
Nishi Shah (IN)
Hermès Craft Chocolate
An exhibition in the Orange Room
Colophon