kengo kuma designs shipping container starbucks as coffee giant goes greener

kengo kuma has turned his talent to shipping-container based architecture for the first time to design starbucks’ first store in the asian pacific. built from 29 used shipping containers the two story structure is located in taiwan and will function as a drive-thru in a soon to be opened shopping mall. 

images courtesy of starbucks

kuma was inspired by the uneven foliage of coffee trees for his starbucks design, combining this with the traditional chinese bucket arch. the stacking of the shipping containers creates a tall space that provides natural sunlight through the various skylights found throughout the structure.

together the 29 containers create a geometric space, inside which create warm and comfortable seating areas for customers. from one end of the container, customers can enjoy views of the beautiful mountain range. on the other end graphic wall prints tell coffee stories whilst a brightly colored wall mural represents the aboriginal amis peoples who have deep heritage within the city.

the store forms part of starbuck’s commitment to building sustainable stores recently announcing the ‘starbucks greener stores’ initiative which will be a framework to design, build and operate sustainable stores around the world. in the US, starbucks has opened 45 of these pre-fabricated modular stores, built off-site prior to delivery and installation, creating an opportunity for the company to extend into sites not designed for traditional store locations while minimizing the environmental footprint generally associated with new buildings.