The translucent back wall of this pop-up headphone shop changes colour in response to the noise made by Christmas shoppers.
Urbanears have launched their first pop-up shop at Boxpark, a temporary shopping centre where retail units are housed in shipping containers.
The monochromatic background and limited material palette of the 40ft unit focuses visitors on the colourful headphones that Urbanears specialise in.
Silicon moulded ears attached to the wall display the in-ear headphones while over-ear headphones hang from hooks.
Boxpark is open for the Christmas period in Shoreditch, east London.
Read more about headphones by Urbanears in our story here.
Here's some more text from Urbanears and 42 Architects:
URBANEARS BOXPARK by 42 ARCHITECTS
Urbanears has opened their first ever store, located at Boxpark in Shoreditch, London, and designed by emerging practice 42 architects. The store, fitted out within a 40ft ship- ping container, focuses on the contrast between the highly colourful products and a monochromatic, white interior.
Designed as the main feature of the shop, the inner wall of is made of a back-lit perspex frame, illuminated by an RGB Led light which responds to the sounds in the shop and shifts between the seasonal colour palettes of the Urbanears headphones. At night, the shop becomes a colourful beacon for the party-goers and visitors of Shoreditch and Brick Lane.
The shop consists of a limited palette of materials. The walls are made of precision-cut Hanex sheets, chosen for its homogenous and smooth appearance. Combined with an epoxy surfaced floor and a white ceiling that hides all services, the shop works as a de- liberately non-textural backdrop for the products on display.
Bespoke and quirky product fittings adds a sense of playfulness to the space; the Medis in-ear headphones are fitted in silicon molded ears, embedded in the Hanex walls, and the Bagis headphone can be push into bespoke plastic plugs, which are also integrated with the walls.
42 is a young architecture and design studio based in London, UK, established by Johan Berglund in 2009. As a practice we are driven by the belief that architecture can enhance our society through excellence in design, coupled with contextual sensibility and a strong understanding of the social, cultural and environmental needs of our times.
The architectural output is driven by inventive ideas and strong concepts. We have established a thorough research methodology within the office, which means that we are able to deal with most types of projects and contexts without a pre-determined style. We enjoy grand ideas and bold con- cepts, but we also value the small scale and the intricate, and put great emphasis on achieving high quality detailing, atmosphere and materiality, regardless of the size of project and budget. We are often part of projects from an early stage, where our competence and skills can be used to help define the scope and brief of the project, assist with locating suitable sites for the project, as well as help secure funding from public and corporate bodies.
We undertake work in sectors such as Arts and Culture, Commercial, Sports & Leisure, Residential and Public projects. Our experience extends from one-off, carefully crafted interior fit-outs to large public buildings and landscape projects in Sweden, UK and the middle east.
Recently, 42 architects have received much attention for their inventive and playful retail environ- ments for Topshop and The Local Firm, as well as their design for a 6000m2 park area in Falun, Sweden, which is now under construction with expected completion in the spring of 2012.
Urbanears is excited to announce our first ever retail endeavor, located at Boxpark – the world’s first pop-up mall. Located next to Shoreditch High Street Station in London, U.K, Boxpark is an exciting new approach to retail, as the entire complex is made out of ship- ping containers. Much like the Urbanears philosophy of using unexpected materials in new and different ways, using shipping containers as modular retail units is what at- tracted Urbanears to the Boxpark concept.
The Urbanears Boxpark store is designed by 42architects, and features a minimalist de- sign with white walls and a white floor, allowing the colorful headphones to really stand out. There is giant light instillation in the back of the store, which changes colors throughout the day.
Urbanears has many events planned for the Boxpark store throughout the coming year, for more information on these events please sign-up for the Urbanears newsletter, lo- cated at Urbanears.com. “With Urbanears, we like to get people thinking outside of the box. In this case, the box is a shipping container being used as a store. It’s a new and unexpected way of looking at retail.” Says Konrad Bergström, President of Zound Industries.
Urbanears makes headphones that fit your everyday life. Supplying the perfect listening device for anyone with a pocket full of music and a wish to make the most of it. Ur- banears models are designed to optimize sound and captivate self-aware customers by matching preferences in size, style, design, function and relation to music. Other compa- nies may try to emulate the brand, but Urbanears is the original in colorful headphones.