MALL TENANT STORE · EDGES, ENTRY AND BRAND CHARACTER
PIPIT BURGER · Starfield, Suwon · Gyeonggi
Within a Larger Place, Still Distinctly Our Store.
For a store inside a mall, how open should its edges be, and what makes it distinct?
A store inside a mall does not stand alone. It sits alongside other brands, shared circulation and views approaching from several directions.
At PIPIT BURGER, we considered a store connected to this wider flow, yet with a different atmosphere once inside. This is a story about considering edges, entry and places to stay together, rather than a sign alone.
01
Between the Passage and the Store, We Began with an Invisible Line.
In the photographs, PIPIT BURGER’s seating meets the mall’s shared passage. Rather than closing the edge with a solid wall, low planting and railings allow views between the two.
The floor patterns and the orientation of the seats also make the boundary legible. People’s routes remain connected, while the places for sitting feel separate. In an open store, the boundary emerges where these elements meet, rather than from a single wall.
02
An Entry and Ordering Area That Can Be Read from Outside.
An orange sign and arrow-shaped neon sit at the front of the store. Beside them is the ordering counter, with a route into the seating area visible between them.
For someone seeing the store for the first time from the shared passage, knowing where to approach matters alongside the store’s name. When planning a tenant store, we consider ordering, waiting and entry together, rather than looking at the sign in isolation.
03
The Same Brand Character, Continuing Inside.
The orange first seen outside continues into the deep orange ceiling and walls within the store. Checkerboard flooring, brown seating, metal frames and wall lights combine to create a retro diner atmosphere.
We did not leave the brand’s character to the sign alone. Colours and materials were planned to continue from the first view of the store to the moment of taking a seat.
04
Even the Small Scenes Seen from a Seat Become Part of the Store’s Story.
Graphics repeat between mirrors, and a wooden sign engraved with a character sits on the wall. The name encountered while ordering appears again from a seat, at a different scale and in another material.
Making a store distinct within a mall’s larger setting and creating an atmosphere experienced at close range are different tasks, but both are needed. This is why we consider signs seen from a distance and details seen nearby within the same plan.
BEFORE A CONVERSATION
Tell Us About the Site’s Conditions and How the Store Will Operate.
The following points can help begin a conversation about a new project. You do not need every detail ready; we can start with what you already know.
01
Where Will the Store Be?
Its location within the facility, the edges adjoining shared circulation, and current plans or photographs. If you have tenant guidelines from the management, we can review those together.
02
How Will It Operate?
The products and services you will offer, customer entry and waiting, ordering and working arrangements, and the conditions needed for seating or display.
03
What Have You Prepared So Far?
Whether this is a new store or an expansion of an existing brand, the planning, design and construction scope you need, your intended schedule and budget under consideration. Let us know which items remain undecided.
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