Cowboy Bikes Berlin Store

E-bikes are one of the initiatives towards carbon neutrality. In addition to the fact that they do not use fossil fuels, e-bikes have the potential to reach a wide range of people who have been relying on fossil-fuel vehicles instead of bikes. In designing the store for the e-bike, the new means of urban mobility, we included a place to explain the apps, firmware, and customer service available for e-bikes, which, unlike regular bikes, do not need as much maintenance. There is a large pillar in the middle of the store, and we set up a place for customer service around it. With the pillar as the centerpiece, floor grooves are laid out in a grid pattern, and units with various functions are arranged on this grid in a way that allows customers and staff to interact on an equal footing. 

Electrical wiring is routed through a grid of floor grooves inspired by the smart grid, to which independently operating units with functions including lighting fixtures, bike stands, signs, navigation systems, a kitchen, tables, and benches are attached and plugged. The movable system allows flexible changes in the store layout to suit promotional purposes. The units, used as furniture and serving respective functions, are grayed out so that they blend into the background and let the elaborately crafted bikes take center stage when they stand side by side. Based on Cowboy Bikes’ carbon neutral concept, benches are made from recycled rubber from tires. 

Considering Cowboy Bikes’ potential global expansion in the future, we came up with a store design that seamlessly connects the inside and outside by using a local pavement material used in front of the store as the flooring material. In Berlin, Germany, where the store opened, the typical European cobblestone pavement in front of the store is directly incorporated into the store. Berliners visiting the store will see the material they have been walking on in an unusual indoor setting, and become aware of its presence for the first time. In this space, people can see everyday life in a new light. Customers seeing the store through social media will know its location from the local characteristics reflected in the materials used. This is the design we came up for the internationally-minded store.  

DATA
Title: Cowboy Bikes Berlin Store
Architect: Jo Nagasaka / Schemata Architects 
Project team: Shota Miyashita, Ibuki Kakita
Location: Neue Schönhauser Str. 3-5, 10178 Berlin, Germany
Usage: Shop
Construction: Ganter Interior GmbH
Collaboration: BÜRO HEIDKAMP (Local Architect)
                    1zu33 Architectural Brand Identity  (Local Architect)
Number of stories: 1F
Floor area: 152.4㎡ (1F shop: 98.5㎡ workshop: 53.9㎡)
Structure: RC
Date of completion: February 2022
Photographer: Romain Laprade, Brix&Maas

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