Big box shopping gets a new spin.

Shopping malls usually have a similar vibe: the same big-brand stores, a large and badly-lit floorspace, mediocre fast-food choices and an overall lack of street-cred.

The recently opened BoxPark Shoreditch, named for the East London neighborhood where it is located, is notably lacking in all these elements. Director Roger Wade says his creation is the world’s first “pop-up mall” and is intended to serve as a seamless addition to the community where it now sits, at least for a while.

BoxPark’s clean and minimalist design aesthetic along with free WiFi and spacious outdoor patio seating attracts a young and artistic crowd, owing to Shoreditch’s reputation as the center of the UK’s digital economy and as a hub for creative individuals. Tired of the fact that nearly every high street in the UK offered the same retailers, Wade was keen to give independent brands a platform in East London.

“We like to see the rebirth of independents in the UK market because we believe that’s the rebirth of creativity,” Wade says. “If we destroy our independent base then we’re destroying an important part of the creative community of the UK – the high street will have nothing to look at anymore.”

Unlike the gargantuan Westfield shopping center development in East London’s Olympic city – which is Europe’s largest urban shopping mall – BoxPark went from “tip-site to shopping mall” in just under 12 months and is designed to have a far less permanent impact.

Built on top of railway sleepers using re-purposed shipping containers, BoxPark will occupy its current location for 5 years, though some of the stores and brands present will undoubtedly change within that period. In addition, 90 percent of BoxPark’s materials and components can be reused for another project or location, leaving the land unchanged once the structure is removed.

Offering affordable rents and flexible leases lasting from 1 to 5 years, Wade says BoxPark uses a very different business model than most shopping centers.

“We don’t look at financial strengths or the size of their business, we just look at the strength of their brands,” Wade says. “What that allows smaller brands to do is dip their toe in the water and see if retail is for them because many of them have never retailed before.”

The tenants of the roughly 50 tiny units are a mixture of independent brands, cafes, restaurants, and off-shoots of larger brands, such as FiftyFiveDSL and Puma. The Levi’s Commuter Range, which offers clothing designed specifically for urban cyclists, has opened a temporary bike shop in addition to their clothing store while a Nike iD design studio offers a space where customers can design their own custom kicks. In addition to a wide variety of street-wear brands, Amnesty International has a floorspace as well as Farah Vintage and a Phaidon bookseller.

The emerging trend of pop-ups in urban centers like London has been aided by the recession, as vacant land and empty storefronts leave landlords eager to fill space, even if it’s just with a short-term tenant. But Wade, who spent 20 years running his own brand and working in street fashion, says tough economic times are not where the original idea of a pop-up shop came from.

“Brands like Adidas in the early stages had pop up stores in places like Carnaby Street and they were only there for a few days, offered limited edition products and had a thousand kids lined up,” Wade says. “That one message is a consumer driven message – it’s quite pure.”

Wade, who has worked with popular streetwear brands such as Carhartt and G-Star, says he’s always felt more comfortable in a street wear environment rather than a designer one, which is what inspired the vibe of BoxPark.

“I’ve never wanted to be a victim of elitism,” Wade says. “I felt like when get a lot of designer brands it’s all about making an elitist statement and doing that is quite easy: you charge a lot of money, you act quite aloof and you’re very selective about who you sell to. I just believe that all people are equal and that we should make fashion accessible to everybody and that we should let the products do the talking.”

Images: BoxPark Shoreditch

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With Park(ing) Day just around the corner, it seems timely to write about the latest thing to hit the streets of Manhattan: a pop up cafe.

Sponsored by two neighboring eateries – Bombay and Fika – and the New York City Department of Transportation, the pop up cafe is composed of a wooden platform that houses 14 tables and 50 chairs. An attempt at solving the problem of cramped sidewalks which don’t leave much room for outdoor seating, the pop up cafe is part foodie attraction and part public space improvement. In fact, Bombay and Fika don’t offer table service, and anyone who wants to take advantage of the space is allowed to take a seat.

Taking the place of several parking spaces, the outdoor seating doesn’t conflict with the sidewalk traffic, and it’s a project that the DOT is more than happy to support. “Every time we put down just an orange barrel, people just materialize out of nowhere,” said Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan to Streetsblog. “If you build it, they will sit.”

The cafe is all part of DOT’s attempt to make the Big Apple more livable and street-friendly. It has not only expanded its bike lanes, but also announced plans to create two pedestrian plazas on 5th Avenue and Broadway.

The pop up cafe will be removed later this year, but according to Sadik-Khan, if the DOT deems this project a success, there very well may be more of them next spring, which would mean many more creative uses of public space, therefore improving the life of anyone that works or lives in Manhattan.

Image: DNA Info

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground. Each week, Anna will be taking a look at something new and different that’s taking place in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to culinary avant garde.

The post Foodie Underground: Parking Spaces Turned Pop Up Cafe appeared first on EcoSalon.

For foodies, the last year has seen an enormous rise in the street food trend, bringing quick, authentic and diverse food to the masses. For fashionistas, it’s been pop-up shops, taking advantage of unused retail space and allowing for unique shopping experiences that can focus on more local and sustainable themes. Now combine the two. What do you get? Pop-up restaurants.

A pop up restaurant makes sense in the day and age where economic stability isn’t always a given. And it has the allure of not being an established locale, something that suits cutting-edge urban foodies just fine. Think I’m kidding? There’s a whole blog devoted to documenting the effort of opening up a restaurant for limited cash and keeping it mobile. And with helpful guerrilla tools like Twitter and food blogs, getting the word out about mobile culinary experiences isn’t all too difficult.

Cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and London – with their food crazed populations that are always up for something new – are quick to embrace the trend. In San Francisco, it’s being taking even further, with the upcoming Street Fixe, a sit-down street-food prix fixe with table service. Part of the beauty of street food is that it’s not served in traditional dining environment, but every once in awhile don’t you just wish you could enjoy your tacos in a little more peace and quiet? Street Fixe will provide for just that, and by putting several vendors in one space, eliminate the need for underground research on where the latest and greatest food cart of the week is.

Earlier this year, New York tried a similar thing, hosting The Hunger, which focused on their deemed theme of “Urban Cuisine Burgeois.” Or there’s the Ghetto Gourmet, a wandering supper club of sorts which provides a whole community of people looking to host and attend pop up type eating events. Dining out-of-the-box so to say.

Mobile and able to transition quickly, the idea of pop up restaurants might conjure up images of poorly cooked meals that lack creativity. On the contrary, part of the allure of these places is their gastronomic ingenuity. Street Fixe has a five course menu that includes Sabudana Vada Tapioca Fritter, complete with hot and sweet apricot sauce. Mission Street Food makes diversity a central part of its menu, bringing in a new guest chef every week, giving up and coming chefs the chance to make a name for themselves with the cool crowd.

Pop up restaurants aren’t just hitting the urban, out-and-about scene, in a down economy they’re also becoming a trend for eating at home, allowing amateur chefs try their hand at whipping together a meal and bringing together a small crowd. There are even How to guides out there for those that are willing to take on the endeavor, meaning that your pop up dining experience could be just around the corner.

Do you have a favorite pop up restaurant in your town? Tell us about it! Either in the comments below, or by using #FoodieUnderground on Twitter.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground. Each week, Anna will be taking a look at something new and different that’s taking place in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to culinary avant garde.

Image: Mark & Andrea Busse

The post Foodie Underground: Pop Up Cuisine appeared first on EcoSalon.