Interior - Honours (Interior Design)

The Curated Collective

A retail precinct specifically designed to meet the needs of the Millennial consumer. Throughout the year, the Millennial generation was studied, and a set of design principles were created to best suit their needs. These included Integration of Technology and social media, Seamless Journey through the space, Encouragement of Re-use, and Relationship between Customer and Brand. From these design principles, the idea of Experiential Retail design came to light.

Lauren Stitchell

THE MILLENNIAL RETAIL PRECINCT

The Millennials are a clear generational group leaving bricks-and-mortar stores to go online. This is a brief of what can be done to encourage Millennials to return to these physical stores through the use of design. The problem is that we are losing Millennial consumers in brick-and-mortar stores to online shopping. They are still purchasing, however they would prefer to do so online. Additionally, due to the impact of Covid-19 on the brick-and-mortar retailers, consumers, especially Millennials have become accustomed to the convenience of e-commerce rather than physical stores. In order for brick-and-mortar retailers to gain back these Millennial consumers back instore, they need to create an experience worthy of their time. Millennials are becoming the largest generation, they currently make up 23% of the world’s population, which equates to 1.8 billion people. Millennials are the future, and a retail precinct that’s fitting for them will further evolve to be the standard for the coming generations.

DESIGN PRINCIPLES

THE CURATED COLLECTIVE FLOOR PLAN – 1:300

ENTRY

The entry is designed to be welcoming to all, with a strong focus on bringing nature back to Post Office Square. The entry is to be open and provide one continuous path through the whole site to further enhance the view line between Central Station, Anzac square and GPO. The columns were based on stalactites and stalacmites, representing the buildings and nature converging into one to create the curated collective. This space provides an open and welcoming experience through connection to the natural environment and Biolphilic design. Nature is considered a calming common ground for all Millennials.

RETAIL – BEAUTY

Retail spaces have lost Millennials due to the overcomplication of buying a product in-store. Millennials want the seamless experience that online shopping provides but within a physical store. The space should be organised into short bursts of key information in order to teach consumers how their product is built. The space is designated into Inspiration, Learning, Experiencing, personalizing and repurposing. For the experiential retail experience, Beauty was chosen as it is one of the highest followings for Millennials. The Shelving guides customers through each experience to fully emerge themselves in the experience. The retail shelving leads to the Pop Up classes which guide customers to experience what they’ve learnt in the experience zone.

RETAIL – SELLING/RENTING

Access not ownership is an important aspect of Millennial culture. They want brands that are benefitting the environment, whilst also providing them a space where they can resell and reuse their items in new ways. This space was designed with re-selling and renting in mind. Each stand has a personalized QR code, leading to the social pages of the person selling and/or renting in that space. This promotes re-use and connection between like minded people.

COMMUNITY HUB

The community hub provides an open space connected to nature where Millennials can share their thoughts and beliefs about the site and the retail environments around it. This space is designed to foster a community gathering space for all who work, live and occupy the area. Throughout the Community hub, are inspiration zones. These inspiration zones were designed as breaks between spaces for Millennials, allowing them to fully immerse themselves within the site. The Zones are located around the glass voids to provide a shared connection to nature.

COMMUNITY RESTAURANT

The community restaurant is located within the center of Post Office Square to connect Millennials and other like minded people together. This is the only restaurant permanently located in the center to create a grounding, everyone knows your name atmosphere around the site.

MATERIALS BOARD

Lauren Stitchell

Lauren Stitchell has recently completed a Bachelor of Design (Honours) Interior Design with minors in Visual Communication and Architecture. Lauren believes that Interior Design is an expression of oneself. It gives her the opportunity to connect to people and the environment, allowing her to think innovatively to create spaces filled with joy. She is eager to take this passion and enter the design industry to further her knowledge and skills as a designer.