With its striking and useful interior design, Plastic Box is a commercial space that revolutionizes the retail experience, designed by Spanish design firm Minimal Studio. 

Originally intended to be a container of pure-lined concrete, it is notable for its modular ceiling composed of more than a thousand recycled plastic crates that hide technical systems and filter natural light. 

A minimalist home made of repurposed materials and this architectural gesture provide a smart and critical look at consumerism, where sustainability and beauty are intertwined into every aspect.

The project reinvents urban commercial space by drawing inspiration from minimalist brutalism masterpieces. This idea turns a commonplace typology—the supermarket—into a striking visual experience with cutting-edge functionality.

Clean lines and geometric forms that inspire sturdiness and stability define the space, which is conceptualized as an envelope of raw concrete. 

Devoid of any decorations, the façades have black portals for entrances that accentuate the contrast with the interior's lighting, resulting in a purposeful sensory shift.

The ceiling, a modular surface made of more than a thousand carefully positioned recycled plastic crates, is the most striking element. The light is filtered by each crate, creating geometric shadows that change across the day. 

The crates have a functional use as well as being a symbolic architectural element; they house rainwater collection devices, ventilation systems, and LED lighting.

The brutalist language is carried through with steel shelving, polished concrete floors, and sculptured monolithic checkout counters. 

These elements drastically simplify the interior design and create a somber ambiance where indirect lighting draws attention to the objects by contrasting them with their own shadows.

Through an architecture that recycles not just materials but also uses and meanings, Plastic Box subverts traditional retail standards. 

Elements from industrial settings have been repurposed and redesigned, contradicting their original aesthetics and purposes, from the counters to the ceiling containers.

Site plan

Section 

Elevations

Project facts

Project name: Plastic Box | Akelarre Supermarket

Designers: Minimal Studio

Lead architect: Juan David Martínez Jofre

Client: Voramar Store

Location: Port of Pollensa, Majorca, Spain

Completion date: 2024

Usable floor area: 193m2

All images © Leonardo Cóndor.

All drawings © Minimal Studio.

> via Minimal Studio

Majorca Minimal Studio retail supermarket