Emergence: Morphogenetic Design Strategies

Interior Eye

A restored cast-iron shop front on New York’s Prince Street was the temporary home of Song in the City, a retail space operated briefly by Song, a fledgling us airline. Song chose SoHo for its ability to attract passers-by in a target demographic: stylish young women who shop.

The development team found a nearly finished shop front for the venture, which featured discrete activity zones within an open plan.

Souvenir merchandise was collected within reusable showcases that the airline expects to recycle for shops in subsequent cities.

Always a gamble, retail looks particularly risky during an economic slump. Then, in a domino effect, blight may descend on gap-toothed urban shopping streets. But every failure is an opportunity, too. To fill reasonably priced vacant shops in Manhattan, a new concept is emerging, one that is ideal for uncertain economic times. Call it stunt retail. ‘Disposable’ shops can fill vacancies for just a month or two, as they feed off the media frenzy that accompanies the launch of a hot new boutique. Then, just when the thrill begins to recede, disposable shops can quietly disappear.

Manhattan has long had temporary bazaars offering small selections ...