FLOWER BOOTH
Initially the concept of this project encompasses the efficient reuse of some of the last not optimally used spaces on Bahnhofstrasse, namely the phone booths, whereof 10 can still be found around the area. The approach for their architectural articulation comes from a search for minimal means to make the redesign of the booths to flower shops as simple, seamless and accessible as possible.
From a functional point of view, the flower booth works as a self-service shop, allowing the costumer to enter the booth, to either cut the flowers or to dig out the whole plant and ultimately to purchase the chosen plants through the screen of the telephone set. Additional to the independent payment, a watering system for the plants is introduced, using rainwater that is filtered through the soil of our top plant and that is collected in a water tank.
The plants themselves are to be sourced from the Pro Specie Rara offering of the Stadtgärtnerei in Zurich itself, a 15-minute bike ride from Bahnhofstrasse. Subsequently they are distributed by bicycle to the different booths in the early morning hours, depending on the demand. All in all, this allows for a self-service shop, which is to stay opened all day and night, as well as all year around, following the seasonal curation of the plants offered for sale.
As the space of the phone booth – or now “flower booth” – is very limited, we focused on the experience inside and outside of the booth. By entering the flower booth, one is not only visually confronted by the vertical flower wall, but more so by means of scent, acoustics and climate inside the booth. The small space enables a retreat from hectic everyday life of Bahnhofstrasse and allows to get in touch with nature in this refuge, capsuled/isolated from the city life. This isolation is enabled by the inside atmosphere that is converse to the outside in terms of the formerly mentioned characteristics of the scent, the acoustics and the climate. On the other hand, the chosen plants inside the booths are a reflection of the specific visual characteristics of the outside world which means that every booth has its own individual selection of flowers and consequently its own individual scent. The performative part that enhances the experience of getting in touch with nature is the act of cutting the flowers to create an individual bouquet or the act of digging out the whole plant in order to re-plant the chosen flower at home.
In contrary to the inside experience, the outside experience of the booths isn’t just bound to its direct surroundings. In fact, we wanted to ensure that all of the booths together create a bigger picture in the existing picture of Bahnhofstrasse. While strongly working with the specific context of the booths, the connection between the different booths is to be highlighted. The “crowns” or the “hats” of our flower booths not only react to, embody or ironize their surroundings, but also visually connect the different booths throughout the Bahnhofstrasse. This figurative approach allows for a “walkthrough-botanical-garden” in the city and almost creates landmarks along the Bahnhofstrasse that can eventually be chosen as meeting points or that can act as guidance through the Bahnhofstrasse.
