Pop-goes-the-store

With the Olympics in town, there are quite a few temporary or "pop-up stores" that have opened around town.

In Shoreditch a large scale pop-up retail experience has opened.

Boxpark is made up of stacked shipping containers turned into stores and restaurants. The bottom level of containers are all stacked beside each other while on the second level, they are set perpendicular to the lower ones (much like giant Lego blocks) with spaces left as walkways and patios.

The stack has mostly retail stores, with some companies leasing two or three containers and connecting them with passage ways, or completely removing the walls - and creating a regular sized store. Most stores are just one container wide and include companies such as Levi's, Kangol, Nike, and Puma.

The restaurants on the top floor have patios and seating around them, but this one - called Pieminister (serving, yes, pies & mashed potatoes), stuck to the one container - and even included seating!

It probably helps that they're not actually making and cooking the pies here. Their regular haunt is a stall at the Borough Market, so they're used to working in cramped spaces.

The whole Boxpark is a great concept - an incredible use of space and materials that really makes a statement in an already eclectic and funky area of London.