Björn Shrader Of Abramson Architects On The Supply Chain And The Future Of Retail
An Interview With Martita Mestey
Brand Storytelling: Sharing a simple narrative through design lets consumers feel more connected to the brands themselves. Consumers have lots of choices today and they tend to lean towards brands and products that share their values clearly and consistently.
As part of our series about the future of retail, I had the pleasure of interviewing Björn Shrader.
Over the past two decades, Björn Shrader has honed his modernist approach to architecture while practicing in Germany and the US. He is a compulsive problem solver who prefers to be challenged, striving to find the solution to seemingly unsolvable questions.
Björn manages the commercial project team at Abramson Architects that handles commercial ground-up buildings, tenant improvements, and medical offices. Some of his recent notable work includes Culver City’s 220,000 square foot PLATFORM mixed-used design district, multiple patient-centered clinics for Cedars-Sinai Health System’s community expansion, and over a quarter million square feet of tenant improvement projects for a single (confidential) cutting-edge technology company.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I have been interested in houses and how they are being built from a very early age on. In fact, I recall measuring up my parents’ house when I was 6 years old. I always wanted an indoor pool, one my friend’s parents had one, so I decided to replan our house. This is how it all started. From there on I got fascinated with high rises and large scale construction. It was also part of a little boy growing up in Germany in the late 70s early 80s and seeing the American Dream on TV that always appeared to be connected to those high rises building.
Later in my education I started enjoying figuring out problems and discovered my love for engineering, while my artistic side never vanished, so finding a profession that combined all of this came quite naturally.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
That is a tough one to answer and pinpoint to only one story, since there have been so many that formed my career. If it is from standing on top a half demolished Plattenbau (East German prefabricated multifamily slab houses, almost getting impaled by a piece of rebar while walking one of my first construction sites in the US, or running into one of my most influential future clients during a punch walk on a completed retail store while he and his wife were shopping for clothes.
Are you working on any new exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?
I just started working on a new retail development which is rehabilitating an old, abandoned Sears property and the associated acres of parking lot into a new thriving mixed development with retail, entertainment, and multi-family housing.
I believe we have so many underutilized or vacant spaces in our developed cities that will benefit from bringing the combination of new uses into those areas. Creating interesting spaces for people to life, work, and shop all within one will reduce the massive commute and traffic problem we have here in Southern California.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful, who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
My 11th year art teacher and my 12th year physics teacher. They really helped me find my career path and got me back to thinking about architecture instead of following what was chic and going to business school to become a consultant.
Once it came to my professional life, there are multiple people that I’ll have to thank. From the people I worked for to some of the most amazing clients ever who allowed me to create some of the most amazing projects.
Ok super. Now let’s jump to the main questions of our interview. The Pandemic has changed many aspects of all of our lives. One of them is the fact that so many of us have gotten used to shopping almost exclusively online. Can you share a few examples of different ideas that large retail outlets are implementing to adapt to the new realities created by the Pandemic?
The Pandemic really has been accelerating the rise of online shopping out of obvious reasons for not being able to walk into a store, but the problem of the brick and mortar demise has started before the pandemic. Online shopping has made products easier available for people
The supply chain crisis is another outgrowth of the pandemic. Can you share a few examples of what retailers are doing to pivot because of the bottlenecks caused by the supply chain crisis?
I believe we need to look at multiple aspects of the supply chain challenges. We need to look at how the actual day to day business operates and how in particular in retail stores are able to open new locations successfully.
Lets look at the latter first, since it is actually the much easier task. Supply chain challenges are nothing new to the construction industry, and while they certainly have been increased during the Pandemic, the industry always had to deal with long lead items for certain elements. In particular lighting and high end finish materials coming from overseas have always been a challenge. As such, especially for fast track projects, we as architects and designers have learned to take that into consideration and specify products accordingly or work with the client and contractors on early procurement on materials.
When it comes to the actual product sold, it is obviously a different challenge. One of the reasons why physical stores are still successful and are holding their grounds against online retailers is the concept of instant gratification. You walk into a store and you walk out with the product you desire instead of having to wait for shipping from an online retailer.
Once the product is not in stock within a store, this advantage is gone. Retailers have been shifting to create experiences for the patron to make up for this. It is to create an experience that you cannot have online and that justifies walking into a store.
How do you think we should reimagine our supply chain to prevent this from happening again in the future?
Our markets have become a no warehouse market where product don’t go into production before an order has been placed. This is obviously due to reducing cost associated with warehousing. We have seen some manufactures stocking warehouses again and they are gaining a competitive advantage over others, so I do see the industry going back to the store vs direct ship concept. From a design point of view, we just need to be more aware of our possibilities. Where we used to simply go into our product libraries and pull what we liked, we now need to actual spend the additional effort to verify lead times. It is not about changing the supply chain, because it can be influenced by quite a few items that we do not have control over, as we experienced with this pandemic, it is about not being dependent on it as much. Early procurement is the key.
Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things one should know in order to create a fantastic retail experience that keeps bringing customers back for more? Please share a story or an example for each.
- An Authentic Perspective: The Platform — Their innovative leasing strategy was built from necessity but paved the way for the Runyon Group to introduce boutique shops and non-traditional brands. The design pays homage to the site’s former lives as a transit junction and an auto-body shop without being too on the nose. Their eclectic mix of trendy shops, upscale restaurants, and outdoor plazas helped break the mold for retail in 2016 and is still making headlines.
- A Proper Flow: Dripp Coffee Bar– Not just how the space works for the customers, but also how it serves the staff. The central u-shaped coffee bar, clad in hand-brushed and patinated copper slats, is key to the new hospitality concept’s success. While the counter showcases artisanal products and freshly-made pastries, the main purpose is to reveal a highly streamlined equipment layout that choreographs the efficient moves of Dripp’s baristas. And for the baristas behind the counter, it makes each move as efficient as possible.
- Scaled to Fit: Retail environments of varying sizes, large/communal <-> one-on-one/intimate. When British lifestyle designer Tom Dixon looked to open his first West Coast store, he made an interesting yet obvious choice to team up with Nevena Borissova of high-end fashion boutique Curve. Both retailers have stores in New York, and the two joined forces to create a merged concept store in LA. The unique space weaves home design and fashion in their shared bold and glamorous signature styles. While the space remains lofty and open, it also allows for isolated appendages that showcase furniture configured in a room-like setting.
- Technology-enabled Experiences: Huge x Brash Café in Atlanta. Abramson Architects’ designers worked closely with Huge, a digital marketing agency, to convert an existing outdated coffee shop into a sleek modern coffee cafe. Their primary objective wasn’t to open a coffee shop, it was to open a business that could function as a real-life testing lab for designing and implementing future retail experiences. They started by building an app that leverages proximity to ensure that their coffee is perfect when they arrive. The design supports the living, breathing workspace.
- Brand Storytelling: Sharing a simple narrative through design lets consumers feel more connected to the brands themselves. Consumers have lots of choices today and they tend to lean towards brands and products that share their values clearly and consistently. Dermalogica is committed to the science of skincare and focuses on the technical aspects of the skin. By studying the face — how it moves, how it functions — our design team came up with a concept for the Santa Monica flagship stores treatment pods that reflects their desire to educate skin therapists with best-in-class products and their commitment to human touch.
My particular experience is in the grocery retail industry, and I’m passionate about addressing food deserts and addressing food insecurity.
Thank you for all of that. We are nearly done. Here is our final ‘meaty’ question. You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Better the US school system. It all starts with a good and free education. This country finally realized the importance of diversity, but the easiest way to achieve diversity is by the means of education and creating opportunities.
How can our readers further follow your work?
https://www.abramsonarchitects.com/
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
