Plastic Box Umsebenzi Oyinhloko: I-Supermarket by Juan David Martínez

Plastic Box Umsebenzi Oyinhloko: I-Supermarket by Juan David Martínez is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Umklomelo Wesiliva we-A' Design Award in Ukudizayina Ingaphakathi Competition Category.

IsilivaIngaphakathi· 2026

Plastic Box Umsebenzi Oyinhloko: I-Supermarket

by Juan David Martínez

Client: Minimal Studio Projects SL

Umklomelo Wesiliva we-A' Design Award Winner in Ingaphakathi Category

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The Design

About Plastic Box Umsebenzi Oyinhloko: I-Supermarket

Umbhalo Wencwadi: Lo msebenzi uyisibonelo se-minimalist brutalism. Le ndawo iphinda ichaze indlela yokuthenga ngokusebenzisa ubuhle obunesibindi nokusebenza okuyinto entsha. Yaqanjwa njengegobolondo lekhonkolo elinemigqa eqondile namavolumu e-geometric, idlulisa umuzwa wamandla nokuhlala isikhathi eside. Into ehlukile kakhulu uphahla, olwakhiwe ngamabhokisi epulasitiki asetshenziswe kabusha angaphezu kweqondela, ahleliwe ngendlela ye-modular, aqondaniswe ngokucophelela.

The Recognition

About the Umklomelo Wesiliva we-A' Design Award

Plastic Box Umsebenzi Oyinhloko: I-Supermarket iwinile uMklomelo Wesiliva we-A' Design Award, ukwaziswa okuhloniphekile ngokungajwayelekile okunikezwa imiklamo esezingeni eliphezulu, ebukekayo nethinta kakhulu. Abawinile beSiliva yimisebenzi egqamile kakhulu nedala kakhulu ebonisa ubungcweti obuphawulekayo, italente nobuhlakani babaklami babo. Plastic Box Umsebenzi Oyinhloko: I-Supermarket ilindeleke ukuba ibe ngumsebenzi omuhle wesibonelo, onobungcweti obuphawulekayo nezinto ezintsha ezijulile. Lo mklamo owinile uMklomelo Wesiliva we-A' Design Award uyinto entsha ebonakala kakhulu nethakazelisayo esiza futhi isunduza imingcele yobuciko, isayensi, ukuklama nobuchwepheshe. Plastic Box Umsebenzi Oyinhloko: I-Supermarket iyinto enomhawu omkhulu kuyo evusa izifiso, ilethe imizwa emihle futhi ivuse ukumangala nokuxakeka.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Plastic Box is a minimalist brutalist project that transforms the shopping experience through a bold aesthetic and innovative functionality. Conceived as a concrete envelope with clean lines, it conveys strength and permanence. Its key element is a ceiling made of more than a thousand recycled plastic crates that filter light and integrate lighting, ventilation, and rainwater systems. Inside, steel and concrete reinforce a sober commercial language that redefines materials and their uses.
Dimensions & Packaging: The lighting was conceived in an indirect and highly controlled manner. Light passes through and reflects off the system of 1,200 reused plastic crates in the ceiling, creating diffuse illumination that eliminates the typical glare found in supermarkets. In this way, light does not merely illuminate the space; it builds atmosphere and reinforces its scenographic character, creating a connection between the space and the shadows it generates.
Tags: supermarket, Plastic Box, plastic, brutalism
Production Technology: The project is defined by a reduced and honest material palette: concrete, steel, and reused plastic. Concrete provides brutality and neutrality; steel resolves the furniture with industrial precision; and plastic, usually hidden, becomes the architectural protagonist through the reuse of more than 1,200 crates. The ceiling was the greatest technical challenge, developed without precedents at this scale and requiring extensive prototyping, testing, and on site adjustments to assemble more than 1,200 reused elements with absolute precision.
Design Challenge: The main objective was to transform an everyday, functional space into an architectural experience. The client required a fully operational and efficient supermarket with clear circulation, while also seeking a space with its own identity recognizable and memorable. The program was simple: a sales area, storage, fluid circulation, and a powerful image that breaks with convention.
Research: The space was already operating as a supermarket, but it was in a completely neutral state, lacking architectural character, with standard solutions and a flat spatial reading. It was a generic container with no spatial value, which allowed us to intervene with complete freedom, starting from an almost blank slate.
Inspiration: The project is inspired by the idea of turning a space of consumption into an almost ritual, artistic experience. A brutalist and reduced language is used, where a single gesture defines the entire identity. This concept takes shape in the ceiling, made from over 1200 reused plastic crates, creating a recognizable and hypnotic atmosphere. The space becomes a box within a box, where function and symbolism coexist.
Project Duration: Completed in 2024 in Port d Alcúdia, Mallorca.
Team Members: Joan David Martínez Jofre
Image Credits: Fotógrafo / Leonardo Cóndor