Fairprice Commune
Bringing community back into everyday life.
Tools
● Rhino3ds ● Twinmotion ● Adobe Suite ● AI Tools ●
Involve
Shaheed Ibnu Mohamed Hassan
Rachel Tan Qian Yi
Lee Kaien Zane
Info
Over 13 weeks, my team and I began with no fixed problem… only the intention to observe everyday life closely and uncover overlooked opportunities for design.
Through walking neighbourhoods, studying public spaces, visiting markets and supermarkets, and speaking with residents across generations, one contrast slowly became impossible to ignore: while wet markets still carried warmth, conversation, and community, modern supermarkets had become spaces built almost entirely around speed, routine, and efficiency.
Speaking with elderly residents, we heard stories of markets as places to meet friends, exchange conversations, and feel part of something larger… a rituals of belonging that many younger generations have never experienced, as grocery shopping today has become little more than a task to complete.
How We Spotted the Opportunity
The opportunity came unexpectedly. While exploring different neighbourhood spaces, we found ourselves asking a simple question: why does a wet market feel alive while a supermarket feels silent? One space was filled with greetings and conversations. The other was efficient, orderly, and strangely disconnected.
That contrast stayed with us. The more we observed, the clearer it became we weren’t just comparing places to buy food, we were comparing two very different ways of living together.
A Quiet Difference We Could Feel…
Opportunity
We saw an opportunity to rethink supermarkets beyond shelves, and circulate to design for human interaction, pause, and belonging. By applying the principles of Kizuna (connection), Tsudou (community), and Ma (space), we began shaping a supermarket experience where people naturally cross paths, linger comfortably, and feel invited…not rushed.
The goal was simple: create everyday micro-moments where community can quietly happen again.
Why This Must Be Addressed
As cities become faster, more digital, and increasingly individualistic, many everyday spaces are losing their social warmth. When even something as routine as grocery shopping becomes purely transactional, we lose small moments of human connection that quietly build trust, familiarity, and community over time.
FairPrice Commune asks a bigger question:
What if the places we visit most often could also become the places that bring us closer together?
Because sometimes, improving everyday life isn’t about creating something new…
it’s about redesigning what we already do, so it feels human again.
