Tara Sutton
BA (Hons) Interior Design
ReBuy
ReBuy is a combined whole food cooperative offering organic, locally sourced produce, a refill centre and fair trade goods. Upstairs houses a community swap library, family food bank support and a food market hall sustained by local businesses from the Ancoats area. ReBuy’s brief was designed in response to reconnecting the varying ages of the Ancoats community as well as smaller businesses coming together as one to ease the effects of the cost of living crisis. There is ample evidence of the growing number of independent food establishments in the area, balancing budgets to avoid getting lost in finance. Multi-business buildings are not uncommon in Manchester and give fresh faced corporations the best chance to become more announced before developing on their own.
The concept introduces an immersive experience of food shopping and allows the consumer to be in control of where the food they are purchasing has come from. The design of the space therefore fits the brief of a community based scheme where visitors can be open and engaging or quietly nestle in the nooks to truly cater to footfall from all directions. The interior has been designed both functionally and thoughtfully to create a harmonious space, combining the journeys of buying and trying food with carefully considered sustainable materiality and limiting plastic packaging use throughout. ReBuy is about making high quality, local food accessible and affordable for all.
For me, design is all about the people. Collectively focused on coming together to build a sustainable future, my key interests focus on retrofit spaces and sustainability. By perceiving design as a conversation and reflecting on what has been done and what will be done, we have the power to control our sustainable future.
