When FREITAG‘s first flagship store opened its doors in 2006 in Zurich‘s industrial Kreis 5 area, it made headlines by ingeniously embodying the neighbourhood’s raw and gritty reputation with a design concept that’s both simple and highly effective. And now, 20 years on, the store, which is made up of made from 19 decommissioned freight containers, has become an icon, not only of this now fairly gentrified part of town, but also of the FREITAG brand and its design philosophy. Thanks to its modular construction, the retail space was expanded in 2010 with two more containers and, but. it wasn’t until four years later, following energy-efficiency upgrades such as the installation of a heat pump, that the repeatedly expanded structure was granted permanent approval. In 2019, advancing rust—and a further extension of the land lease, prompting a full overhaul, including a new coat of paint. Since last year, a photovoltaic system has provided shade to the hot metal roofs and supplied the store with hyperlocal solar power. Directly adjacent to the container tower, the Repair Kiosk, opened in 2025, makes it easy to bring FREITAG one-offs for repair right to the heart of Zurich, while entirely in keeping with the circular economy that has driven the brand since its inception. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the FREITAG flagship store currently hosts an exhibition, aptly entitled A SECOND LIFE – Used Materials, New Purposes, on the on the tower’s upper floors. So, what’s on display? Well, there are previously unpublished archival material that take shoppers through the history of Zurich‘s upcycling pioneer and traces the adventurous story behind the creation of this soaring retail landmark. © superfuture
FREITAG
Geroldstrasse 17 (Kreis 5)
8005 Zurich
Telephone +41 43 3669520
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Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
