Arcbazar announces an innovative web resource to re-design modern and functional retail spaces and public office buildings.

Small retail and services are landmarks of communities and define local urban landscapes. Preserving and restoring many of these standard buildings while empowering them with new facilities and public demands is a challenge that requires a balanced design concept.

Arcbazar, a Cambridge-based company, offers an innovative web solution to re-transform public work buildings. Arcbazar addresses the challenge by crowdsourcing architectural design. Each project is launched online and designers worldwide compete and submit concepts for the new space. Clients can then choose the solution they like most, based on their initial evaluation criteria. “Our goal is to bring highly creative solutions from designers worldwide to local commerce. We want communities to evolve and reshape their small buildings in an easy and affordable way,” says Ana Batista, co-founder of Arcbazar.com. Hundreds of clients around the globe have already used Arcbazar for successful public and commercial design projects. “We have helped clients designing new stores and restaurants, giving a facelift to old retail facades, or reconfiguring functional layouts for clinics, offices and community centers.”

J Stephens wanted to redesign the Porte Cochere of a building hosting Bank of America in Florida. The goal was to hide a cooling tower and maximize the functionality of the entrance and parking space, while preserving and blending in the existing building architectural style. Stephens run a design competition on Arcbazar, received twelve quality proposals with alternative concepts addressing his requests, and opted for the solution presented by Bledi Dule, an architect from Albania @ a+bd_architects. View video here.