Starbucks’ First Shipping Container Store in Asia × Sneak Peek at Its Pure White Design

Text／MOOKReported and compiled by Mofei from Spotravel

Setting off from around the world and anchoring at Taiwan’s Hualien Bay, Starbucks’ first shipping container-based store—Hualien Bay Store—grandly opened on September 26 in Hualien’s Hualien Bay.

The design, formed by stacked shipping containers from around the world, carries stories of past global voyages, now opening a new chapter at Starbucks Hualien Bay Store.

The interlocking gaps in the container structure feature large skylights that let sunlight cascade through, as if sunlight is filtering through a forest—offering a coffee experience immersed in nature, echoing Hualien’s reputation as a place especially blessed by nature, delivering a unique coffee encounter.

The building’s exterior was designed by renowned architect Kengo Kuma, embracing the eco-friendly and regenerative concept of a “circular economy.” It uses29shipping containers that have docked at major port cities around the world such as New York, Marseille, and Barcelona as its main structure, creating an inverted pyramid-shaped four-story building through a stacking concept, giving the containers new life.

In terms of the store’s interior design, the original look of the containers is preserved, while also integrating the bold colors of Hualien’s local Amis indigenous people. Bold and colorful wall art pieces are used, or natural-textured stamping techniques showcase indigenous totems throughout the store’s corners.