The Seattle-based coffee giant with more than 17,000 locations around the country has never had a store quite like the one that is abput to open the next week in the Texas city of Brownsville, along the U.S.-Mexico border, where a computer-controlled robotic arm did much of the work by pouring one layer of concrete atop another. In addition, the location — which is drive-thru only — is set to open Friday and makes Starbucks one of the nation’s few big retailers that have tinkered with 3D printing for commercial construction. Builders have mostly employed the technology in residential construction as they look to innovate to start working an affordable housing crisis.
Starbucks isn’t saying whether more stores like it are on the horizon or why the company chose Brownsville, which has about 190,000 residents and at least four other locations in the zone. At first glance, the compact rectangular edifice with the Starbucks logo looks like any other, but a close perspective shows ridged walls that resemble stacked tubes. Read on to know more about this brand new Starbucks store.
A brand new example of store: using technology
Construction experts say the store is an reflection of an industry figuring out ways to use the technology. “It’s early days yet,” said James Rose, director of the Institute for Smart Structures at the University of Tennessee. More over, they have explained that they are truly happy to see people doing all of these different things with it, and they think at some point we’ll figure out what its best use is. However, at these moment they are going to see lots of experimentation, and I think that’s a good thing.
The shop is on a busy thoroughfare where Faviola Maldonado was between those who watched the construction gradually take form. “It was just different,” said Maldonado, who operated a jewelry store next door before recently moving. “It was super high technology.” It should be emphasized that this new implementation is directly linked to the new trend to bring technology into companies.
Starbucks confirmed this is its first 3D printed store in the U.S. but declined an interview request
Andrew McCoy, associate director of research and innovation at the Myers-Lawson School of Construction at Virginia Tech, have defined the new store as “leading edge.” In general, construction using 3D technology still costs more than historical wood framing, McCoy said. But, he said, it helps address a labor shortage and can be a way to get something built faster. He expects it will become more cost competitive at some point. “You are starting to see the technology is getting faster, smaller,” McCoy said. “It’s getting easier to use.”
What is a 3D printer? All you must know
Likely to a traditional printer, a 3D printer uses a computer to elaborate a product but instead joins material together to create a three-dimensional object. They place materials by layering and fusing together layers from the bottom up, according to CDWG, an information technology company.
By the time the devices have been around since the 1980s, there are a slew of model types on the market with different uses. Generally, 3D printers are faster and cheaper than other methods.
Recent changes at Starbucks: menu items, dress code
Starbucks has unveiled several modification in recent months, from menu items to company policies. Earlier this month, the company announced a new dress code policy for baristas, requiring them to stick to a solid black top to enhance the signature green apron.
It also made its menu simpler by removing some underperforming items and reversed its open-door restroom policy as part of the “Back to Starbucks” strategy instituted by Brian Niccol, who became Starbucks’ chief executive. These are big changes in the face of a present that is going through many changes.
