Whole Foods Market Hyannis: Where Cape Cod’s Food, Culture, and Community Come Together
Shopping at a Whole Foods Market is often more than a trip to the grocery store. Faithful customers see these stores as their “go-to” for high-quality nourishment, culinary inspiration, and well-being, with pride of place given to each store’s locality. The new Whole Foods Market in Hyannis, Massachusetts, is another example of how the grocer digs in deep to reflect and support the community in which it resides, offering thousands of products within a thoughtfully designed environment.
For the Cushing Terrell team, one of our joys in working on each project for Whole Foods Market is the creativity that goes into reflecting each region. For the Hyannis store, our team was tasked with renovating and repurposing an existing building within this small town of 14,000 people, which is known for being Cape Cod’s commercial and cultural center. The new store reinvigorates an underutilized area of the town, celebrates the maritime industry and port location, and offers a place for people to come together.
Realizing a Local Touchstone
The Hyannis project involved finishing an existing 42,000 sq. ft. building shell, integrating the new store into the surrounding business and neighborhood communities, and offering a unique, convenient experience for residents and visitors alike. Located on a main corridor into town, the store is a highly visible landmark that enhances the town’s presence and amenities. Grocery stores are pivotal in community connectivity, a principle deeply rooted in Whole Foods Market’s ethos of being authentic, thoughtful, and communal.
The store includes outdoor seating and picnic tables that encourage social interaction and make the store a gathering place within the town. The exterior glazing is extensive and creates a welcoming beacon to passersby, drawing people in. Once inside, customers experience the results of expert store planning and wayfinding with ease of navigation, clear sight lines to products and departments, and the strategic placement of craft offerings (such as a fromagerie and artisanal bakery), ensuring they’re front and center for customers and not hidden from view.
Craft offerings are highlighted across the Hyannis store, showcasing fan favorites and inviting people to try something new.
Cape Code Culture on a Platter
True to Whole Foods Market’s commitment to regionalism, the design supports and reflects the store’s surroundings.
Whole Foods Market worked with the design team to draw inspiration from the region’s coastal geography. The aesthetic approach capitalizes on abstract ideas of elements such as waves and sand dunes, the rugged, sculpture-like terrain, and the area’s abundant vegetation. Wood slats create a wave form in the café along with a nautical map that serves to educate and engage visitors. The design team incorporated themes of wind and water into a palette of soft neutrals and deep earth tones, complemented by clean, contemporary lines.
Working with Whole Foods Market is an exercise in storytelling, helping to uncover what’s most important to and reflective of each location. We assist in creating a feeling of being steeped in place, while planning an efficient, streamlined experience with all sorts of potential for discovery. A successful project is more than just staying on budget and schedule, it’s the experience we have along the way.
—Alex Bingham, Cushing Terrell Design Lead
A New Wave of Virtual Placemaking
The design intent for the project was achieved through a comprehensive process that used virtual reality (VR) to provide the client with an immersive experience during the store’s development. Initially, the VR process showcased a schematic, white-box interior, which allowed the client to visualize the design’s evolution from a blank slate to a more developed concept with lighting, materials, colors, and textures. This approach enabled decision-makers to see potential design elements, such as tricky angles and truly standout features, as they emerged in the design process.
Adaptive Reuse and Sustainability: Hook, Line, and Sinker
The new Whole Foods Market Hyannis location is a standout example of adaptive reuse, transforming a strip mall into a vibrant community destination. It not only revitalizes a vacant space but also aligns with Whole Foods Market’s core values of sustainability and community integration.
By repurposing the existing structure, the design conserves materials and minimizes environmental impact. This approach eliminates the need for new construction and reduces the use of raw materials and the overall embodied carbon impact of building. Using existing structures and materials results in less energy and greenhouse gases than it would take to produce and ship new materials.
Overall, the project exemplifies sustainable development by prioritizing resource conservation, waste reduction, and community involvement, supporting longevity for the property.
The most sustainable construction option available to us is the revitalization and re-use of our existing building inventory.
—Dane Jorgensen, Structural Engineering Lead
