Stacktx Travelling Market

STACKT Market, North America’s largest shipping container retail space, is an industrial shopping destination built on underutilised urban land – where communities come together to support local businesses. In celebration of its 5th year, STACKT is going mobile, and DS Studio has brought its award-winning approach to pop-up retail design to Ottawa with the launch of modular, double-decker STACKTx units.

Designed by DS Studio – an architecture firm based in both Toronto and Ottawa – this project showcases three two-storey shops built from standard containers, deliverable by flatbed trucks to cities including Calgary and Vancouver. Each reflects our expertise in modular retail architecture in Canada, offering custom lighting, millwork, and flexible merchandising furniture. Clad in vibrant, large-scale murals, the exteriors serve as bold expressions of public art integration in architecture, turning each unit into a mobile, art-integrated landmark.

The project is fully barrier-free, featuring a wraparound deck with accessible ramps, integrated seating, and evening uplighting – supporting diverse programming that celebrates community-focused architectural design. As inclusive design architecture specialists, DS Studio prioritised accessibility, openness, and flexibility. Acting as both architect and prime consultant, DS Studio coordinated all technical and aesthetic aspects—from fabrication to experience design. Our studio’s deep knowledge in tenant fit outs in Ottawa, retail space renovation in Toronto, and adaptive reuse architecture enabled us to craft a scalable, modular solution tailored to each vendor. It’s a model of experience-driven architectural design that can flex between sites and formats.

With an emphasis on biophilic design, net-zero building strategies in Ontario, and modularity, STACKTx exemplifies our commitment to sustainable innovation. This mobile market environment – anchored in temporary retail installations in Canada – fosters curiosity, interaction, and street-level engagement, demonstrating DS Studio’s leadership in urban retail activation and experiential retail architecture.

Whether for retail, hospitality, or public programming, DS Studio brings thoughtful, context-sensitive solutions to projects across Ontario and beyond – operating with creativity and purpose from our studios in Toronto and Ottawa.