Ponke's the Shop is not just a store but a home of a community. Ponke's is the oldest and the most fundamental skate shop in Finland. NEMO architects was appointed to renew the shop interior and the customer experience of the store. We wanted to make an inspirational meeting place for the skate community also adapting to its future needs and desires. The design started with a participatory design process with a scale model, workshopping with the staff of the store, who are awarded skaters and established community members themselves. With their help the narrow, tube like interior, reaching from the street towards shopping mall courtyard, was transformed into a meandering retail space. Curvy walls hide a lots of storage space and personnel areas. The design is based on the movement and the heritage of the sport and lifestyle. With birch plywood we could create a physical representation of the beautiful movement of the sport while respecting the heritage of the sport by using its utility material as the main interior element of the shop. Skate parks and the boards themselves are made out of plywood around the globe. Plywood structures create a friendly, welcoming atmosphere, also creating a strong visual watermark for social media imagery. Material is also a sustainable choice. Plywood ages beautifully and is a well adapting material. Strong visual identity enables the community to evolve the space according to varying purposes. We would love to see the interior worn, tagged, full of skating marks and DIY solutions in the future.