HIGHLIGHTING TYPOLOGIES OF CONTROL

Victor Gruen's Second Mall Southdale in Minnesota
image from http://closedloop.us/2014/10/death-life-american-shopping-malls-pt-1/

In my previous posts, I wrote a brief overview of the socio-political and economic outcomes of having major public spaces shift from bazaars along streetscapes to mega-malls on "islands”, however, before delving deeper into further analysis of these spaces on social interaction and participation, this post will look at the architectural implications of my interest in the bazaars, markets, and malls. What exactly is the problematic of a highly privatized and controlled public space? Are these problems defined through the built-environment? What are some common “problematic” typologies worth noting? After specifying the problem and analyzing each, I will attempt to give an “architectural” response that may hopefully transgress the thresholds (barricades might be more appropriate a word) of corporate architecture onto a space for the commons.

The architecture of shopping malls has changed from its early inception to today. We could probably divide it into two large categories the first being the modernist shopping mall such as Victor Gruen’s Southdale in Detroit, and the more recent “Postmodernist” mega-malls such as the Beirut Souks in Lebanon or Sanlitun Village in Beijing, where both strive to re-create a pastiche village-like feel by fragmenting and dispersing the functions of the mega-mall into multiple buildings that seem to have multiple owners but are in fact still owned by a singular corporate entity. This is eloquently explained in The ‘Magic of the Mall’: An Analysis of Form, Function, and Meaning in the contemporary Retail Built Environment, where Goss writes:

“With the contemporary postmodern penchant for the vernacular, this original form is undergoing a renaissance in the specialty center, a collection of high-end outlets that pursue a particular retail and architectural theme. Typically these are also idealizations of villages and small towns, chock-full of historical and regional details to convince the consumer of their authenticity […] In contrast, the modern regional shopping center was built on a large scale with regular, unified architecture. Its harsh exterior modernism and automobile-focused landscaping refused any compromise with the rustic aesthetic.”

Despite these various models, all have common elements. The first and most obvious typological “problem” (and here I place the word problem between quotation marks because what may seem to be a problem to me – is the ultimate solution for developers and corporate entities) is that malls are walled fortresses, even in the case of the postmodern models of malls, the shopping areas are completely segregated from the surroundings and the only view to the exterior is usually the sky. Goss further elaborates on this phenomenon

“Even in the glasshouse malls there are no windows that look out on the world except up at the sky; there are no means but the seasonal promotional activities to determine the time of the year, no clock to tell the time of day, and no means but the identity of retail chains to determine regional location.”

Furthermore, malls are predominantly accessible through automobiles, although more recent models that are in cities are made accessible through limited pedestrian walk-ways, cars were (and may still be) the major mode of transportation to reach these fortresses of consumption. Once cars are parked, the consumer is drawn to the highlighted dramatic entrances that provide “a sense of grand arrival […] into the fantasy world inside” (Goss 1993).

Once inside, everything is controlled, from the temperature which is kept stable to optimize comfort – and according to some sources kept slightly colder than optimum comfort levels to slow mobility, to the movement of people through the circulation. Looking closer at the circulation, several parameters are used to maintain a profitable flow. Firstly, shoppers are dis-oriented through the complex and confusing spaces, this is purposefully done to prolong people’s stay within this labyrinth-like structure in a sort of treasure hunt game. Goss further explain this phenomenon through his words ending with a quote from Foucault:

“This sign-saturated place and its constant motion represent the spatial and temporal displacement characteristic of the postmodern world. We have, therefore, progressed from the shopping center as a modern regional Utopia to a postmodern Heterotopia – “a disorder in which the fragments of a large number of possible orders, glitter separately… without law or geometry”” (Goss, 1993).

In addition to this maze-like configuration, developers claim that they have discovered that an average (American) shopper is unwilling to walk a distance longer than six hundred feet which equals to approximately one hundred eighty two meters (Goss 1993, p32). For this reason, some designers have resorted to curving the mall to make storefronts stand out, make corridors seem shorter, and “funnel and pull(s) people through the center” (Goss, 1993). The widths of the corridors are also usually restricted to six meters, creating an intimate space wide enough for people to flow yet at the same time allow shoppers to explore both shops on opposite sides. Also, Stores with wider corridors tend to fill the space with seating areas or moveable islands of stands (Goss 1993, 34). In terms of the vertical circulation, developers make sure vertical movement is encouraged to display stores on all levels through “glass-bubble elevators, stacked escalator banks, overhanging platforms, and aerial walkways” (Goss 1993, 34). Here it is interesting to note that shoppers circulating in malls have been compared to Walter Benjamin’s flaneur, however Goss in his paper strongly disagrees writing:

“The contemporary flaneur cannot escape the imperative to consume: she or he cannot loiter in the mall unless implicitly invited to do so, and this generally only applies to the respectable elderly; those without shopping bags and other suspicious individuals will draw the attention of security, who use the charge of loitering as grounds for eviction. Moreover, shoppers do not independently pick their way like the leisurely flaneur, but follow the meticulously conceived plan which has plotted paths, set lures, and planted decoys for its purpose” (Goss 1993, 35).

Not only are the trajectories obviously marked out by developers and designers, but in a recent study titled Shopping in a mall: A typology of four shopping trips, Aurelia Michaud Trevinal categorizes shoppers into four groups according to the most common trajectories taken within one mall which include:

“Trajectory ‘type 1’, titled ‘passing through’, is used by shoppers who use the shopping mall as a transit zone” […] Trajectory ‘type 2’, called ‘pragmatic’, makes up a large part of the itineraries observed in this research, with relatively linear paths, no retracing and toward a particular point of sale […] Trajectory classified as ‘appropriation’ that reveals an exploration of all the available commercial offers. Trajectories […] classified as ‘meandering’ correspond to the recreational dimension of shopping like the leisure shoppers, who hang out in the malls.”

In addition to the circulation, both the indoor lighting and the music are controlled to soothe shoppers. Both are compared to “silent salesmen”, and according to Goss, some studies also show that foreground music may increase sales by up to 40% (Goss 1993, 35).

Finally, Goss writes that “Spaces and surfaces should be filled because, if everywhere in this environment there is a sign, the absence of a sign becomes a sign of absence: perhaps signifying a lack of anticipation and consideration on behalf of the developer, or more seriously, the perceived emptiness of consumption itself, but inevitably inviting a motion to fill the void” (Goss 1993, 35).

Looking at the above mentioned typologies of control, my aim will be an attempt to re-structure the conventional mall to allow local civilians and inhabitants to re-claim their public space. The basic preliminary design methodology is to try to abstract the modes of control then break it apart. My focus will be specifically on the circulation, which I will try to disperse and connect to the surrounding urban fabric seamlessly allowing for several points of entry and exit. In addition, I will aim to find a convenient system where both producers and consumers can interact by including workshops, retail spaces, food courts from local cuisines, and an entertainment zone that is also an inviting space for street performers and other local talented individuals. As a final point, the attempts will be clarified through a consistent exploration through formal experiments between form, function, and an organization pattern that allows all to co-exist interdependently.