Rethinking the Concept of City Centres (ERGUN KOCAİLİ B., 2010)
In the beginning of the history of shopping places, the shopping activity took place in open public spaces with other urban and public functions and activities of the city, like ancient Greek Agora or Roman Forum. After centuries, the enclosed shopping mall separated urbanity and shopping activity from each other. These fully-enclosed and environmentally controlled consumption spaces reinterpreted the urban fabric to simulate a city image and a street-like atmosphere indoors. Inside the walls a new city was created, where people shop, eat, entertain, and even sleep, get married or have college education as in the example of the Mall of America. Today, urban fabric and shopping mall integration is becoming more important. Open space and sustainable design for shopping malls are the rising trends in the world. So, the existing shopping malls are opening, integrating with urban fabric and continually updating themselves to compete with the emerging shopping places. This recent regeneration trend is called ‘De-malling’ in the world.
Fig 2.5.1 Shanghai Greenland Center / Nikken Sekkei Source: https://www.archdaily.com/
18 | Research and Analysis
