No architect for a mall??? Who the hell is going to design your mall???
This is high-end retail you are talking about. If you want to attract high end retail, you need to make the mall attractive enough and it needs to be done by an architect.
Otherwise you can be guaranteed it will look like shit (not that malls are shining examples of great architecture).
please don't add another eyesore of a mall to our landscape!
besides aesthetic reasons, malls are complex systems of pedestrian and vehicular circulation, which needs to be coordinated by an architect. IMHO accessibility and functionality of the mall can only be programmed by an architect.
Excuse me, but what a ridiculous question! No, in most countries a developer cannot build a complex, large project like a mall without an architect. By "most countries" I mean the whole gamut. We just submitted a proposal for a mall in Maputo, Mozambique! (the premise is ridiculous, but anyways...)
Well, indoor malls have been on a decline for many years as their longer-term maintenance costs prohibit them from being profitable after the tax breaks end.
Many retail development companies have switched over the "outdoor" mall archetype (sometimes coined as lifestyle centers) zombie-chimera of a old-school urbanism and new urbanism. The reasoning for this is that if disaster strikes one particular property or unit, the rest of the "mall" is unaffected. Some of these developments also feature double-wall block, tilt up concrete or pour concrete construction allowing them to be redeveloped into a "proper city" at a future point in time.
In this sense, an outdoor mall could be easily designed and constructed by a non-architect as small, low-rise commercial buildings can be designed by non-"architects" as long as they are constructed by licensed contractors.
A mall is nothing but a collection of small buildings sharing centralized infrastructure.
there are lots of bad architects out there, btw. Most of the built crap that you see in the world is designed by an architect. That doesnt necessarily make it good design
"A mall is nothing but a collection of small buildings sharing centralized infrastructure." J James
no, thats incomplete and eccentrically defined (suppose, only as a proposition, that half a mall were to be serviced differently and that this had no impact on the spatial conglomeration of both halves...would people perceive these as two conjoined malls? of course not) . in the north american terminology, a mall is a network of shops sharing a singular-esque enclosure. there is a clear notion of enclosure. shopping centre need not be enclosed, although the there is an understanding of spatial/structural fabric of continuity and consistency in iterms of its identity if not style. there is also an element of multi storey-ness to the notion of the mall, moreso than to that of the shopping centre. there is also more of an element of lifestyle "comprehensiveness" to the mall...food court, possibly a play area, perhaps other facilities in addition to shopping.
and it is incorrect to apply a blanket universal generalization regarding the decline of malls. malls are still very happening in the arab gulf area for instance. whether we like or don't like is another issue. the fact that there are fewer being build shares the same reason as all other projects that are on hold - economy.
isn't there a book on architecture without architects? insect structures and so on? i didn't see an insect designed mall there.
Yes that is true. A lot of mall developers and operators have their in-house architect. Sometimes they will get 'concepts' done by outside vendors, and then have their in house guys actually build it.
Dec 6, 11 3:27 pm ·
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can a developer build a mall without an architect?
does this happen, and if so where an how often?
No architect for a mall??? Who the hell is going to design your mall???
This is high-end retail you are talking about. If you want to attract high end retail, you need to make the mall attractive enough and it needs to be done by an architect.
Otherwise you can be guaranteed it will look like shit (not that malls are shining examples of great architecture).
Thats right, focus on the asthetic reasons for the requirement of an architect.
Pretty buildings and shelf layout and product placement planning is not why you need an architect to design a mall.
This is the attitude/reason, from both architects and potential clients, that leads to the clients wondering exactly why they do need an architect.
please don't add another eyesore of a mall to our landscape!
besides aesthetic reasons, malls are complex systems of pedestrian and vehicular circulation, which needs to be coordinated by an architect. IMHO accessibility and functionality of the mall can only be programmed by an architect.
Excuse me, but what a ridiculous question! No, in most countries a developer cannot build a complex, large project like a mall without an architect. By "most countries" I mean the whole gamut. We just submitted a proposal for a mall in Maputo, Mozambique! (the premise is ridiculous, but anyways...)
Well, indoor malls have been on a decline for many years as their longer-term maintenance costs prohibit them from being profitable after the tax breaks end.
Many retail development companies have switched over the "outdoor" mall archetype (sometimes coined as lifestyle centers) zombie-chimera of a old-school urbanism and new urbanism. The reasoning for this is that if disaster strikes one particular property or unit, the rest of the "mall" is unaffected. Some of these developments also feature double-wall block, tilt up concrete or pour concrete construction allowing them to be redeveloped into a "proper city" at a future point in time.
In this sense, an outdoor mall could be easily designed and constructed by a non-architect as small, low-rise commercial buildings can be designed by non-"architects" as long as they are constructed by licensed contractors.
A mall is nothing but a collection of small buildings sharing centralized infrastructure.
there are lots of bad architects out there, btw. Most of the built crap that you see in the world is designed by an architect. That doesnt necessarily make it good design
"A mall is nothing but a collection of small buildings sharing centralized infrastructure." J James
no, thats incomplete and eccentrically defined (suppose, only as a proposition, that half a mall were to be serviced differently and that this had no impact on the spatial conglomeration of both halves...would people perceive these as two conjoined malls? of course not) . in the north american terminology, a mall is a network of shops sharing a singular-esque enclosure. there is a clear notion of enclosure. shopping centre need not be enclosed, although the there is an understanding of spatial/structural fabric of continuity and consistency in iterms of its identity if not style. there is also an element of multi storey-ness to the notion of the mall, moreso than to that of the shopping centre. there is also more of an element of lifestyle "comprehensiveness" to the mall...food court, possibly a play area, perhaps other facilities in addition to shopping.
and it is incorrect to apply a blanket universal generalization regarding the decline of malls. malls are still very happening in the arab gulf area for instance. whether we like or don't like is another issue. the fact that there are fewer being build shares the same reason as all other projects that are on hold - economy.
isn't there a book on architecture without architects? insect structures and so on? i didn't see an insect designed mall there.
I've heard of developers using an in-house architect, as opposed to hiring out another firm, is this true?
Yes that is true. A lot of mall developers and operators have their in-house architect. Sometimes they will get 'concepts' done by outside vendors, and then have their in house guys actually build it.
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