Architects, especially ones that consider themselves to be first rate designers, have in the past tended to be somewhat sniffy about designing shopping centres. Perhaps its the crass commercialism, the resort to trite emblems or that their designs inevitably become compromised by insensitive signage and gaudy themes. Whatever the reason, I have always felt this reluctance to miss an opportunity in the Modernist spirit, of bringing high quality architecture to the masses.
Recently however, a number of high profile practices have put their name to a shopping centre, such as the memorable
Galaxy Soho in Beijing, China by Zaha Hadid. In this post we see the first foray on the mall for another British firm,
Grimshaw, with its extension to a suburban shopping centre in Melbourne, Australia.
Grimshaw's 30,000sq.m mall is relatively small as far as shopping centres go. Like others, they have tried to break the notion that malls must be inward-looking islands by integrating it strongly with its surrounding district and landscape. They have also sought to create a meaningful public realm by breaking down the mall in to smaller centres, each allowed to develop its own character. Other themes of the design are environmental and social sustainability.
There are some interesting features in the design but like the
Roker E1, the first phone to carry Apple software, it will most likely be remembered as a proof of concept.
