Explain the origin and development of shopping centre designs in the 20th century.

Discuss the Impact(s) of the development of this building type on urban centres.
Justify the extraordinary success of such buildings in the 2nd half of the 20th
century. Use the shopping arcade on Bridge Street as one of your examples. Use
M.L Clausen: Northgate Regional Shopping Center: Paradigm from the provinces
in order to discuss the debate around the development of this building type.
The 20th century was a period in history dened by war. We relate social, economic
and physical developments, almost every aspect of contemporary life around both World
Wars. Architecture and more specically, shopping centre designs were no exception.
Bazaars and Arcades were a European invention, originating in France and England, it is
important to study the developments of these buildings. As direct predecessors to the
shopping centre, they tell a similar story in what problems they were intent on solving, and
the successes they had. Arcades then make a reappearance as the American invention of
the regional shopping centre does not completely relate to Britain post World War II.
The beginning of the 19th century possessed a specic set of economic and social
conditions
1
that allowed for the invention and development of the covered commercial
arcade
2
. A similar set of conditions were prevalent after the second World War in America.
It soon called for a development in regional shopping centres, an advancement with
regard to architectural solutions from the Arcades and retail shops in the city center prior to
the war. A large debate surrounds the development of this building type, its architecture
and their impacts on urban centres. The architectural community have had their problems
with this type of architecture, initially branded as a colorless architecture.
3
However these
structures, designed to sell merchandise fullled their functions and were deemed
successful regardless of their architectural beauty.
The reasons for designing new regional shopping centres post World War II can be
found in the beginning of the 19th century, with the development of arcades. Industry had
developed the ability to produce a large variety of luxury goods
4
. This increase in the
consumer market created a large increase in demand for such products. This acted as a
catalyst for Arcades to be built in the beginning of the 19th century. The increase in trafc,
narrow roads, noise and dirt made shopping in the inner city increasingly unbearable
5
. The
covered pedestrian space provided a relief from these unpleasant conditions and the
climate. Arcades then had the right conditions to thrive as they were able to provide a
solution to an ever increasing problem. Arcades allowed for continuous undisturbed
shopping.
6
These places became a place for social gathering, and public meeting, a by-
product of the pleasant conditions the Arcade was able to set. Architects post World War II
now had a precedent to look back to emulate the same pleasurable experience as a
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1
Michael Bednar, Interior Pedestrian Spaces, (London: B.T.Batsford, 1990), 10.
2
Ibid.
3
M.L.Clausen. Northgate Regional Shopping Centre-Paradigm from the Provinces. Society of Architectural
Historians 43 (1984): 158.
4
Bednar, Interior Pedestrian Spaces, 10.
5
Ibid,11.
6
Ibid,10.
solution to a set of similar problems that developed in America, after the second World
War.
7
The Northgate Regional Shopping centre marked the beginning of the rise of big
regional shopping centres.[Fig.1]
[Figure 1] Northgate Regional Shopping aerial view.
Columbia. Northgate Shopping Centre. Accessed April 30, 2013. http://
www.columbia.edu/itc/architecture/wright/6769_2002/images/week9/week9.html
The situation in America post World War II was ripe for the emergence of the large
suburban retail centre.
8
America after the second World War emerged relatively
unscathed, this resulted in a boom after 1945. Pent-up consumer demand fueled
exceptionally strong economic growth
9
. The boom in retail industry, increased use of the
private car, population increase and private incomes rising all contributed to create these
ripe conditions.
10
It is important to study Northgate Regional Shopping Centre because of
its profound effect on architecture and urban design
11
. The architect John Graham
wanted to instill the idea of making shopping less of a chore and more of a leisure activity,
attempting to make a fundamental change in urban society.
The consumer boom in America was a direct result of a newly freed society. The
American depression immediately followed by war meant the American people had gone
without for too long, and a rise in afuence among the general American population fueled
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7
Ibid.
8
Clausen, Northgate Regional Shopping Centre-Paradigm from the Provinces, 144.
9
About.com. The Post War Economy. Accessed April 30, 2013. http://economics.about.com/od/
useconomichistory/a/post_war.htm.
10
Clausen, Northgate Regional Shopping Centre-Paradigm from the Provinces, 144.
11
Ibid.
consumerism in America. Another, more direct reason creating the conditions right for the
success of the suburban shopping centre, over the retail stores downtown, was the large
increase in private car use. Both population growth and the increase in use of cars began
to create a dire situation with trafc problems downtown, to a point where people began to
avoid the retail shops.
12
A similar climate had been created that accelerated the popularity
of Arcades and Bazaars in Europe in the beginning of the 19th century. What were once
horse and carriage creating noise and dirt were now replaced with motorized vehicles,
whilst the climate continued to pose the same unpredictable threat of unpleasant shopping
conditions. Technological advancements with the development of freeways by 1957 had
meant that people were able to move out of these congested areas with ease. Shopping
centres in these newly populated suburbs had to accommodate for a large quantity of car
parking to allow for an easier, more pleasant, trafc free shopping experience. It would
allow for shopping to be considerately more appealing than its downtown counterpart.
The success of the Northgate Regional Shopping Centre contributed greatly to the
success of all shopping centres which were designed after. During this experimental
period
13
in architecture, architects and developers followed each other closely.
14
We
cannot attribute the success of shopping centres during this period solely on the favorable
conditions prevalent at the time. The architecture of the building holds the most important
factor as to why shopping centres were successful. Graham did not design the Northgate
Regional Shopping Centre as an appealing architectural beauty, in the traditional sense.
Instead he created a tool to sell merchandise which holds a beauty in excellently fullling
its primary function. Graham was not completely unalike his fellow Architects during this
period. In this period all architects in America were learning and closely watching
comparable large-scale retailing experiments
15
. Wilshire Boulevard, or the Miracle Mile,
in Los Angeles, served as an important lesson.
16
A large development stretched its larger
departments too far apart. The result was a car journey from one to the other, failing to
walk past any of the smaller shops in between.
17
[Fig.2]
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12
Ibid,149.
13
Ibid,144.
14
Ibid.
15
Ibid,152.
16
Ibid.
17
Ibid.
[Figure 2] Sketch of the Miracle Mile, demonstrating the distance between destinations.
M.L.Clausen. Northgate Regional Shopping Centre-Paradigm from the Provinces.
Society of Architectural Historians 43 (1984): 151.

Graham learnt from the shortcomings of these developments, he realized the importance
of foot trafc across shopfronts and that large retail developments created an issue with an
excessive amount of circulation space. M.L Clausen describes Grahams solution as an
obvious one.
Place the stores, unied architecturally by common style, scale, and materials,in the
center of the site, not along its edge. Align them on both
sides of a long, tightly compressed pedestrian mall, with major
and minor magnets strategically distributed along its length, then surround the entire
complex with parking on all sides. This would double the number of stores,cut down the
distances customers would have to walk, draw them into the mall, and
funnel them down a single narrow corridor, past virtually all the stores in the complex.


Shaban Ladha B00581255

Grahams vision was to create a far more compact mall to concentrate and
manipulate the amount of foot ow at certain areas that would be advantageous to shops.
He would design a narrow 48 foot wide corridor, like an old-fashioned European market
street or 19th century arcade
18
. The 19th century arcade provided solutions to a problem
that was again relevant in the 20th century. Graham noticed the advantages of looking into
the past to nd similar solutions to a similar problem.
This building signied a progression in architectural development after the second
World War and highlighted the growing complexity of post-war architecture
19
. Architects
could no longer hold their disdain for developers, instead this project required a
cooperation between the two highlighting the increasing interdependence of the design
profession and business
20
. Northgate Regional Shopping Centre, despite its criticisms by
the architectural community succeeded in its ability to sell merchandise. It had successfully
provided a working precedent for architects to study and learn from.
It seems that the Arcade of the 19th century in Europe had evolved in America
where conditions had called for change to retail shopping. It was only a matter of time after
Northgate, that this new successful American invention the shopping centre, made its way
into Britain. The idea became increasingly attractive as a result of a failure in British
transport systems and parking issues. A writer in 1959 noted, if we do no solve our
transport and car parking problems, the American plans may be welcomed; the red
warning light is on.
21
In 1967 the rst British shopping centre that could claim to explicitly
copy the US mall model
22
came into apparition. A branch of the Arndale chain located in
the suburbs of leeds, it contained an internal environment and specically accommodated
customers who arrived by car.
23
Brent Cross, in 1976 followed the American blueprint of a
shopping centre the closest. Similarly to Northgate it was a commercial success, however
in architectural terms both internally or externally, Brent Cross was undistinguished
24
.
There were fundamental drawbacks in the design of the early British shopping
centres. The car parking was one of two major factors as to why the British counterparts to
the American models were not successful. The car parks in these designs were designed
poorly both from an architectural standpoint as well as an environmental one.[Fig. 3]
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18
Ibid,155.
19
Ibid,145.
20
Ibid.
21
W.Burns, British Shopping Centres: New Trends in Layout and Distribution, (London: Leonard Hill Brooks,
1959), 10.
22
Murray Fraser and Joe Kerr, Architecture and the Special Relationship (London: Routledge, 2007) 244.
23
Ibid.
24
Ibid.
[Figure 3] Brent-Cross Shopping Centre Car Park.
Geograph. Multi Story Car Park at Brent Cross Shopping Centre. Accessed May 1, 2013.
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1238084.
A lack of thought, to a major element of the structure had a detrimental effect to the whole
building.
25
The poor car parking had given an impression of a cheap feel to the design.
Large oor areas with low space-saving ceilings restricted natural light creating a dim
space which was only counteracted by ineffective articial lighting.
26
The uncomfortable
journey one has to make through this space does not end there, a poorly designed and
maintained stairwell and lift prolongs the unpleasant atmosphere until one reaches the
shopping centre itself. At this point a negative connotation to shopping centres has been
created in the subconscious of the shopper.
Natural daylight was the second key drawback into shopping centre designs in
Britain at the time. The earlier designs lack in natural light and it is clear that the designers
of these structures had forgotten the immense value of natural daylight in a building such
as a shopping centre. The result is a sense of an unpleasant, under lit, monotonous
building. The side effect of a lack of daylight means both landscaping and any form of
planting is scarce. The result is a building that suffocates its occupants. It was evident that
as an Americanized import, the British mall was substandard alongside the American
version of the shopping centre.
27

These earlier British shopping centres riddled with design faults have unsurprisingly
seen refurbishment in an attempt to make them work more successfully. Since then, British
architects have slowly begun to realize the mistakes made and designed to provide a
pleasurable experience. Old designs have since been remodeled, whilst newer designs
have seen signicant improvement. Milton Keynes is a key example of how by 1970
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25
Gordon Michell, Design in the High Street, (London: The Architectural Press, 1986), 74-75.
26
Ibid.
27
Fraser and Kerr, Architecture and the Special Relationship, 244.
architects were intent to raise the bar
28
of shopping centre designs in Britain. Milton
Keynes addresses one of the main issues of shopping centre designs particularly well,
which is parking. The principle of parking cars around the perimeter on the same level as
the shops appears to be ideal.
29
The car park has sufcient landscaping at a comforting
scale. This landscaping provides a soft texture to the car park, creating a lighter more
pleasant atmosphere.
30
[Fig.4]
[Figure 4] Exterior landscaping around Milton Keynes Shopping Centre.
The Guardian. Milton Keynes shopping centre becomes Grade II listed. Accessed April
30, 2013. http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/jul/16/milton-keynes-shopping-
centre-grade-listed.
Milton Keynes has also allowed its occupants with an abundance of natural light, planting
and seats which all help make the shopping centre a far more tolerable, nicer environment.
Stuart Mosscrop and Christopher Woodward, the designers of Milton Keynes followed
Mies van der Rohe and took inspiration from practitioners in America. The Commons
Shopping centre was built by practitioners in America that both Mosscrop and Woodward
followed. The Commons shopping centre was another attempt at a successful large scale
retail development and Milton Keynes took off at the same time this had nished being
built.
31
What is intriguing about where Mosscrop and Woodwards ideas developed from is
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28
Ibid, 245.
29
Michell, Design in the High Street, 79.
30
Ibid, 80.
31
Fraser and Kerr, Architecture and the Special Relationship, 245.
that the Commons viewed itself more as a downtown community shopping center
32
than
a traditional American mall.
This begs the question whether Milton Keynes which is inuenced by the Commons
shopping centre, is successful due to its increase in likeness to the high street, in
comparison to the US mall. Shopping centres have allowed architects the freedom to
create pleasurable shopping experiences where outside factors such as trafc and climate
are not a factor. These lessons of success can now be harnessed by architects, where
they can begin to use this knowledge to improve urban centres. Pedestrianization became
a key aspect into developing the high street again. Consumers need a separation from
trafc, and the noise and pollution that comes as a result of this. Public transportation and
ample parking is a necessity, as private car owners have only risen since their initial rise
post World War II.
The second lesson learnt during this experimental process in architecture is the
importance of shelter from the elements. This provides a more stable and comfortable
space to be in. A large use of glazing transforms a space from a separate shopping centre
to an extension of outside. A fun and social aspect of shopping begins to take over the
idea of shopping as a chore by providing a more pleasurable version of the high street.
Techniques have developed to manipulate foot ow. The introduction of
magnets
33
in shopping centres can also apply to the high street. This technique is able to
increase the effectiveness of the foot trafc in order to benet shops as showcased on
Northgate Regional Shopping Centre. The idea of amenities in shopping centres to create
an atmosphere of leisure, and a place of social public gathering can also be applied to the
high street. Simple landscaping and seating provides a softer texture and increases an
atmosphere greatly as exhibited in the Milton Keynes car park. The lessons of
management can also be a point to learn from, treating the high street as a shopping
centre will increase the money spent on maintenance and general upkeep. In doing so this
creates a new environment unlike the high streets of today.
34

Although the invention of shopping centres have allowed for valuable lessons to be
learnt with regard to developing the high street, there is a stark difference in its impact on
urban centres between Britain and America. Contrary to some perceptions there are in
fact very few fully developed regional scale centres in the UK.
35
This implies that any
detrimental effect regional shopping centres cause will have less of an impact in Britain,
where we have fewer of these large retail centres causing damage to Britains urban
centres. The extremities of the effects however contrast greatly, but the problems regional
shopping centres have on the high street, apply to both America and Britain. Regional
centres are a direct threat to the high street. They provide an attractive alternative that
begins to starve the inner cities of business.
As mentioned above, there are far fewer of these centres in Britain and as a
consequence the high streets have not been effected to the same degree. A large factor as
to why British inner centres have been saved in a sense is due to stricter governmental
control over granting planning permission for these large regional shopping centres. Local
government was able to refuse the pressure building for regional shopping centres in the
1960s. This is highlighted with the refusal of a proposal for a large shopping centre
1million square feet centre between Manchester and Liverpool. The application was
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32
Balthazar Korab, Columbus Indiana, (Documan PR Ltd, 1989), 109.
33
Clausen, Northgate Regional Shopping Centre-Paradigm from the Provinces, 151.
34
Michell, Design in the High Street, 89-90
35
Clifford Guy. Off-centre retailing in the UK: Prospects for the future and the Implications for Town
Centres. Built Environment 24 (1998): 25.
refused in 1964 by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government...The main grounds for
dismissal were the projected impact upon existing town centres in the region.
36
The
American government however do not involve themselves as intimately in these affairs as
the British did. A loose framework to gain planning permission meant an uncontrolled rise
in regional shopping centres that proved counterproductive to its inner cities. Clifford Guy
explains, The north American experience seems to suggest that uncontrolled
development of RSCs [Regional Shopping Centres] can almost entirely eliminate central
area retailing.
37
Places like Charlotte in North Carolina have seen its high street retail
sector deteriorate to a sixth of what it once was in only 20 years.
38

The urban economies of European cities and American ones are different, which
provides Britain with more of a resistance to city centre decline.
39
This stems back to the
end of World War II. America emerged from the war with its cities intact, the boom that
followed resulted in a direction where America would spend a vast amount of money
developing and expanding a large freeway system. It resulted in the increase in population
spreading into the suburbs. This increase capital that America possessed was not spent
developing the inner cities, which had no cause for real concern at the time. Europe, and
Britain in particular emerged from World War II in a completely different situation. The blitz
had destroyed much of the inner cities and after war Britain had to rst concentrate its
efforts on redeveloping these damaged areas.
The Bridge Street Arcade is an example of a surge of feel-good architecture that
emerged after the war. [Fig. 5]
[Figure 5] Existing front facade of Bridge Street Shopping Arcade. Authors photo.
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36
Clifford Guy. Whatever happened to Regional Shopping Centres. Geographical Association 79 (1994):
297.
37
Ibid, 306.
38
Ibid.
39
Ibid, 307.
The building was intent on acting as an antidote to post-war gloom and austerity.
40

This idea of creating a more comfortable street suited the densely populated smaller
European cities, and proved that, when done well, it could be a favorable alternative to the
larger more dramatic shopping centres being erected. Europeans enjoy shopping from
small individually owned shops on lively central city main streets and pedestrian arcades,
and recoil with distaste from the ubiquitous and cheerless American strip malls and big-box
retailers.
41
The statement made by Robert J. Gordon may be exaggerating the dislike for
such buildings as statistics would suggest, but the success of Arcades does support his
statement to a certain extent. Perhaps the most important difference is that the Bridge
Street Arcade in Belfast does what no regional shopping centre can do. It heightens the
experience of shopping, providing a more pleasurable shopping experience whilst
possessing a strong sense of belongingness in the city of Belfast. Its architecture, and
historical signicance means it is deeply rooted in the fabric of the city. Suburban regional
shopping centres make no effort to integrate themselves into any depth beyond the extent
of their site boundaries. They seem to miss a fundamental organic process of growth and
relevance in European cities.
We have seen circumstances in Europe in the early 19th century make way for the
development of Arcades and Bazaars, this development was vital in providing lessons that
would later evolve in America. A similar set of social and economic conditions grew in
America which called for the development of large regional shopping centres. The various
benets produced, combined with an ever worsening condition in British city centres meant
the plan for regional shopping centres were welcomed. The impact of these uncontrolled
developments in America, slowly deteriorated the urban centre as high streets suffered the
consequences of losing customers to larger more specialized selling machines in the
suburbs. A vital difference in the economic structure of Britain to America appears to have
saved it from the over population of regional shopping centres as Britain was forced to
restructure its urban centre after the effects of World War II. Local government saw the
value of keeping the essence of the high street alive, despite its many aws. Arcades and
covered pedestrianized paths proved popular and managed to celebrate the culture and
history of a particular place, instead of focusing solely on the ability to sell merchandise.
Today, in Britain an equilibrium has so far been attained with the balance of regional
shopping centres and high street retail. These shopping centres will always have their part
to play in the retail sector as it is unrealistic to keep all aspects of retail in a city centre
where space is both limited and expensive. Although the high street in Britain has been
effected, it was never under any real threat unlike those in America. The shopping centres
were relatively fewer and further between, and were only smaller scaled attempts in
comparison to their mammoth American relatives.



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40
Barry Turner, Festival of Britain: fun that forged the future, The Telegraph, April 23, 2011.
41
The National Bureau of Economic Research. Two Centuries of Economic Growth: Europe chasing the
American Frontier. Accessed May 1, 2013. http://www.nber.org/papers/w10662.