Governmental and Public

EMBASSIES

TABLE 7 Embassy Space for Military Attache TABLE 8 Embassy Space for United States Information Service

Class post, net so ft Class post, net sq ft

I II III IV I II III IV

Military attaché . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 225 225 150 Public affairs

Military assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 150 150 150 Public affairs officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375 300 225 225
Enlisted men (150 sq ft first, plus 75 sq ft Junior officers (each) . . . . . . . . 150 150 150 150
each additional) Secretary-steno 1150 sq ft first, plus 75 sq ft
Civilian assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ 150 150 150 150
each additional)
Clerk stenographers 1150 sq ft first, plus Reception room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 225 150 150
75 sq ft each additional)
Reception room and receptionist' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 225 225 150 Cultural affairs
(This reception room can be shared by Cultural affairs officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 225 150 150
the three services) Secretary-steno . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 150 150 150
file-communications' Ivaries) . . . . . . . 375 300 225 150 Assistants or translators (150 sq ft first,
Vault and incinerator' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 150 75 75 plus 75 sq ft each additional)
Photo and dark room . . . . . 225 225 150 150
. . . . . 300 225 225 150 press section

Press officers leach) . . . . . . . 150 150 150 150

The communication complex will normally Translators (150 sq ft first, plus 75 sq ft
consist of the following : each additional)
Ante and reading room Clerk-stenographers 1150 sq ft first,
Classified mail and file room plus 75 sq ft each additional)
vault Publications officers 1150 sq ft first,
Incinerator plus 75 sq ft each additional)
Communication room(s) Press morque* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 300 225 150
Office(s) Storage` . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 300 225 150
Lavatory 375 300 225 150
Duplication unit' lot photo lab ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Liaison Attaché Motion picture section
This section should be located on or near the Motion picture officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 225 150 150
top floor of the building, usually adjacent to Assistants 1150 sq ft first, plus 75 sq ft
the communications area . (See Table 6.)
each additional)
Projectionists 1150 sq ft first, plus 75 sq ft
Military Attaches (Army, Navy, Air) each additional)
This space will vary according to post . The Clerk-stenographer 1150 sq ft first,
post may have one or all three services repre- plus 75 sq ft each additionall
sented . For the most part, this operation will Film library and editing' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 225 150 150
be of a classified nature and should be remote Film and projector' repair and storage . . . 300 300 225 225
from the public . In some posts the military
Projection and viewing room" (min. 300 sq ft)
attachés will have their own communication Dark room 150 150 150 75
complex and vault. A photo laboratory may be
required for each service . (See Table 7.) Radio section
Radio officers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 150 150 150
United States Information Service Assistants 1150 sq ft first, plus 75 sq ft
This section may not always be located at a each additional)
post . It is also possible that this activity may Clerk-stenographer (150 sq ft first,
be located away from the office building proper plus 75 sq ft each additional)
and in a more advantageous location in the Audiovisual studio'
midtown section . The library is the largest
Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375 375
unit in the Information Service . Many posts
include a projection room or theaterette for Control room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 300
motion pictures . This activity should be on Storage room' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 150 75 75
the ground floor or basement . Exhibits section
Since USIS activities often take place after
hours, when the mission is closed, the service Exhibits officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 150 150 150
should have a separate entrance so that the Assistants 1150 so ft first, plus 75 sq ft
rest of the building can be separated and each additional)
locked for security reasons. (See Table 8.) Studio workroom' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375 300 300 225
Exhibits area" lin lobbyl . . , . . . . . . . . . . 375 300 225 150
USIS Library The supervisors' offices should
Storage room (basement) . . , . . . . . 600 450 300 225
be 150 sq ft net and library assistants' offices
should be based upon 75 sq ft per desk person- Miscellaneous USIS areas
nel required . Because of the extreme variation
of the size of libraries between posts, it is Separate lobby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600 450 375 300
impractical to stipulate standard spaces for Mail room (near service entrance) . . . . . 375 300 225 225
the various library functions . Instead, the Conference room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450 375 300 225
USIS space recommendations should emanate Distribution and mailing unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450 375 300 225
from the post and should be based upon an
accurate survey of the need in each case . This
need should be established by the number of
volumes in the collection and the average
peak number of people patronizing the library.
USIS Library spaces include the following:

70 6
 Governmental and Public

EMBASSIES

Reading room and stacks TABLE 9 Embassy Space for Miscellaneous Functional and Service
Reference section Areas
Workroom (book repair) cl ass post, net sq ft
Periodicals section
Private reading room (research) I II III IV
Music room
Children's library Conference room (unclassified) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600 525 450 375
Cataloging Women's rest room lediacent to a toilet) . . . . . . . 225 225 150 150
Supervisor's office Lobby end reception area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 750 600 525 450
Library assistants Marine guard room loft or near lobbvl . . . . . . . 225 225 150 150
Book storage 150 150 150 150
Extra offices. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
V.I .P . offices 1150 sq it each). . . . . . . . _ . . 450 300 150 150
Roof Penthouse Medical" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525 450 375 300

On the roof may be located the elevator ma- Service entrance (loading dock and receiving) . . . . 300 225 150 75
chine room and the building's air-conditioning Unclassified mail room (near service entrance) . . . . 300 225 150 150
equipment . Space for these should be allocated General supply room' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450 375 225 150
as required by equipment and need . (See Table General storage room" . . . . . . . . . . . . . 900 750 600 450
9 .) Snack bar" (kitchenette and food storage) . . . . . . 750 600 450 300
Telephone equipment room' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525 225 150 75
Garage or Parking Area Mechanical equipment' (heating and
air conditioning) . . . . . . . 1,050 900 750 600
To the areas noted above there may be added
Repair shop(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600 450 450 300
garage facilities or outside parking, or a
combination of both, depending on site . Char force (lockers end toilets) . . . . . . 450 450 300 225
The following items are to be considered as Trash and incinerator room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 225 150 150
necessary : Electrical transformer and switchboard . . . . . . . . . 450 375 300 150
Standbv generator room (it required) . . . . . . . . 525 375 225 150
Parking area (x number of cars)
Wash and grease rack Messengers' locker room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 150 75 75
Dispatcher's office Water storage tanks (basement or
Chauffeurs dayroom and toilet separate from building) . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ _ - - - -
Bicycle racks
Underground gasoline storage tank
(including pump)
Vehicle repair shop and tool storage
Governmental and Public

POST OFFICES

Fig . 1 Gross area, 1,500 sq ft .

Fig . 3 Gross area, 5,300 sq ft .

U .S . Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Depart-

ment of the Navy, Washington, D .C.

Fig . 2 Gross area, 3,750 sq ft .

70 8
 Governmental and Public

ACCESS RAMPS FOR THE HANDICAPPED

A romp is defined as a sloping walkway which

is attached to a building as a means of moving
from one floor elevation to another without en-
countering any obstruction .
A ramp must be at least 4 ft wide . Ramp slopes
must not be greater than 8.33 percent (1 inch
in 12). (See Fig. 1.) If a ramp slopes 5 percent
(1 inch in 20) or less, and there is no dropoff,
then no handrail will be required . If ramp slope
Fig. 1 . is greater than 5 percent, and there is no dropoff,
then one handrail will be required . See handrail
requirements in Fig. 5.
Ramps shall have at least a 5'-0" straight level
surface at the bottom to allow stopping dis-
tance for wheelchairs . (See Fig. 2)
Ramps shall have a 3'-0" long intermediate-
level platform at 30'-0" intervals for rest
and safety . (See Figs . 3 and 4.)
Ramps shall have level platforms wherever they
turn to allow turning and stopping space
for wheelchairs.

An Illustrated Handbook of the Handicapped, Section

of the North Carolina State Building Code . Ronald Mace,
AIA, and Betsy Loslett, Raleigh, N.C., 1977.

Fig. 2 Straight-run ramp .

Fig. 3 Ramp with turning platform .

Fig. 5 Handrail requirements.

Fig. 4 Romp with intermediate switchback platform .

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Governmental and Public

PUBLIC TOILET ROOMS FOR THE HANDICAPPED

TOILET STALL

A 5' x 5' stall is usable by most people and

has the following requirements.
1 . Stall must be 5 x 5 ft
2 . W .C . center line is 1 ft 6 in from side wall
3 . 32 in door diagonally opposite W .C .
4 . Handrail extends 1 ft 6 in in front of W .C .
1'/2 in O .D ., 1 t/2 in from wall, 13 in above seat
5 . Standard partition toe clearance

Fig . 1 Due to additional length of handicapped toilet

stalls it is suggested they be located of end of toilet
rooms as shown here .

Fig . 3 Toilet stall elevation and plan .

An Illustrated Handbook of the Handicapped, Section

of the North Carolina State Building Code, Ronald Mace,
AIA, and Betsy Laslett, Raleigh, N.C., 1977 .

Fig . 2 Suggested entry and privacy screen arrangement to prevent door

swinging out into the corridor. Doors may swing in or out.

71 0
 M
Commercial
713 Space 792
REGIONAL SHOPPING CENTERS
Planning 793
RETAIL SHOPS 730
CLEARANCES FOR PRIVATE OFFICES 798
Show Windows 735
736 CLEARANCES FOR GENERAL OFFICES 798
Women's Wear
Men's Wear 739 INSURANCE COMPANIES 800
Bookshops 740 801
MEDICAL OFFICES
GIN Shops 740
RADIOLOGICAL OFFICES 806
Jewelry Shops 741
DENTAL OFFICES 807
Barber Shop 743
Tailor and Cleaner 743 LAW OFFICES 810
Beauty Shop 744 OPHTHALMOLOGICAL OFFICES 814
Shoe-Repair Shop 744
PARKING 817
Florist Shops 744
Automobile Dimensions 817
Drugstores 745
Car Classifications 822
Liquor Stores 746
749 PARKING GARAGES 824
Shoe Stores
751 PARKING LOTS 835
SUPERMARKETS
BANKS 753 AUTOMOBILE SERVICE STATIONS 839

BANK VAULTS 754 Automotive Shop 843

Gas Filling and Service Stations 844
RESTAURANTS AND EATING PLACES 755
759 AUTOMOBILE DEALER CENTERS 845
Restaurant Seating
Food Bars 763 TRUCK DEALER AND SERVICE FACILITIES 854
Serving Units 764 RADIO STATIONS 858
Liquor Bas 765 TV STATIONS 865
Nondining Spaces 766
HOTELS 870
KITCHENS 768
MOTELS 899
OFFICES, GENERAL 780
COMPUTER (EDP) FACILITIES 912
Work Stations 782
PHOTOGRAPHIC LABORATORIES 915
Private and Semiprivate 788
FUNERAL HOMES 916
Conference Rooms 790
Layout 791

By LATHROP DOUGLASS, FAIA
BASIC HISTORY AND TRENDS
A shopping center is a complex of retail stores
end related facilities planned as a unified group
to give maximum shopping convenience to
the customer and maximum exposure to the
merchandise . The concept is not new . The
agora of the typical city of ancient Greece
was essentially a shopping center in the heart
of the business district . The Emperor Trajan's
architect, the Greek slave Apollodorus, built
a shopping center adjacent to the Roman
Forum in A .D . 110 . It had a two-level enclosed
and ventilated mall lined with open-fronted
shops startlingly similar to today's most up-
to-date concept . The typical Arabian souk,
or market, of the Middle Ages also had narrow,
weather-protected malls lined with open-
fronted shops .
The past two decades, however, have seen
such a tremendous development in planned
shopping facilities in the United States that
today's center has, in fact, become a new
building type .
First, population growth led to outward
expansion of the cities and the building up
of the vast residential suburbs . Downtown
congestion, due to increased car ownership
and inadequate streets, weakened the down-
town merchants and prompted them to set up
branches in the suburban periphery in order
to be more convenient to their customers . As
a result of these activities on a large scale,
a whole new industry was born . Each suburban
district soon had its own major shopping
center and several minor ones . Such districts
each had clearly defined trade areas .
Another major change then set in : Vastly
improved, high-speed circumferential highways
soon tended to put all these suburban centers
in competition with each other . At the same
time, the decline of retail business and decay
of buildings in the central business districts
began forcing, in self-defense, a revitalization
of downtown .
As a result of these two new factors, the
shopping center industry is today pointing in
two new, significant directions . First, the
suburban centers are becoming megacenters,
complete with several department stores,
office buildings, motels, amusements, and,
of course, parking facilities . Second, the
central business districts are making a de-
termined stand to counteract the ever-growing
suburban competition by embarking on pro-
grams for construction of new high-speed
connector routes to downtown and construc-
tion of major downtown renewal projects,
also complete with stores, offices, hotels,
amusements, and parking facilities, usually
in decked garages due to the high downtown
land cost .
TYPES OF CENTERS
Neighborhood Center (Suburban)
This is a row of stores customarily (but not
always) in a strip, or line, paralleling the
highway and with parking between the line
of storefronts and the highway . Service is by
Commercial
REGIONAL SHOPPING CENTERS
alley in the rear . Ranging from 20,000 to
100,000 sq ft of space, these projects usually
contain a supermarket and a drugstore, often
a variety store, and a half-dozen or more
service-type stores . They cater to a very
limited trade area and are not normally com-
petitive with the major centers . A few of the
newer of these centers have their retail units
clustered around an enclosed "mini-mall ."
Intermediate or Community-Size Center
This also is usually a strip of stores but sub-
stantially larger than the neighborhood center
and usually containing a so-called "junior"
department store as the major unit . This type
is vulnerable to competition from the larger
centers and hence has declined in desirability .
The parking pattern is normally similar to that
of the neighborhood center .
Regional Center (Suburban)
This contains one to four department stores
plus 50 to 100 or more satellite shops and
facilities, all fronting on an internal pedestrian
mall, or shopping walkway . Parking com-
pletely surrounds the building group so that
all stores face inward to the mall with their
"backs" to the parking (Fig . 1) .
With today's rising land costs and diminish-
ing supply of suitable large tracts, there has
been a growing trend toward double-decked
parking to save land area . It is simply a matter
of the relation between the land cost and the
cost of the parking deck (Fig . 2) .
There is also a strong trend toward double
decking of the stores themselves so that the
central pedestrian mall has two interconnect-
ing levels, each lined with shops . The double-
level mall is also due, in part, to the need to
keep horizontal walking (shopping) distances
within reason . As land costs continue to rise
and projects to grow larger, three- and four-
level malls will, no doubt, become common .
Renewal Projects (Downtown)
Because of their cornplexity in matters legal
and political---as well as physical--downtown
centers are still, to some extent, in tire experi-
mental stage . The trend is toward a close
integration, on two or more shopping levels,
of department stores, shops of all sorts .
restaurants, etc . The multilevel malls may
connect directly or by bridges to other shop-
ping facilities, hotels, office buildings, theaters,
and parking garages . Because of high land
costs, all parking is normally multidecked and
can be above, below, or, better, laterally
contiguous to the shopping facilities . The
downtown trend is toward a multilevel pat-
tern interconnecting the essential parts of
the central business district .
DEVELOPMENT AND FINANCING
Shopping centers are customarily promoted
and owned by developers whose primary
motive is a return on their investment and,
to a lesser extent, by department stores or Fig . 1
713
 Commercial
REGIONAL SHOPPING CENTERS
Fig . 2
other merchants who are looking for new
outlets to increase their sales volume . With
the advent of rapid inflation, there is also a
strong trend toward participation in owner-
ship by the institutions, such as insurance com-
panies, who ill the past confined their activity
merely to lending money to the developer or
merchant .
Customarily the developer, regardless of
what individual or group he represents, can,
with good judgment and skill, set up the
project on the basis of, let us say, a 10 percent
investment of his own money and the remain-
ing 90 percent as a long-term loan from an
insurance company or other institution . As
the long-term loan usually does not become
available until completion of the project, the
developer borrows needed interim money, or
short-term financing, usually from a bank .
The dollar value of the long-term loan is
primarily calculated as a multiple of the antici-
pated rent roll ; that is to say, it is based on a
certain number of times tire total projected
annual rent collectible from all the committed
tenants who have acceptable credit ratings .
As the loan is based primarily oil the rents and,
therefore, is not affected by overruns in the
construction cost of tire job, it is obvious that
the construction budget becomes of utmost
importance . With only, say, 10 percent of the
total job cost as his investment and 90 percent
borrowed, an overrun of 10 percent will, in
actuality, double the amount of money that
the developer must invest . Otherwise, he will
have to sell out, go bankrupt, or cut every
possible cost he can, even if it damages the
popularity of the project . The vital importance,
as a result of this pattern, of a realistic and
inviolable budget should be clear .
THE TEAM
At the earliest possible stage in the concept
of the project, preferably even before acquisi-
tion of the land, a developer, i .e ., owner, should
assemble his professional team . For a small
neighborhood center, such a team might
consist solely of the owner and the architect,
especially if the owner is experienced in this
type of leasing .
71 4
For today's regional centers and downtown
renewal programs, however . the essential
team involves, in addition to the developer
(who may be an individual or a large develop-
ment corporation), the architect : the market
analyst ; the leasing agent ; the mortgage
broker ; the engineers (usually retained by
the architect and including mechanical, struc-
tural, and site) ; the attorney ; the public rela-
tions advisor ; and other occasionally needed
specialists . The larger and more complex the
proposed project, the more necessary it is
that each of these members of the team be
experienced not only in his own profession
but also in the specific field of shopping
center development . It is desirable, in fact,
that they participate, as part of the team, in
major decision making .
THE ECONOMIC SURVEY OR MARKET
ANALYSIS
Prior to any planning activity and often prior
to acquisition of the land, the market analyst
makes a complete survey of the anticipated
trade area surrounding the proposed site for
the center . The boundaries of the trade area
customarily depend on acceptable automobile
driving time to the center . Frequently the
trade area is broken into a primary area, where
a high percentage of the inhabitants would
shop at the center, and one or more secondary
areas where, due to competition or to driving
times or other reasons, a smaller percentage
would be anticipated . The analyst assembles
data on existing population, future population
trends, income levels, car ownership, existing
shopping facilities and their probable future
competitive effect, and also projected facilities
already announced or likely to be announced
by other developers . He estimates the probable
mortality rate of these proposed projects-i .e .,
how many will never be built--and the competi-
tive effect of any survivors . The analyst, from
his available statistical records, and based on
the income level, population, ethnic origins,
and other characteristics of the trade area,
then makes estimates of the amount of family
income likely to be allocated to such categories
as food, drugs, furniture, women's and men's
clothes, shoes, department store purchases,
etc ., etc . ; and, from these estimates, he pre-
pares charts indicating the recommended total
amount of floor area to be built and how much
of this floor area should be devoted to the
various kinds of merchandise and services .
These data then form the basis for the archi-
tectural planning . No major project should be
undertaken without an adequate market
analysis .
It is axiomatic that success goes to the
developer who "gets there the fustest with
the mostest," as tire old saying goes . If the
project is too slow in coming to fruition, a
competitive center, securing a firm hold on
the available business . may be built .
If a project is too large for the trade area, it
cannot be sufficiently rented, and the unrented
space may cause it to fail . If it is too small
for the trade area, it will invite the construction
of competitive centers and may lose out due
to this competition . In the past this determina-
tion of size, i .e ., total store area, was perhaps
the most vital decision to be made and one that
could be readily pinpointed from a thorough
market survey by a firm of sound judgment .
Today, however, with the vast increase in
circumferential highways, it has been con-
clusively established that trade area boundaries
no longer can be pinpointed . A surprising
number of shoppers now take advantage of
centers on the opposite side of a city because
of the new high-speed peripheral highways .
Today every aspect of a center's concept,
planning, and design must be of the best for
survival in the face of competition .
A school can be unfunetional, but the chil-
dren still have to go to school . A home may
have marry bad features, but the family will
still live there . Even a factory building can
have its faults . A shopping center, however,
depends on the whims of its customers,
mostly female, for its success . If, because of
inconvenience or unsuitable merchandise or
for any other reason, it does not have the
proper appeal, the customers simply will not
go there to shop, and the project may become
a failure .
SITE SELECTION
The following criteria normally apply :
- A site available for development and
located within the trade area recommended
in the market analysis .
- Location easily accessible to at least one
existing or shortly to be constructed major
highway, preferably to two or more major
highways . A location literally bordering on
one or more major highways is desirable for
its advertising impact on passing cars, but
this is not necessary if suitable access roads
exist between the highway and the site .
" Adequate present and future capacity of
adjacent highways for through traffic plus
that to be generated by the center .
- Land cost in proper relation to total
capital cost and to obtainable rents .
- Adequate size and suitable shape to
permit proper planning of the merchandising
area and a proper number of parking spaces .
Where acreage is limited and high land costs
are justified, parking can be on decks and
the whole project can be multilevel .
- Zoning suitable for proposed use or at
least a reasonable chance that such zoning
may be obtained . Zoning changes are often
difficult, expensive, and time-consuming to
make .
- Utilities available or installable at accept-
able cost .
- Subsurface ground conditions that can

be overcome at acceptable cost, such as rock,
swamp, trunk sewers, streams, etc.
" No easements or other legal restrictions
that will interfere with proper planning .
- Topography that will permit as near to an
ideal plan as possible without incurring exces-
sive grading or drainage costs . It is noted,
however, that it is usually better in principle to
move a million yards of earth than to compro-
mise e plan that will give maximum customer
convenience and proper store relationships .
Other criteria that are desirable but not
essential include :
" Adequate site area for future expansion
and inclusion of supporting facilities, such as
office buildings, motels, etc . There is little
risk in the acquisition of such additional
land, as land values always go up with the
construction of a major center .
- Proximity to public transportation (in the
case of larger cities) .
- Possibility of integrating the land with
other mutually beneficial uses such as town
centers, recreation, housing, etc .
- Protection of the project from undesir-
able neighboring developments through
achievement of suitable zoning of adjacent
lend .
SCHEMATIC PLANNING
Following acquisition of the site and comple-
tion of the economic survey, it is customary
for the developer to retain a suitably experi-
enced architect who proceeds to work out,
from the market survey and physical informa-
tion pertaining to the property, a simple sche-
matic solution . This shows building sizes and
arrangement, gross leasable areas, malls and
public space, parking layout, access roads,
method of servicing, and other basic aspects
of the concept, including all pertinent statistics .
This material, in conjunction with the economic
survey, is then used by the developer in ap-
proaching the department store prospects .
The architect's work normally is suspended
at this point until the department stores are
committed . Many projects never go beyond
this stage and, in any case, there is usually a
substantial lapse of time before the project
goes ahead .
The major principles of schematic planning,
in addition to conforming to the leasable area
recommendations of the economic survey,
are (1 ) convenience and comfort for the cus-
tomer, and (2) maximum merchandising
potential for the tenant stores . Customer
convenience demands ease of vehicular access
to and from the site ; ease and adequacy of
parking ; reasonable walking distances ; simple,
direct pedestrian shopping routes with mini-
mum obstructions and inconveniences . It is
axiomatic that a shopper rarely goes where
there is inconvenience of any sort .
Maximum merchandising potential means
the giving to each tenant in the project of a
reasonably equal opportunity to capture a
portion of the customer's trade . The means
of achieving this is normally based on the
concept of "anchors," or "pulls," that is to
say, those merchandising units that have
maximum appeal to the customer . The typical
shopper is usually attracted to a center primar-
ily by the type and range of merchandise
offered by the major department stores . This
appeal is supplemented by the opportunity
for convenient comparison shopping in the
many smaller or satellite stores . Because of
the customer activity generated by the appeal
of the department stores, these major units
are spaced at strategic spots, such as at each
end of a one- or two-level pedestrian mall
whose length is lined on each side with the
smaller satellite stores . The flow of customers
from these major units to each other then
draws people past the smaller stores, where
they stop en route for impulse and comparative
shopping .
The key to this planning is the avoidance
of any dead ends or out-of-the-way locations
for the smaller stores and the concentration
of all shopping on clearly defined routes
connecting with major "anchors," or "pulls,"
i .e ., the department stores .
Date on store sizes, mall design, parking
layout, etc . are included in other sections of
this article .
INTEGRATION WITH THE COMMUNITY
For many years the typical shopping center
has been a low, flat building mass resembling
an island surrounded by a vast, barren ocean
of asphalt . Landscaping has been inadequate,
and integration of any sort with the community
has been completely lacking . With the competi-
tive need, however, for increasing the size of
centers and including within their general
scope office buildings, hotels, housing, etc .,
the resulting more complex planning require-
rnents have given rise to a better opportunity,
as well as to greater urgency, for the true
integration of the stores and parking within
a larger major complex, such complex in turn
properly integrated with the existing neighbor-
hood . The importance of this integration has
been emphasized in the concepts of the "new
towns" arising in Europe and elsewhere . Plan
integration with the neighborhood has, in fact,
become a must for large centers and a factor
not to be ignored even for the smallest ones .
Such integration involves the space inter-
relationship between the neighborhood and
project's buildings, roadways, parking, land-
scaping, and pedestrian walks . It can be a
powerful means of assuring long-range future
reel estate values, both for the shopping
project and for the entire surrounding com-
munity, whether commercial or residential .
Where land costs permit, it is obviously
desirable to obtain control of the lend sur-
rounding the center, not only to protect the
center but to take advantage of the inevitable
increase in value and development potential
of such land .
PLANNING FOR EXPANSION AND STAGED
CONSTRUCTION
It has always been considered good practice
to build retail space as nearly as possible
commensurate with market survey recom-
mendations . Today, however, two problems
often confront the developer :
a . With the increasing extent of peripheral
highways and the spectacular growth of
the suburbs in many cities, it lies become
increasingly difficult to estimate the future
potential of a particular center and hence
the amount of future space needed to maintain
its competitive position .
b . With the increasing number of centers
with two to four department stores, the
situation arises in which one or more such
stores, however necessary they may be to the
project and however eager they may be to be
included, may for good reasons of their own
wish an opening date a year or more later than
the official opening date set for the center .
Therefore, it has become more and more
customary to do either or both of the following :
a. Plan for a more or less indeterminate
expansion at some unspecified future date .
Commercial
REGIONAL SHOPPING CENTERS
b . Plan for one or more specific stages of
construction, each to be undertaken as a
successive part of a more or less continuous
construction operation .
In the latter case, i .e ., two or more specifical-
ly scheduled construction stages, the problem
becomes more one of leasing than of planning .
The project is planned for the final stage, and
it becomes the leasing broker's problem as to
how much space he can lease at top rents in
the first stage and how much it becomes
necessary to leave for the later stage or stages
due to the initial absence of one or more
department stores . There also arises the
problem of the construction contract . If stage
one is completed before stage two is sent out
for bidding, then the bidding can be truly
competitive . But when the second stage begins
before completion of the first stage, it may be
difficult to secure bids or to negotiate a reason-
able price with the contractor already on the
job . A method occasionally used on large
centers, and one which applies in this situation,
is for the general contractor or the owner's
building organization to clearly establish that
more than one subcontractor in each major
trade will be utilized and thereby to ensure a
continuing competitive atmosphere . This
procedure also has the advantage of allowing
smaller subcontractors to bid on parts of
large jobs .
In the case, however, of providing for
expansion at some undetermined future date,
the situation is different and much more
difficult to resolve . Merely to provide excess
land area for future use is usually an unaccept-
able solution . This is because proper integra-
tion of the future unknown facilities with the
existing center may turn out to be difficult if
not impossible . This, in turn, weakens the
trade potential of the overall enlarged project .
The proper procedure usually is to master-plan
the entire available site so that a thoroughly
acceptable final project can result . It is noted,
however, that any master plan for the enlarge-
ment of a center at some indeterminate time,
say three years or more in the future, must
in every case take into consideration the
following :
The most critical time for any center whatso-
ever is the year it opens and usually also the
succeeding two years of its life . It either
becomes a success within those years, or it
becomes, for the time being at least, a failure .
Few developers with their small equity invest-
ment and high mortgage payments can afford
to retain ownership of a losing operation for
a sufficient length of time to take advantage
of any ultimate success .
Therefore, the master plan for the site
must provide for as nearly perfect an initial
stage as is possible . If, then, in five or ten
years the center becomes so popular that the
developer decides to enlarge it, the center's
popularity and sales potential are already
clearly established and the perfection of the
final plan is of much less importance .
Expansion of individual stores is a different
problem . Special provision for such expansion
may be made by (1) adding future floor(s),
(2) lateral contiguous construction, (3) use of
areas held in reserve for this purpose in
basements and mezzanines, or (4) eliminating
adjacent tenancies and taking over their space .
In all cases involving an increase in the
project's gross leasable area (G .L .A .), added
parking must be provided to compensate and
maintain proper ratio of G .L .A . to car stalls .
Regardless of the program of phased con-
struction or of future expansion, there are two
additional items that must at all times be
taken into consideration in any schedule :
1 . A shopping center does by far its greatest
71 5
Commercial
REGIONAL SHOPPING CENTERS
amount of business in the two months before
Christmas . Its next busiest season is before
Easter, and the next busiest, after that, is
prior to "back to school ." Therefore, shopping
centers in general and department stores in
particular customarily set opening dates that
are inviolable . Any serious postponement can
jeopardize the heavy investment in merchan .
dise for that particular season . It is customary,
therefore, in all shopping center operations to
schedule the work backward from the manda-
tory and inflexible opening date and allow
adequate time for fixturing and stocking the
stores .
2 . For public impact and general public
acceptance in a shopping center's early years,
it is generally desirable to schedule the leasing,
planning, and construction so that all stores
can open at once . This avoids the public
inconvenience and bad public relations of a
mall with many barricades, etc ., due to un-
finished stores, as well as the unfavorable
customer reaction from limited merchandise .
GENERAL DESIGN AND PLANNING CRITERIA
Column Spacing
Significant dimension is along the mall as this
involves the widths, i .e ., frontages, of stores .
Often used spaces are 20, 25 and 30 ft, with
the last the roost flexible . Dimension from mall
to rear of store can be set by the most economi-
cal structural system . It is essential to arrive
at the most economical structural system, as
the roof is a major cost factor .
Store Depths
For one-story stores in America, buildings
are usually 120 to 140 ft deep, sometimes more
to accommodate larger stores . If there are
basements or mezzanines, the depth dimension
usually can be reduced 20 to 25 percent . In
European centers and others with many very
small stores, there is a problem in how to
achieve shallow depth without incurring higher
costs from greater mall lengths in relation
to floor area . One often used and desirable
device is to "dog leg," or "ell," a larger store
around a smaller store .
Clear Heights
These vary from 10 to 14 ft or more, with 12
ft a good average . Above this clear height,
there must be adequate space for air-condi-
tioning ducts, recessed lights, structural
system, etc .
Ducts and Shafts
The shells of the buildings must be flexible
enough to accommodate any reasonable tenant
requirements . It is essential that the mechani-
cal engineer set up a schedule of the location
and sizes of the principal duct runs and shafts
to avoid serious future space problems. This
requirement includes special exhaust ventila-
tion through the roof and all other mechanical
items that can be anticipated .
Central Plant vs . Individual HVAC System
Regardless of which method is used, the space
to be occupied by all equipment must be
determined, both in size and location, in the
earliest planning stages . Central plant equip-
ment can be in a separate building, on the
project roof, or elsewhere so long as it is
71 6
economical as to design and length of runs .
Individual plants in each store require roof
space, cooling towers, etc .
Roof Equipment Concealment
The inexcusable eyesores so often seen can
be avoided by proper coordination of work
between the leasing agent, the architect, and
the mechanical engineer and the resulting
provision of properly located and designed
roof screens and enclosures .
Exterior Walls
As these may have, depending on each store's
requirements, service doors, public entrance
doors, trash rooms, show windows, etc ., a
modular design that can suitably accommodate
for visual effect any of these features is very
desirable . Show windows and public entrances
are rare on parking lot facades, as it has been
found that the great majority of customers
enter stores from the mall rather than directly
from the parking lot . Public entrances from
the parking lot usually occur only for depart-
ment stores, for stores open on Sundays, and
for such tenants as restaurants, drugstores,
and the like .
Anarchy vs . Regimentation
In the original shopping centers, there often
was no design control at all, with a resulting
anarchy of signs, materials, and design . This
situation gradually changed to one where so
much rigid control was exercised that the
projects became far too monotonous . Proper
design calls for a homogeneous whole with
the widest possible latitude for individual
design of each store . Generally the greatest
possible latitude (in good taste) should be given
to the mall facades, with fairly severe restric-
tions placed on the exterior facades . This gives
interest in the interior, where it is desirable,
and unity of design for the exterior .
Traffic
The car capacity of all contiguous roadways
used for ingress and egress must be sufficient
to accommodate present and future through
traffic plus the traffic generated by the shop-
ping center . Proper signal controls, reservoir
TYPICAL RESERVOIR LANES, RING ROAD,
AND PARKING SYSTEM
A =RESERVOIR LANES O= SECONDARY PARKING
B=RING ROAD E=FUTURE PARKING
C =PRIMARY PARKING RESERVE
Fig . 3
lanes, divider strips, and other traffic control
features must be provided . It should always
be kept in mind that a center with, say, 5,000-
car parking and an average turnover on Fridays
of, say, four cars per parking space, accom-
modates a total number of cars per day that
would stretch, if traveling in a line on the
highway, all the way from New York to Boston .
Because of the complexity of the traffic prob-
lem, the developer or his architect frequently
hires a traffic engineer to assure himself that
the highways have adequate capacity and that
the center can accommodate smoothly the
ingress and egress of customers' cars . The
traffic engineer is, however, interested in
speed and smooth flow of traffic, while the
architect for the project should be more
concerned with convenience, simplicity, and
customer's freedom of choice in selecting her
route and parking procedure (Fig . 3) .
LEASING
Customarily the satellite stores and all other
facilities, retail or otherwise with the exception
of the department store, are leased by the
developer . The developer may lease one or
all the department stores and build them to
the tenant's requirements, or he may sell or
lease the land to one or more, in which case
the department store designs and constructs
its own facilities within the established limits
and requirements of the overall project .
The satellite leases usually provide for a
minimum annual rent (on which the mortgage
calculation is based) plus or against an overage
rent consisting of a percentage of the store's
gross annual sales . It is the latter provi-
sion which makes the success of each individ-
ual store so important to the developer and
which compensates him for future inflation .
It puts the developer and tenant into a sort of
partnership .
It is obvious that the individual rent terms
must reflect not only the cost of the land and
overall project costs but also the amount of
special work done by the developer for the
individual tenant . In the past, the developer
installed much of the tenant's special require-
ments and received a proportionally higher
rent . The trend today, however, is for the
developer to supply the shell of the premises
only, with each tenant installing at his own

expense the ceiling and floor finishes, decor,
mall storefront, and some of the air-condi-
tioning equipment items . Trade fixtures,
except in unusual circumstances, are always
installed by the tenant .
As the leasing program takes time to con-
summate, it is absolutely essential that the
leasing proceed simultaneously with the
architectural design and drawings and that
the leasing agent and the architect and his
engineers keep in continuous communication .
Otherwise, long delays and expensive changes
ensue .
In view of the importance of the department
stores in generating customer traffic for the
project, their lease terms usually provide
only a minimum (if any) profit for the developer .
The profit on the development as a whole must
then come from proportionately higher rents
from the satellites . For this reason, when
the owner of a center is a developer and not
a department store, it is essential that at
least half the total retail area be occupied by
high-rent satellites .
TENANT MIX
Tenant "mix" is the name for tire plan relation-
ship to each other of the various types of stores
and facilities . Proper tenant mix exposes the
customer to a varying sequence of differing
types of merchandise . If each store type is
properly located in relation to every other store
type, it has been demonstrated that each store
will receive its maximum sales volume. In such
cases, the center will be successful and all
tenants, plus the developer, will profit . If the
relationships are not correct, many of the
stores may not receive their fair share of the
customer's dollar, and both the individual
store and the developer will suffer . The de-
veloper may not, in such cases, receive any
rent based on percentage of sales volume,
and the strength of the center as a whole will
be weakened . There are many theories on
proper tenant mix . It has been fairly well estab-
lished, however, that with few exceptions
and regardless of length of malls or number of
mail levels, a generally mixed pattern of high
and low prices, soft goods and hard goods,
retail and services produces the best individual
sales volumes and overall success .
THE MALL
The pedestrian mall has become the feature of
today's shopping center, whether the project
is in the suburbs or in the central business
district . The pedestrian Mall has the following
characteristics :
a . The mall usually consists of the principal
mall, the major pedestrian shopping street of
the project, and one or more subsidiary ap-
proach malls or access routes connecting the
main mall with the parking areas or adjacent
streets .
b . With few exceptions, all stores have their
principal entrance on the main mall or, less
desirably, on approach malls, whether or not
these stores have additional entrances to park-
ing lots or adjacent streets .
c . The mall can be on one level or on'two or
more superimposed levels . Each mall level
should, however, avoid slopes or steps within
its own walkways to avoid hindrance to shop-
ping and a source of accidents .
d . The mall can be (1) open, with weather
protection consisting solely of continuous
canopies along the store fronts, (2) completely
covered but open to the air, or (3) completely
enclosed, necessitating heating in winter and
air-conditioning in summer .
The trend has been almost exclusively
toward the enclosed climatized mall except
where weather conditions are ideal or some
other factor makes the open mail preferable .
Enclosed malls have been in the form of huge
courts ; they have been wide, narrow, straight,
circuitous, empty, or filled with amenities ;
they have had one level or two or more levels ;
and they have been lighted by skylights or
solely by artificial means (Fig . 4) .
The trend has been steadily away from wide
malls and court-type malls . Currently widths of
30 to 40 ft are outnumbering widths of 50 ft
or more . The wider malls require more land-
TYPICAL SECTION OF 2 STORY MALL SHOWING
NARROWER LOWER LEVEL SOMETIMES USED
TO GIVE BETTER VISIBILITY BETWEEN LEVEL'
AND INCREA E I FASABLE AREA .
Fig . 4
scaping and features to avoid a barren atmo-
sphere . They also require more cubage and
hence are less economical despite the possibil-
ity of high rents from kiosks and similar fea-
tures spotted along their lengths . Furthermore,
and most important, narrow malls facilitate
back and forth comparison shopping from one
side to the other and hence significantly aid
the customer's exposure to the merchandise .
A logical trend is toward stretches of narrow
mall, generally devoid of amenities, punctuated
by moderate-sized courts in front of depart-
Merit stores or elsewhere which become
customer magnets . The courts have greater
lighting intensity, greater height, and spectac-
ular features such as fountains, lush land-
scaping, and monumental sculpture .
The length of malls generally should not be
more than 800 ft (preferably less) between
department stores or other major features ;
but, in the case of more than two department
stores, total length can be substantially more.
Because of the high downtown land costs
and increasing land costs in the suburbs, plus
the shortage of sites of adequate area, the two-
level Mall is becoming a standard solution ;
in due course, malls of three levels or more
will doubtless increase in number . Such multi-evels make the shop ing areamuchmore
compact and walking distances shorter .
In connection with any two-level (or more)
mall, it is virtually mandatory that each level
be as important as every other level ; otherwise,
one level will become the level, all the stores
will want to be on that level, and the other level
will be second choice, will command lower
rents, and hence, in all probability, will not
economically justify its construction .
To achieve this equality of desirability, of
customer appeal, and of rent balance, it is
essential that both (or all) levels have :
a . Equally convenient accessibility from
parking areas by means of two or more levels
of immediately adjacent parking, whether on
grade or on decks or by means of other devices
to equalize the parking convenience .
Commercial
REGIONAL SHOPPING CENTERS
h . No mall dead end on any level without a
department store as its terminus .
c . Adequate vertical transportation between
levels, usually one or more sets of escalators
and several sets of convenient stairs .
d . Visual interconnection of levels through
the Maximum use of open wells permitting
maximum visibility of one level's shops and
customers from the other .
MALL AMENITIES
With the advent of the pedestrian mail came the
need to give it interest and glamour as an
enhancement to the overall customer appeal
of the center . This interest or glamour is nor-
mally non-income producing ; but, in the case
of small retail kiosks for such items as keys,
stockings, photo supplies, and soft drink facil-
ities, very high rents can be obtained because
of the conspicuous and high-exposure loca-
tions .
Mall amenities generally include, in addition
to landscaping, which will be elaborated on in
another section, most of the following items :
" Trash and ash receptacles, a mandatory
aid in preventing litter .
" Directories of one sort or another to facil-
itate finding specific stores .
" Public telephone installations .
" Seating groups and individual benches for
resting, although many planners believe it is
better to have frequent coffee stands both for
better control and to produce income . Many
also believe that, in downtown areas, it is often
better to avoid benches so as to discourage
loitering by undesirable elements .
" Fountains, properly designed for public
protection from water hazards . (Water seems
to have a universal appeal .)
" Kiosks of various sizes and shapes, gen-
erally less than 250 sq ft, though there is a
trend to larger ones .
" Lockers (occasionally) for storing pur-
chases while continuing to shop .
" Sculpture or other art forms as major
design features .
" Miscellaneous items occasionally used to
catch the public interest, such as birdcages,
kiddy mazes, fashion mirrors, closed-circuit
TV, clocks, continuous music, fashion plat-
forms, exhibit areas, etc . It is noted that in the
case of exhibit areas, it is necessary to provide
adequate Mall-access doors for bringing in
large items to be exhibited .
Mall lighting should be low-keyed and incan-
descent, should lend interest to dark or monot-
onous areas, and should, except in major
courts, allow the storefronts to be the Main
attraction . Natural light is often used in mod-
eration to give variety of effect and sometimes
to save power cost, but generally natural light
must be limited in order to avoid dilution of the
impact of the storefronts along the mall . As
malls are customarily open late afternoons
and evenings, adequate artificial illumination
must be provided regardless of the extent of
the natural light .
Mall materials are of great importance . Gen-
erally speaking, they should reflect the quality
level of the project, be sturdy enough to resist
vandalism, and require minimum maintenance .
As an example, floor materials on projects vary
from hardened cement to terrazzo, tile, or
marble, and now, occasionally, to carpeting .
It is noted that the floor of a mall is very con-
spicuous and the character, quality, and ease
of maintenance of its surface materials should
be primary considerations .
71 7
Commercial
REGIONAL SHOPPING CENTERS

STOREFRONTS AND SIGNS ON THE MALL stores such as department stores . Further-
more, the whole theory of the present-day
Open malls require glazed storefronts, and shopping center is to get the customers as
hence their requirements are similar to those quickly as possible into the mall, from which
of the typical city street . Enclosed, climatized the shopping process originates . Department
malls can have open storefronts, i .e ., the major stores insist on having direct entrances on the
part of the store's frontage can be without parking lot as well as the mall, but here again,
show windows and completely open, so that exterior show windows are usually cut to the
the shopper can enter the store virtually with- minimum.
out being aware she has done so . At night the Even in the central-business-district projects,
store is protected by sliding glass panels or where some of the stores front on both city
roll-up grilles. streets and the mall, experience has shown
Generally speaking, except for certain that the majority of the shoppers enter the
limita-ionsonuseofmaterialsand,morepartic- stores from the malls rather than from the
ularly, on store signs, the tenant is encouraged city streets, and many street entrances have
to use as much imagination and variety in his been closed off.
store frontage as possible to give glamour, In the matter of materials, the trend is toward
interest, and appeal not only to his own store permanence through good but not elaborate
but to the mall as a whole. Customarily the quality and the use of masonry and related
storefront as well as the store interior is de- types of material .
signed by a firm retained by the individual A major problem of recent origin that re-
store rather than by the developer. quires careful solution is that resulting from
Except for whatever devices are used to the fact that there may be several department
achieve overall unity and harmony, the mall stores, in addition to the satellite stores, each
frontage can be treated completely at the will designed by a different architect. Achievement
of each tenant, subject only to such restrictions of harmony of design can, therefore, become
as are recorded in the lease terms. It is essen- difficult .
tial, however, that such terms give the devel- The problem of visible mechanical equip-
oper and his architect the right of final approval ment is always a serious one. Mechanical
at their sole discretion . Signs are primarily design and drawings should always be care-
either for store identification or for general fully checked for visual aspects, and when such
advertising of the store . The former has e equipment is visible, consideration has to be
legitimate place in the shopping center con- given to suitable methods of concealment,
cept . The latter generally does not. The larger whether by masonry screens or whatever .
the store, the greater the justification for a
sign, as the larger stores are the magnets that
attract the public . Endless exterior signs for the SERVICING
smaller stores are confusing, unsightly, and
useless to store, owner, and customer . The Servicing involves the delivery of goods to the
passerby cannot read the confusion of smaller various stores and also the removal of trash
signs, and the shopper who has already parked and garbage. In the simple strip center, the ser-
gets no identification value from small-store vicing is customarily by an alley in the rear of
exterior signs as there is literally no way for the strip of stores . It is desirable to conceal
her to relate any such sign to its own store the alley from adjacent neighborhood areas
once she has parked her car and entered the by a wall or landscaping .
mall system . In the one-level regional suburban center,
Signs, on the other hand, are a necessity servicing is customarily by one of the follow-
within the mall to identify the individual stores . ing :
Signs should be simple, easily grasped, in good a. Underground service tunnel, usually
taste, and so arranged as to be visible at close under the mall, connecting directly to tenant-
range as well as at a distance . Too often store leased basements which connect, in turn, to the
identification to the passing potential customer stores above. This system avoids all unsight-
is omitted in favor of huge signs legible only at ly trash, keeps parked trucks out of the way,
a distance that may not exist. Properly de- and avoids allocation of prime parking space
signed and lighted signs can greatly enhance to servicing . It also relegates non-selling activ-
the interest and appeal . Sign regulations ities to the basement, reserving the main floor
should accompany each lease, and all signs for sales . The tunnel adds, however, 3 percent
must be subject to final approval from the or more to the total cost of the construction
owner and his architect to ensure proper and more or less necessitates the inclusion of
harmony. basements . This, in turn, calls for realistic
Signs or pylons on the exterior to identify leasing and financing of these basement areas
the shopping center itself are a common prac- if they are to be self-supporting financially .
tice but of dubious value. A regional project b. Service courts on the periphery of the
with its half-mile of construction is so con- building complex. These are usually partially
spicuous that anything more than simple shielded from public view by masonry walls
identification is usually unnecessary . 6 to 10 ft high or higher . Their cost is mini-
mum, but they occupy space that is expensive
if land costs are high and that could otherwise
EXTERIOR FACADES be utilized for prime parking. The interiors of
the courts are objectionable in appearance and
Some of the major satellite stores desire store- can rarely be adequately screened . Further-
fronts on the exterior of the complex, i .e ., park- more these courts can usually be made directly
ing lot facades . The trend, however, whether accessible to only a portion of the stores pres-
by store preference for simpler control or by ent. This type of project normally has no base-
developer preference for economy, is to reduce ment space.
to a minimum the number of show windows c. Over-the-curb and sidewalk directly from
and public entrances on the exterior facade . the street . This is the cheapest and uses the
Experience has shown that the public does not least lend, but it requires rigid enforcement
like to enter a mall through anything but the of cleanliness by the project management,
regular mall entrances or else through major delivery of merchandise and removal of trash
generally before or after business hours, and
the mandatory inclusion of trash rooms in
each store.
Generally speaking, markets, department
stores, restaurants, end drug and variety stores
have the greatest demand for adequate ser-
vice facilities .
Service trucking routes on the site are often
separated from customer routes, but this
arrangement is generally not necessary as the
relatively few number of trucks per day in a
typical shopping center presents no traffic
problem . In the case of sidewalk delivery, the
parked trucks pose problems, and policing
may be required to prevent the accumulation
of trash .
In multilevel projects, the use of strategi-
cally placed freight elevators is necessary.
These usually connect to fireproof passages
at the rear of the stores (whether on an upper
level or below grade) and often serve also as
fire exits . With this type of project, necessi-
tating service corridors, service courts can
usually be fewer and more concentrated .
Mezzanines are occasionally used to pro-
vide storage and non-selling space. Such facil-
ities have value in that they reduce the depth
of space required and hence the land occu-
pied, but they rarely produce savings in con-
struction cost because of the need for greater
height of store-building roofs for adequate
clearances .
CLIMATE CONTROL
Today virtually all commercial space such as
stores, offices, hotels, and pedestrian malls
are maintained the year round within certain
limits as to temperature and relative humidity .
In most climates this means heating and humid.
ification in the winter, cooling and dehumid-
ification in the summer, and at least ventilation
in the intermediate seasons.
The problem of cooling is proportionately
more important than heating, even in rela-
tively cold climates, because of the necessity
to compensate for the body heat and moisture
emitted by crowds of people and the heat from
electric lighting, especially the incandescent
type . It is not uncommon, even in the north,
for the cooling system of a department store
to operate almost into the winter season .
When this climatization of commercial space
began to be adopted in the earlier shopping
centers, it was frequently a matter of tenant
choice and expense. The developer would sup-
ply the minimum heating required by the code,
and each tenant would then decide whether
or not to install his own air-conditioning sys-
tem. This method is still used in neighborhood
strip centers. As air-conditioning became more
universal, however, it became logical for the
developer to take advantage of his stronger
buying position and have the air-conditioning
installed on his own account as individual
systems in each of the stores of his project,
charging each tenant enough more rent to com-
pensate for the cost and having each tenant
responsible for operation and maintenance .
Compressors and fans, as well as "cooling
towers" required in the case of larger stores,
were installed in basements, on mezzanines,
and on roofs. Roof installations, necessary
both for lower cost and engineering require-
ments, became large and unsightly. This led to
efforts to concentrate the equipment as much
as possible and to surround it with lightweight
or, preferably, masonry screen walls creating
penthouses on the roofs . With this system of

71 8

air-conditioning, each tenant always paid the
retail electric rate applicable to the service
required by him .
In the late 1960s, a new trend set in for the
larger regional centers . The developer and his
mechanical engineer found they could profit-
ably work out a system involving a central
cooling and heating plant for the entire proj-
ect, metering and selling chilled water and
hot water to each of the tenants and, of course,
providing complete air-conditioning and heat-
ing for the mall and other public space . In this
type of operation the developer installs the
central plant, all the equipment for the mall,
and the distribution lines for the heated and
chilled water to the individual tenant spaces .
Usually each tenant and/or store owner then
installs the heat exchanger, fans, and distri-
bution ducts within his own premises . The
developer buys electric power at low rates
because of the large amount purchased, and
the individual tenant pays the developer for
the water used at a lower rate than that which
he would have had to pay in the case of his own
individual plant . However, the tenant still pays
enough to allow the developer to make a profit
on the overall central plant operation . Because
of this demonstrable and sometimes very sub-
stantial annual profit from the sale of heated
and chilled water, the developer can finance
the central plant so that it does not increase
his equity investment . This had not been true
before the 1960s .
In some states the developer can go even
further and set up a so-called total energy plant,
producing the electricity itself by means of gas
or other fuels . Such systems are, in effect,
private utility companies and subject to state
law .
Should the developer wish to stay out of the
problems of negotiation with tenants and
operation of the central plant, there are com-
panies that will undertake, for suitable remu-
neration, the construction, operation, and
ownership of the system on behalf of the
developer . In this case, it is obvious that
financial and engineering responsibility of the
operating company must be clearly established .
It is always essential that design provi-
sion be made in the earliest stages of the plan-
ning for all items of mechanical equipment,
with allowance for floor space, for weight,
for ceiling clearances, and for suitable visual
effects of supply and exhaust grilles, especially
in malls .
PARKING AND TRAFFIC
The need for parking was one of the primary
factors leading to the development of the shop-
ping center concept . Provision of adequate and
convenient parking is, in fact, a basic require-
ment of any shopping center, regardless of its
size or location . In suburban areas where
almost all the trade comes by automobile, a
ratio of between 5 and 6 car spaces per 1,000
sq ft of leasable store area is mandatory . In
the central business district, where mass
transportation and walk-in trade can be count-
ed on for a substantial part of the clientele,
the ratio can go down to as low as 2 .5 to 3
cars per 1,000 sq ft .
In strip centers, customer parking is gen-
erally between the roadway and the line of
storefronts .
In regional suburban centers, the parking
normally is on grade and completely surround-
ing the. shopping complex . Where land costs
approach the cost of parking decks, it is be-
IDEAL LOCATION FOR HEDGES
(3 FT MIN . HEIGHT) TO
CONCEAL OCEAN OF ASPHALT"
SPACING FOR CONTINUOUS
TREE HEDGE
SPACING FOR BOSQUE
OR FORMAL MASS OF
SMALL TREES
COMPACTED MASS OF
TREES FOR SCALE
EFFECT
SIMPLE CONTINUOUS HEDGE FOR CONCEALING
"OCEAN OF ASPHALT ."
Fig . 5
Commercial
REGIONAL SHOPPING CENTERS
coming more frequent to deck at least a portion
of the site area, often where topography aids
the situation .
In central-business-district projects, because
of very high land cost, the parking usually ties
to be multidecked and is preferably contiguous,
connecting directly with different levels of the
center . It can also, for further economy of land
use, be above the retail floors on decks as roof
parking ; or, more customarily, it can be below
the retail levels in basement or partial base-
ment locations . Though basement parking is
the least desirable from the viewpoint of the
shopper's normal psychology and is also least
desirable from the construction cost point of
view, it is a relatively common arrangement
due to inadequate land area and to the legal
aspects of the federal urban renewal programs .
In such programs, in order to conserve land
area and cost, the developer frequently can
build the complex on air rights over multi-
decked garage facilities built by one or another
government agency .
It has been stated by authorities on the sub-
ject, however, that for customer acceptance it
is better to have parking above grade, even up
to six or eight levels, than to have it more than
one or two levels below grade .
In the matter of parking layout, car stalls
can be set at angles (say, 70'j to the lanes,
which then requires one-way traffic ; or stalls
can be at 90' to the lanes, permitting two-way
traffic . The former is easier for the actual posi-
tioning of the car in the stall but more compli-
cated and inflexible for the customer, due to
the one-way pattern . Although both are com-
monly used, the 90 arrangement is some-
what more frequent for grade parking whereas
the angled system is more customary for
garages and decks .
Parking lanes, including the stalls on each
side, range from 60 to 64 ft in width for 90
parking and from 56 to 58 ft for angled parking .
In any decked parking layout, it is important
that deck widths be multiples of these standard
dimensions . Otherwise, wasted deck area sub-
stantially increases the cost per car of the
parking without any offsetting advantages .
In the case of multi-use central-business-dis-
trict structures, the proper Column spacing,
requirements of parking, merchandising,
offices, and hotel use vary considerably, and
the planning becomes very involved . Practical
decisions must be made as to which facility
governs, and in no case must the "tail be
allowed to wag the dog ."
In the typical shopping center, parking is
provided by the developer . In the case of cen-
tral-business-district renewal projects, how-
ever, parking may be provided by a parking
authority, renewal agency, or others . It may or
may not be leased to the developer, or it may
be built by the developer and leased to a park-
ing authority or others .
In the case of double-level malls in the
suburbs, topography can be an aid rather than
a hindrance through provision of on-grade
parking at two different levels--one parking
area at the level of the upper mall, the other at
the lower, thus equalizing the parking access
and convenience for each level of the mall .
There are a number of ramp systems for
decked parking and various patterns of parking
lanes or bays for both ramped and grade park-
ing . In the case of grade parking, lanes or bays
should generally be at right angles to the build-
ing facades to enable shoppers to walk directly
to the building complex without threading
through parked cars, as with lanes parallel to
the facades .
71 9
 Commercial

REGIONAL SHOPPING CENTERS

LANDSCAPING LIST OF STORES BY LOCATIONS 8- Bookstore

9. China and silver
This visually important element of shopping For reference purposes, the alphabetically 10 . Cleaners and dyers (pick-up)
center design rarely receives the attention and arranged lists below represent a check list of 11- Cocktail lounge
budget its importance deserves- Most sub- stores that the Council' considers are suitable 12 . Corset shop
urban customers have gardens and are land- for the several categories of real estate location 13- Delicatessen (also in no . 1 location
scape-conscious . Nevertheless, there are in shopping areas- in some cases)
literally hundreds of shopping centers that 14- Electrical appliances
are surrounded by barren oceans of monoto- 15 . Fruit and vegetable market (should be
No . 1 Locations (100 Percent or "Hot Spot")
nous asphalt- The primary reason for this situa considered in relation to regular grocer)
tion is that the landscaping is installed last, 1 . Bakery 16- Glass and china
is not related directly to the building construc . 2- Boys clothing 17- Laundry agency
tion operation, and consequently is vulnerable 3- Candy store 18- Linen shop
to "corner cutting" by the developer, especially 4- Children's wear 19- Liquor store
if the project cost is running over the budget 5. Cosmetics and perfume 20 . Maternity clothes
The landscaping in the regional, that is to 6. Costume jewelry 21- Pen shop
say, suburban center usually has two compo- 7. Department store 22- Radio and television
nents : interior, i .e ., the landscaping in the mall, 8. Drugstore 23 . Sewing machines and supplies
and exterior, i .e ., that outside the buildings and 9- Five and ten 24- Sporting goods
in the parking areas. Because of the climate 10. Florist 25- Stationery and greeting cards
control in the typical enclosed mall, tropical 11 . Gift shop 26 . Telegraph office
planting can be maintained provided that ade- 12- Girls' apparel 27 . Theater (or no . 3 location)
quate light, water, and drainage are supplied 13- Grocery (cash and carry) 28 . Woolens and yarns
and there is proper maintenance . Although mall 14- Handkerchiefs and handbags The following shops may go equally well
landscaping should not be luxurious to the 15 . Hosiery shop in either no- 2 or no- 3 locations :
point of blocking views of stores and interfer- 16 . Infants' wear 1 . Gas, power, and light company offices
ing too much with cross-mall shopper traffic, 17 . Jewelry 2. Ticket offices
mall landscaping can become a very powerful 18 . Leather goods and luggage-(depends 3- Toy shop
attraction to shoppers and provide a great deal on ability to pay high rent)
of advertising and public relations value. When 19 . Lingerie No . 3 Locations
conditions are not suitable for living plants, 20- Men's clothing
good results can sometimes be obtained with 1- Army goods store (or in no . 4 location)
21 . Men's furnishings
properly fabricated artificial material . 2. Art needlework shop
22 . Millinery
For the exterior landscaping of the project, 3. Baby furniture
23 . Novelties
the principal problems are (1) the budget ; (2) 4. Building and loan office
24 . Optical shop
proper scale and effect in relation to the build- 5. Chinese restaurant
25 . Paperback book store
ings ; (3) suitable maintenance, including the 6- Christian Science Reading Room (or
26- Photographic supplies and cameras
problems involved in snow removal; (4) the second floor in no- 2)
27 . Popcorn and nuts
necessity for obtaining maximum visual impact 7. Dance studio (or no . 4 location)
28 . Prescriptions (may not be possible
the first year of the center's operation. 8. Doctors and dentists
because of drugstore)
As to this last item, the developer is not so Doctors and dentists are not favored in
29 . Restaurant
concerned with how the planting will look central locations . Janitorial expense for
30 . Shoes, children's
in 10 years because the first 3 years of the doctors' offices is at least twice as high as for
31 . Shoes, men's
center's operation are the most critical . It is 32- Shoes, women's ordinary office space- Also, they are hard
during those years that everything must be at tenants to please as to maintenance-
33- Sportswear, women's
its best, and success is or is not established 34 . Tobacconist 9. Drapery and curtain shop
As to scale and effect, it is obviously difficult 35- Toilet goods 10 . Electrical equipment and repair
11- Express office (a popular service that
to obtain satisfactory results when a building 36 . Variety store
mass may be as much as 2,000 ft long and only 37 . Women's wear helps build up a retail area)
20 ft high, and where vast acres of parking The following shops may go equally well 12- Furniture (pays low rent per square
must be laid out with maximum convenience for in either No- 1 or No . 2 locations : foot)
those parking their cars (Fig . 5) . 1 . Cafeteria 13 . Hardware
The following basic criteria, if used with 2. Dry goods 14 . Health foods store
imagination and a reasonable budget, can pro- 3. Newsstand 15- Hobby shop
duce maximum effects for minimum costs: 4. Service grocery 16- Interior decoration
a. Mass effects through close spacing of No . 1 locations should be held largely for 17- Ladies' and men's tailor (or second
several trees or bushes in clumps or rows- shops that keep open on certain common floor in no- 1 or no . 2 locations)
Better to group five trees a few feet apart than nights- 18- Mortgage loan office (or second floor
to spot them singly, such as at ends of parking in no . 2 location)
lanes, where they will be lost visually . 19 . Office supplies and office furniture
No . 2 Locations (Near the 100 Percent Area) (pays low rent per square foot)
b. Concentration of the planting near the
buildings where it will have the most effect, 1- Art store and artists' supplies 20 . Optometrist and optician (or no . 1 or 2)
and not on the periphery. 2. Athletic goods 21 . Paint store
c. Use of long lines of hedges (not less 3. Auto supplies 22 . Photographers (or second floor in no- 1
than 3 ft high, and of inexpensive plant mate- 4. Bank or no- 2 locations)
rial if necessary) wherever the parking pattern A bank should not be in a no- 1 location, 23- Piano store (low rent)
will permit . The hedges cut the line of sight as it has limited open hours and when closed 24 . Pictures and framing (low rent)
from the normal eye level at 5 ft and, especially has a deadening effect on adjacent shops- 25- Post office
inside a car, at 4 ft- If the hedges are properly 5- Bar (liquor) 26 . Power and light offices
located, they can effectively conceal from view 6. Berber shop (basement in the no . 1 27 . Real estate offices (or no- 4)
large areas of the parking pavement . This can 28 . Shoe repair
location)
go a long way toward preventing the "see of 29, Tavern
When deciding on width of a barber shop,
asphalt" effect . 30 . Ticket offices
consider carefully the number of lines of
d. Installation of the maximum-sized plant 31- Travel bureau (or no . 2 location)
barber chairs in order that space will not be
material the budget will permit . Better to omit wasted .
No- 4 Locations
parts of the planting and use cheaper varieties 7. Beauty shop
of material than to have to wait 10 years for the 1. Automatic family laundry service
plants to produce the proper effect . 2. Bowling alleys
As the regional centers must grow larger, 3- Carpets and rugs, oriental
J. Ross McKeever led.), The Community Builders
more complex, and more glamorous to main- Handbook, Urban Land Institute, Washington, D.C ., 4. Diaper service
tain their competitive positions, the quality 1968 . 5. Dog or cat hospital (without outside runs)
and extent of the landscaping on future proj- Community Builders Council of the Urban Land Insti- 6- Drive-in eating places
ects should steadily improve . tute . 7. Radio and television broadcasting station

72 0
 Commercial

REGIONAL SHOPPING CENTERS

By VICTOR GRUEN, AIA* Competitive facilities

In areas where strong traditions or preju-
Accessibility
dices exist, it may be unreasonable to
Other related considerations .
expect that various ethnic groups will shop
Attention must be paid not only to the together . Also, it is unreasonable to expect
existing population but also to prospects that persons of low or middle-income
The shopping center is one of the few
our time . for future growth, which may be forecast groups will patronize a high-quality type of
new building types created in
by referenceto past growth rates, the shopping center or, conversely, that persons
Because shopping centers represent group-
trend population shifts, and the avail-
of in the highest income groups will shop gen-
ings of structures and because of the un-
spirit involved, the ability of remaining suitable land for resi- erally in centers that feature medium- or
derlying cooperative
for this dential development . low-priced merchandise .
need for environmental planning
building type is obvious. Where this need
Population Trade area
has been fully understood, shopping centers
in forecasting the population trend for The term "trade area" is normally de-
have taken on the characteristics of urban
ten or fifteen years, consideration must be fined as "that area from which is ob-
organisms serving a multitude of human
given to such factors as existing popula- tained the major portion of the continuing
needs and activities .
tion density, zoning restrictions, physical or patronage necessary for the steady sup-

man-made barriers to the development of port of the shopping center ."

SELECTING THE SITE
new residential areas (mountains, water- The defining factors used in delineating
Location ways, industrial areas, public parks, ceme- a trade area vary from center to center .

For the purposes of this discussion, the teries, airports), and other land uses that They include, but are not limited to, the

term "location" indicates the general area would forestall residential development . size and influence of the proposed retail
The composition of the population in facilities, planning and design characteris-
in which to select a shopping center site .
The merits of location, whether the land the trade area, as racial or eco-
as far tics, travel time to and from the location,

has already been or is being

acquired nomic characteristics are concerned, is im- the existence of natural or man-made bar-
portant in various regions of the country . riers-such as railroads and rivers--that
sought, must always be subjected to care-
ful economic analysis . If the site has al-
ready been acquired, the economist directs
his study toward the economic charac-
teristics of the location in an effort to

decide whether the particular property

should be developed as a shopping center
project, and if so, what its size and char-
acter should be . If the site has not yet

been acquired, the economist must make

a study of the general area within which

the most suitable location can be pin-
pointed . This over-all study may involve
as large an area as the metropolitan area
of a large city .
First, an analysis is made of the total
available economic potential of the gen-
eral area . The search is gradually nar-
rowed down through analysis of various

segments of the larger area ; a specific

area within the chosen segment that seems
to offer the most advantageous potential
is then examined, and finally, a defined
location within this specific area is chosen .
If properly undertaken, this procedure will
usually establish the most suitable location
for a shopping center .
Inherent in any economic analysis is a
study of the following factors :

Population
Income
Purchasing power

* The illustrations and certain other

material in this section hone beenre-printed, withpermis ion, fromShop- Fig . 6 . Schematic plan of a shopping center location

ping Towns USA by victor Gruen and

Shown in the Plan are tracte area ., means Of
harry Smith, published by Reinhold
Publishing Corp ., New York (1960) . access, and Various barriers to accessibility .

72 1
Commercial

REGIONAL SHOPPING CENTERS

would limit accessibility either in fact or stacles that would force development in may also fulfill the standard requirements,
psychologically, and the existence of com- separated portions . but determination should be made only
petitive facilities. Thus the trade areas for 7 . The topography and shape of the site after the same thorough scrutiny and an-
various locations will not necessarily as- must permit advantageous planning and alysis that would be given to a site to be
sume similar sizes or shapes (Fig . 6) . reasonably economical construction . purchased .
B . The surrounding road pattern and The following list indicates the relative
Site qualifications accessibility must allow full utilization of importance of various considerations in site
It is important that the land to be the business potential . selection :
used possess, to the greatest degree pos- 9 . The structure must be visible from
sible, the following qualifications : major thoroughfares .
Location (value of 50) Value
14. Surrounding land uses should be
1 . The site must be located in the most Population within 1 mile-quantity 5
free of competitive developments, and, if
desirable general area as established by Population within 1 mile-quality 3
possible, should be of a nature that en-
the economic survey . Population within 5 miles---quantity 7
hances the operation of the shopping
2 . The site must be owned or controlled Population within 5 miles---quality 4
center .
by the developer, or offer the possibility Population from rural area- 2

of acquisition . Rarely will a completely fulfill all

site quantity
3 . Land cost must be in keeping with the above requirements, and advantages Population from rural area-quality 1
over-all economic considerations . will have to be weighed and balanced Pedestrian traffic shopping at 4
4 . Existing zoning must permit shopping against shortcomings . If the site already adjacent stores

center development, or a reasonable like exists, it is sometimes difficult to separate Pedestrian traffic nearby for other 3

lihood of rezoning must exist . the affection an owner may have for it purposes
5 . The site must contain sufficient land (because of family sentiment or other Public transportation 5
to permit construction of facilities to meet reasons) from the hard facts of suitability, Automobile traffic-quantity 4
the sales potential . but it is well to remember that most poorly Automobile traffic---availability 4

6 . The land must be in one piece, free operating centers in the United States are Direction of population growth 7

of intervening roadways, rights-of-way, located on just such "accidental" sites . It Area (value of 15)
easements, major waterways, or other ob- is, of course, possible that an existing site Size of plot 15

Fig. 7. The planning team

722

Physical characteristics (value of 25)
Shape of plot for design
Plot not divided by traffic lanes
Location on arterials for ease of
traffic control
Cost of clearing and grading
Cost of utilities and drainage
Visibility
Surrounding areas
Availability (value of 10)
Ease of acquisition and time
Cost
100
ZONING
Contrary to nineteenth-century precepts
of strict separation of industrial and resi-
dential land, brought about by rapid in-
dustrialization, most progressive planners
and zoning boards today recognize that
not all types of nonresidential activities are
necessarily undesirable in predominantly
residential areas.
The modern shopping center that inte-
grates commercial, business, entertainment,
and cultural facilities within a carefully
planned framework, separates various
modes of traffic from one another, and
provides for the protection of surrounding
residential areas from any objectionable
uses, has made a significant contribution
in this direction.
The developer may encounter any of the
following zoning conditions :
1 . The site is commercially zoned, or
zoned for a "lower" use, in which case
there is no problem.
2. The community has not yet adopted
a zoning master plan, and the local plan-
ning board is willing to grant suitable
zoning .
3. The entire site area is zoned resi-
dentially, or only a small portion, usually
a narrow strip along the highways, is
zoned for commercial use. The owner will
then have to apply for rezoning of all or
part of the site .
THE PLANNING TEAM
Depending on the size and complexity
of the project, the planning team might,
in neighborhood and intermediate centers,
consist of the developer, the architect, and
in some instances, a leasing consultant or
lease broker . In projects of greater com-
plexity and size, such as regional shop-
ping centers, it may be well to add to the
team an experienced consultant in real
estate matters, well versed in shopping
center economics (Fig . 7).
Commercial
REGIONAL SHOPPING CENTERS
THE PLANNING SCHEDULE schedule, because of fluctuations in size
4 and complexity of the project, availability
8 Shopping center planning is a lengthy of major tenants and of financing, climatic
4 process in which each step must logically conditions, and the like . The following
follow from the previous one. Impatient or tabulation gives time ranges for regional
2 snap decisions may result in catastrophe . projects proceeding under normal condi-
2 First, a tentative planning and construction tions:
3 schedule is outlined which may be divided
2 into five phases :
Time span,
Exploratory phase
Exploratory phase weeks
6 Preliminary phase (26 to 56 weeks)
4 Final planning phase Feasibility study 8 to 12
Construction phase Conceptual planning stage 4 to 6
Opening phase. Presentation stage 4 to 8
Development stage 10 to 30
For regional centers, each of these phases
Preliminary phase
is likely to be clearly defined and even
(10 to 22 weeks)
subdivided into various stages ; for smaller
Adjustment stage 4 to 10
centers the activity may be consolidated
Consolidation stage 6 to 12
into fewer stages .
Final planning phase 20 to 30
1 . Exploratory phase: All pertinent cir- Construction phase
cumstances and conditions are thoroughly (62 to 114 weeks)
probed, and the conceptual image of the Bidding 4 to 6
shopping center is established. General building construction 52 to 100
2 . Preliminary phase : Negotiations with Tenants' building-interior 6 to 8
major tenants and financing institutions construction
ore undertaken, and necessary adjustments
Total for planning and 118 to 222
are made . Preliminary drawings indicating
construction
all architectural and engineering aspects
(27 to 51 months)
are completed. Preliminary specifications
are written, and a reliable preliminary
cost estimate is arrived at .
For intermediate centers (100,000 to
3 . Final planning phase : Working draw- 300,000 sq ft), a reasonable time span
ings and specifications are completed, es-
is 18 to 40 months ; for neighborhood
tablishing a reliable basis for competitive
centers the span, depending largely on
bidding and for construction . Building per-
tenant availability, is likely to range from
mits are obtained . Invitations to bid are 12 to 24 months .
written.
4 . Construction phase: Contracts are
awarded. The architect is engaged in SPACE ALLOTMENTS
general supervision, supported by clerks-
of-The-works who are usually retained by The architect's work starts with the plan-
the developer . The architect chooses ma- ning of the site . For this task he must
terials, selects colors, and integrates land . have at his disposal the findings of the
scoping and art work . The developer and economic analysis establishing the total
the economist are active in completing rental area that can be supported by the
leasing, getting the center on an opera- shopping potential, broken down into main
tional basis, and preparing for the open- merchandising categories . He must have
ing. some idea of other uses to which the land
5. Opening phase: The opening is an should be devoted, and an idea of other
important event that calls for imagination probable zoning problems . On the basis
as well as careful planning . In recent of feasibility studies, he now has a gen-
years, shopping centers of varying size eral idea of traffic and accessibility, as
throughout the country have been opened well as full information about physical
with ceremonies ranging from the quiet, conditions of the site (including a topo .
unobtrusive opening of a few stores at a graphic survey) and, as a result of test
time, to moss opening ceremonies lasting borings, about soil conditions. Sometimes
for several days and featuring various he also knows the basic requirements of
kinds of attention-getting promotions . the potential major tenant or tenants .
With this information, he begins plan-
Timing ning by carefully allocating portions of
It is difficult to estimate the time periods the land to specific uses . These uses fall
necessary for each phase of the planning into seven basic categories :
72 3
Commercial

REGIONAL SHOPPING CENTERS

Fig . B. Strip center with curb parking

Fig . 11 . Mall center with only

one magnet
Fig . 13 . Cluster-type center

Fig. 10. Double-strip center with Fig . 12 . Mall center with magnet Fig . 14 . "Introverted" center
off-street parking centrally placed

1 . Structures for the planned growth of the shop- shopping center ; and proper circulation of
a . For retail purposes (retail areas) ping ceffiter . this shopping traffic ensures business success .
b . For service purposes (heating and Bearing in mind the relative importance
air-conditioning plants, electric sub- in each instance of the size of the center,
stations, maintenance shops, truck SITE PLANNING PRINCIPLES the shape of the site, the character of
roads, loading docks, and equip- the tenancy, and other related circum-
ment storage) The allocation of space for these and stances, it is possible to weigh the ad-

c . For other commercial uses (offices possibly other uses should be guided by vantages and drawbacks of various types

and recreational facilities) certain planning principles in order to of site planning to achieve the desired

d, For public use such as civic and attain the highest feasible productivity of foot traffic . The manner in which site
social facilities (community center, the land over an extended period of time : planning can influence the quantity of
auditorium, exhibition space, and (1) Safeguard surrounding areas against shopping traffic is illustrated in the sche-

children's play areas) blight; (2) Expose retail facilities to maxi- matic plans (Figs. 8 through 14) discussed

2 . Car storage areas mum foot traffic ; (3) Separate various below .
a . Surface parking lots mechanized traffic types from one another The degree of completeness of the sepa-
b . Double-deck or multiple-deck ga- and from foot traffic ; (4) Create a maxi- ration between transportation and pedes-
rages mum of comfort and convenience far shop- trian areas depends on the size of the

3 . Pedestrian areas pers and merchants ; and (5) Achieve order- shopping center . In a single commercial
a . Malls, courts, lanes, and plazas liness, unity, and beauty . building, this separation becomes effective
b . Covered pedestrian areas, such as only after the customer has entered the
Foot traffic
public corridors and covered malls store . If there are two buildings, it might
or courts Exposure of all individual stores in a be possible to arrange a separated pe-

4 . Automobile movement areas shopping center to the maximum amount destrian area between them . The chances
Distribution road system on site of foot traffic is the best assurance of to create separated pedestrian areas are
5 . Public transportation areas high sales volume . Suburban business real slightly higher in an intermediate center .
Bus roads, bus terminals, and taxi estate often has been evaluated on the In a regional center, complete separa-
stands basis of passing automobile traffic-an tion is almost always possible and should

b . Buffer areas evaluation which overlooks the fact that be effected . Even in the smallest grouping
Landscaped areas separating car automobiles do not buy merchandise . It is of stores, such as a neighborhood center,
storage areas or service areas from only after the driver of even the most ex- it is possible to achieve a certain amount
the public road system, or areas sep- pensive car leaves it and becomes a pe- of separation by means of broad side-
arating parking areas from one an- destrian that he can become a buyer . walks with landscaping, low garden walls,

other or parking areas from service Therefore, if shopping centers are to pros- and the like .
areas per, dense foot traffic must be created . Strip center with curb parking (Fig . 8) :
7 . Reserve areas "Shopping traffic," the act of walking from In this plan, the shopping center is com-
Portions of site to be held in reserve store to store, creates the lifeblood of a prised of a row of stores extending 2,000

72 4