Mini Proposal 1 - Alexandria
Alexandria, a beacon of entertainment, sustenance, and sustainability for the community.
Shopping centres and precincts can be beautiful and awe inspiring. However, they are often incredibly dull and poorly constructed. The halls are dim and narrow. The layout of shops and dining, often onerous and maze-like. The shopping and dining experiences that stand out are the antithesis to this. They are often sprawling open spaces, filled with natural light and novel attractions. From rooftop dining and bars, to ice skating rinks and indoor waterfalls. These spaces often include additional ammenities, such as libraries and exercise facilities, with many even offering private accommodation and office space.
The Space
- Biophilic design embedded throughout the precinct.
- Precinct also functions as a giant renewable generation and storage unit.
- A carless precinct, public transport and parking housed underground
- Towers (to house apartments, offices etc.)
The Community
- Apartments & elderly villages
- Library
- Cafes and restaurants
- with many utilising local produce
- a place for all day dining
- Pre-schools and Children’s Daycare
- Green Gardens and outdoor nature
- A place for fitness
- outdoor basketball courts and running track
- pilates studios
- martial arts
- A place for entertainment
- cinemas
- performing arts centre
Energy Systems
- Generating energy through every footstep.
- Solar glass windows & solar panels.
- Excess energy stored through hydro-powered waterfalls, that double as batteries.
Construction
- Centred around biophilic design (greenery, natural light, wind-flow)
- Use of cool water piping/canals to cool the shopping centre.
- Lattice construction (Jaali) used to sustainably cool and light the shopping centre.
- Wind Corridor Forrests.
Dining & Novelties
- Rooftop pool, bars, & restaurants.
- Running track, outdoor basketball/futsal courts, ice skating, rock climbing.
Mini Proposal 2 - Ilyaan
I live in Mumbai, India. I go to malls quite often, usually for movies or dinner. Something that frustrates me is that the parking is often almost full (and it is a hassle to drive up many levels). Additionally, the valet take extremely long to bring the car.
It is also often tedious to walk across the mall (if it is a large one) to get to some place or the other. Also, it would be nice to be able to spend the entire day at the mall without getting completely exhausted (especially if shopping).
At some malls, getting a restaurant reservation is a huge hassle so an integrated system for that would be helpful. In terms of dining, I often see a lot of waste (eg a lot of packaged items used that could instead be re-usable dishes/packaging).
I also wonder if the way of generating and using energy is efficient, since shopping centres have massive energy use. They also often get a lot of sunlight, requiring air conditioning throughout. While the sunlight is nice if there are glass windows to allow natural light in, it can also get quite hot. Another consideration is if this energy can be channelised using solar panels.
Ideas (brainstorming):
- Appointment based shopping + residential centres in the suburbs.
- Kinetic pads in malls to generate power
- Solar powered roofs at malls
- Dilemma: indoor or open-air?
- Asian countries or the west?
- The biggest problems are crowdedness, parking and energy
- Locations that change during the night (eg cafes become clubs/bars)
Mini Proposal 3 - Anna
I really enjoy shopping and being in a large, populated space such as a mall, but I oftentimes find the design inefficient when moving from 1 area to another (e.g. going to the food court) and lacking human-centric design. Malls that I’ve been to also tend to be over-reliant on artificial lighting and air conditioning.
Malls are also frequently used as a space to hang out at rather than just shop or eat, and I think it would be beneficial if we rethought how to optimise the space where both shoppers and hang-outers can coexist without crowding it too much. On a similar note, unless placed in a financial district, most malls stand out from the architecture surrounding them, especially in Europe. I think the exterior design can be improved upon not just regarding energy, efficiency and sustainability, but also aesthetically.
Furthermore- the traffic. The obnoxiously large flow of cars reflects the number of people, except people can walk freely around each other, while cars have to abide by laws and be left in parking lots (which are almost always at full capacity). This can also inconvenience residents living close by and create unnecessarily large amounts of air pollution.
I believe we can address all of these points and more by rethinking and redesigning the standard shopping and dining experience with the main focus in mind being the human experience and sustainability.
Mini Proposal 4 - Abla
Implement a 'Green Certification' program to recognize and reward shopping and dining establishments that demonstrate a commitment to sustainable practices. Encourage energy efficiency, eco-friendly facilities, waste reduction, and sustainable sourcing in shopping centers. For dining establishments, promote reduced single-use plastics, compostable materials, and sustainable menu choices. Provide employee training, raise customer awareness, and offer incentives for businesses to achieve higher levels of sustainability. This program fosters a culture of sustainability, enhances the reputation of businesses, and contributes to the overall sustainability goals of the community.