Although my first post about Germany is about malls, I am not implying that German malls are in any way canonical of architecture or society in Germany. This post is autonomously about malls in comparison to other malls. I am drawing a comparison to malls in Hong Kong, which I originally thought where the most spectacular in the world.
The Stilwerk Mall in Dusseldorf has a glass roof that can be opened on a sunny day.
The next two photos were taken during the Summer of 2009 when I was in Hong Kong. I was honored with the presence of Tin-Shun who gave me a personal 'locals only' tour of his home town.
Ahh, malls. The essence of consumerism brought into architectural, 3-dimensional form. I think it's time for architects to really interrogate the architecture of malls and the role they play in a society driven by consumer impulse. They are either purely bland boxes with a central atrium and radially organized chain stores like many in the US, or overly formal (ie. useless decoration) with endless escalators and glass elevators like those prominant in Asia. Neither approach addresses the human beyond the surface level; malls are all about the sad fact that the organizational strategy of stores entices wallets to fly out of pockets when surrounded by large "70% SALE" signs. When in a mall, we might as well be considered lab rats in a maze of cheese.
ReplyDeleteInteresting fact about malls in Israel:
ReplyDeleteWe know that malls are about 'organizational strategies', one of which is about multiple entrance points. In Israel terrorism is a daily threat. Every entrance has a guard in front of it often complimented with a metal detector. Simultaneously dealing with heightened security needs and the wages of the guards results in blocking off every other entrance for preparedness and to save in operating cost. A porous consumption machine is now a reflection of a metropolis of conflicted culture.