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I've been told we went through this cycle before. A lot of older malls were originally outdoors, in fact, and had roofs added over walkways later. I don't real
by ashark 10y ago
I've been told we went through this cycle before. A lot of older malls were originally outdoors, in fact, and had roofs added over walkways later.
I don't really get the appeal of newer outdoor mall-like shopping areas. They're like malls except you get rained on and have to dodge cars and wait at lights, because of course they don't make the streets pedestrian-first. They mimic nice old-world town centers except for that key detail of narrow mainly-pedestrian streets, for some reason, which ruins them. They're still single-owner, kinda creepy, and restrict which businesses go in. I'm not sure how they're better.
- johnward 10y agoThose outdoor malls are brutal in the winter for northern states.
- unexpected 10y agoand they are brutal in the summer for the southern states!
- stcredzero 10y agoThis is a pervasive pattern for the early 21st century: Things that work really well in the Bay Area that really only kinda work in Houston/Cincinnati/Chicago/etc...
- lazaroclapp 10y agoPretty much nobody looks up to the Bay Area for architecture... Online retailers on the other hand are pretty much weather independent. Also, usually not based in the Bay Area at all. The big two "primarily e-commerce" businesses are based on Seattle and Hangzhou, respectively. And I guess eBay is technically San Jose... but that's likely a very distant third.
- stcredzero 10y agoPretty much nobody looks up to the Bay Area for architecture... I suspect that things like meetup work much better in geographically constrained places like San Francisco.
- cat199 10y ago> Pretty much nobody looks up to the Bay Area for architecture... But they do for 'the next big business ideas because Wired says so'...
- s0rce 10y agoAnd bad in both seasons in the midwest. Leaving only a few weeks in spring and fall left to "enjoy" the outdoor mall. Sadly, in the East Bay the Emeryville Bay Street Mall wouldn't be so bad but they allow cars on the main road ruining the concept.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- digikata 10y agoIt's almost like one should consider climates when undertaking architectural design projects...
- ghaff 10y agoIt depends somewhat on the climate. If you're in, say, San Jose the outdoor restaurant seating somewhere like Santana Row can be quite nice. (With heaters for the Californians when it gets below 70 degrees :-)) That particular location is also more pedestrian friendly than many are.
- Jtsummers 10y agoI've been to a couple outdoor malls that were properly laid out/designed. 1) Underground parking under a large portion of the mall. 2) Awnings so that you could stay out of the rain for the most part. 3) No roads through it. 4) Big shops, like department stores, have entrances on multiple sides that people cut through during bad weather, and often direct access to the underground parking. (3) is a lie, there were usually one-way roads that couldn't be used by non-emergency and non-maintenance vehicles, with access points for delivery mostly along the perimeters. But where most pedestrians were, there were effectively no roads. This kept the space more compact, as well. The one near me now is an example of a terrible outdoor mall. It's a half-mile walk, largely through empty space, to get to some of the shops. All parking is above ground. Parking and roads pervade the whole area. In essence, what they built, was about 10 stripmalls and called it one mall. This, unfortunately, seems to be the more popular style. Walking around it can feel like frogger sometimes, when the point of the space is to be relaxing and inviting.
- DoofusOfDeath 10y agoThese days I buy almost everything, except clothes and groceries, from online retailers. To get my business, an "outdoor mall" would have to provide a really compelling benefit. Perhaps you'll be pleasantly surprised by how quickly the developers of "outside malls" have to get their act together, in order to survive.