We need to talk about the mall

Abstract

This book explores how to reinvent, reposition, and refunction the public space in and around the suburban mall of Schiedam Hof van Spaland. It contains of two parts: first it explores the problems related to the mall, and how these problems influence the community. Second, the project explores through different design scales how these problems can be solved, and how social cohesion can be enhanced by design. The suburban Modernist mall is a widespread concept in the Netherlands that in its current form embodies problems with car-mobility, inside orientation, and monofunctional programming. Due to a dominant focus on consumers mentality, it dominantly focusses on serving the consumer in buying goods. This mentality directly undermines the indoor and outdoor public space and therefore indirectly weakens the strength of the community, as public space is vital for strong communal bonds.

In the second part the project aims to move beyond the single focus on consumers mentality and by design, transforms the challenges into opportunities for Hof van Spaland. Firstly, the design is encouraging biking and pedestrian movement, and with the dismantling of dominant car-mobility, it leaves space for other activities, as biking and people on foot need less space and place. Secondly, the inside orientation that generates backsides is transformed into a dual-side orientation with housing that activate the unsafe expedition streets. Thirdly, the monofunctional programming of shopping is extended with a cultural centre, a canteen, coffee corner, and other communal facilities, including plaza’s, pocket parks and a place for a weekly market. A crucial section in the design preposition, where many interventions collide, is worked out in further detail. It uses local materials and resources to serve the local people. It shows how public facilities can generate extra value, and how several interventions like this can help generating a bright new future for the suburban mall: A future where the mall becomes a buzzing meeting spot for all living in the neighbourhood.