PHILIPPINE CONTEMPORARY SHOPPING CENTRES : TOWARDS 21ST CENTURY RE-URBANISATION

Abstract

The study on Urban Design has always been focused on the quality of urban public spaces and the sociological patterns that uses it. It has traditionally referred to plazas, town centres, streets and parks. These are spaces catering to significant amount of people, which provides almost unrestricted access. Another quality of these spaces is it allows people to congregate thereby permits cultural exchanges and influences the sociological aspects of its vicinity. Starting from the late 20th century, the connotation of public space has been expanded to refer to privately‐owned spaces that accommodates significant number of users and exudes these qualities. One of these is the shopping mall. The shopping mall is one of the foremost innovations of the 20th century. Its mercantile functions can be traced from the earliest market squares, bazaars, arcades and subsequent department stores. However, the shopping centre is a distinct typology that has developed as a result of evolutionary development directions through time The notion on conventional shopping mall is being modified as a response to the changing challenges on sustainability, wider social integration, globalisation of demands and features, and need for more localised cultural perceptions. The aim of this dissertation is to analyze the changing roles of contemporary shopping malls through analysis of case studies.