SHOPPING MALLS AS PRIVATELY OWNED PUBLIC SPACES: A STUDY OF NON-COMMERCIAL PUBLIC SPACES IN SHOPPING MALLS OF SINGAPORE

Abstract

One cannot deny the imperative of malls in Singapore, providing many needs and wants that can be easily obtained within a comfortably conditioned destination. As shopping malls take over public spaces, for instance streets, more and more non-commercial public spaces for public activities have to be incorporated into malls. Though designed to attract and allow people to take over and use, these public spaces are still privately owned. The paper investigates non-commercial public spaces (NCPSs) of three different malls in Singapore with regard to types of spaces, layouts, uses and design considerations. The three malls are: ION Orchard, as example for a mall located in the prime shopping district of Singapore; City Square Mall, as an example for a mall located in a new town (Kallang/Whampoa district); Vivocity, as an example belonging neither to the city centre nor a suburban new town, fulfilling a special role due to the nearness of Sentosa Island. In all three malls, NCPS's fulfil an important role in attracting people and offering spaces for leisure and encounter. However, the types of spaces, the uses of the spaces and the types of people attracted are different, depending on the position of the mall from the city. Differentiation of types of mall clients however, barely is reflected by developers and architects when they were planning the NCPSs of the malls.