Mall in Utah Being Transformed into a Mixed-Use Walkable Neighborhood
In my previous post I talked about how in the future we will be needing to retrofit our malls and redevelop our suburbs into mixed use communities that are human scale rather than reliant on the car. One great example of this is the redevelopment of the
Cottonwood Mall in Utah. This mall is known for being the first mall in Utah and now is being known as the first mall to be turned into a neighborhood.
The redesign will be in line with many new urbanism projects. There will be shops, cafes and offices connected by walkways. Storefronts will be on the first floor and residential units will
occupy the top floors. There will also be a mix of cottages, multi
family homes, and condos in the neighborhood as to add variety. Parking
will still be present but will be hidden behind the retrofitted mall,
away from the storefronts.
It doesn’t look like all the stores will be unique privately owned stores or “mom and pop” shops. There will probably be a lot of chain stores located in the neighborhood
like you would have found in the mall before. However, the idea remains
the same and even with chain stores in the mix it is a much better
design and is a big step forward for transforming our suburbs.
Hopefully the Cottonwood Mall redevelopment will be the first of many malls to get redone. Hopefully it is successful and will serve as an example of how our suburbs should be
retrofitted for the future.
Views: 82
Comment
-
Comment by PROF.DR.MOHAMED ABDELALL IBRAHIM on January 20, 2011 at 10:07am -
nice project
thanks
m.a.ibrahim
-
Comment by Pat McLoughlin on January 8, 2011 at 7:00pm -
Yeah. I noticed that shortly after I posted it. None the less, the idea is something that we could hopefully implement in the future even though it never worked out in the Cottonwood Mall.
-
Comment by jayo on January 8, 2011 at 5:27pm -
Interesting project by DPZ (Duany Plater-Zyberk, but an outdated story.
The developer's website in january 2011 says: "In 2008, GGP began work on a complete reconstruction of Cottonwood Mall near Salt Lake City. After demolition work began, progress was delayed due to changing market conditions. Plans for the future of Cottonwood Mall are being reexamined in light of new market conditions."
references:
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/680196754/Plans-announced-for-Co...
http://newcottonwoodmall.blogspot.com/
http://www.utahurbanforum.com/cottonwood-project-old-cottonwood-mal...
http://www.ggp.com/properties/mall-properties/cottonwood-mall
-
Comment by Matthew Friedland on December 25, 2010 at 12:00pm -
Looking closer, it looks like it is exactly what it says it is, a mall transplant. the typology of a mall, wrapped in the new school of urban design perhaps. I worked in retail for a few years and I think I know what goes on behind the scenes...No doubt, the low margins of retail architectural profitability resulted in minimal work from the architect's office. you can't fix bad design by dressing it up. The proportions and the spaces are possibly worse because there is no enclosing space. A lecturer I once had (whom incidentally was a real %@$#!) said "if it doesn't look right it isn't right." I think this MIGHT be true here. BUT, time lends legitimacy to all buildings, and perhaps in 50 years this will be accepted canon...
-
Comment by Matthew Friedland on December 25, 2010 at 11:54am
-
I'd like to know what was behind the topology/planning. why are there angled streets? I sense an unseen design hand...my experience of this sort of artificial planning is that it is felt/sensed immediately as a fraud. The subconscious mind then has an immediate choice: submit and suppress the knowledge of artificiality (so to speak) in the interest of social and psychological integration, or reject and be constantly out of sync with one's surroundings. I don't know how we sense it, but the mind knows when things are not true to context. Perhaps it's a combination of rapid data mining (thin slicing as Gladwell puts it) and a knowledge of history. walking through an ancient/medieval town in Italy or Greece or wherever, it is simply impossible to fake it. the place informs you of its authenticity. But it is interesting that many modern planners have assumed that oddly articulated plans represent good urban space. the Romans and the Greeks had many purely orthogonal city plans.
On the other hand, if this planning represents a genuinely new vision of how buildings and roads and spaces can work to facilitate modern life, then I find it lacking in real motivation. I see no indication of any attempt to address even cosmetic issues, and certainly nothing in terms of sensible climatic control. It is as if it is accepted that the FAR is always maximised and then anything else must be fit into this framework. this represents (once again), the FUNDAMENTAL failure of architectural/planning practice to really understand context.
Follow
SERVICES
© 2013 Created by Rafael Marxuach.
You need to be a member of myarchn to add comments!
Join myarchn