**ON ONE SIDE** of important highway intersections, Shirlington and Cameron Village furnish their own interior roadways, for circulation of shoppers in cars and on foot. The stores front on these roads. Shirlington reproduces the downtown shopping street, with abundant rear parking added. Cameron Village has much front curb parking, which is easier for the driver but, by causing the store blocks to be widely spaced, is more hindering to the pedestrian who wants to cross from one store to another.

SHIRLINGTON, VA. PAGE 180

CAMERON VILLAGE, RALEIGH, N. C. PAGE 147

**ENCLOSING THE INTERSECTION** of two busy highways, Hampton Village and Shaker Square are both cut into four pieces. This has the advantage of exposing the store fronts to a large volume of passing traffic, which is going by too fast to notice. The shoppers, on the other hand, are prevented by the hazards of crossing these highways from passing easily between one store block and another. The result is that such centers are liable to develop lopsidedly, with a great loss of cumulative pull. It is significant that the original plans for these two centers both date back 20 years.

HAMPTON VILLAGE, ST. LOUIS, MO. PAGE 188

SHAKER SQUARE, CLEVELAND, OHIO. PAGE 184

**FRONTAGE WIDTH** on the highway is less important than easy accessibility. Edmondson Village has the stores set in a long line parallel to the highway, but far behind the front parking where they are not easily seen by the passing motorist. Highland Park, on the contrary, with a comparatively narrow frontage, carries the line of stores back at right angles to the highway to form a small plaza. Once inside here, the shopper is surrounded by stores, whichever way he turns.

HIGHLAND PARK, DALLAS, TEXAS, PAGE 90

EDMONDSON VILLAGE, BALTIMORE, MD. PAGE 138

**PEDESTRIANS AND PARKING** have usually been mixed in shopping centers so far built. Bellevue is typical of the plans in which the stores face on to streets used for both parking and traffic circulation. The motorist can park right in front of the store he wants to visit. In the typical Farmers Markets, automobiles are barred from the alleys between the shops, which stand like an island in the center of the parking area.

BELLEVUE, NEAR SEATTLE, WASH. PAGE 222

FARMERS MARKET, FRESNO, CALIF. PAGE 96

29

3-22 SHOPPING CENTER BUILDING CONFIGURATIONS

L

U

MALL

CLUSTER

STRIP

The strip—a line of stores tied together by a canopy over the sidewalk, which runs along the fronts of the stores. Economical for small centers, but must be kept within a reasonable length to avoid excessive walking distances and difficult merchandising.

The L—basically a strip, but with one end turned. Good for corner locations.

The U—basically a strip with both ends turned in the same direction.

The mall—essentially a pedestrian way between two facing strips. The mall may also take other shapes—an L, for example.

The cluster—a group of retail buildings separated by small pedestrian malls or courts.

1-6

CHARACTERISTICS OF SHOPPING CENTERS

<table><thead><tr><th>CENTER TYPE</th><th>LEADING TENANT (BASIS FOR CLASSIFICATION)</th><th>TYPICAL GLA</th><th>GENERAL RANGE IN GLA</th><th>USUAL MINIMUM SITE AREA</th><th>MINIMUM SUPPORT REQUIRED</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER</td><td>Supermarket or drugstore</td><td>50,000 sq. ft.</td><td>30,000-100,000 sq. ft.</td><td>3 acres</td><td>2,500-40,000 people</td></tr><tr><td>COMMUNITY CENTER</td><td>Variety, discount, or junior department store</td><td>150,000 sq. ft.</td><td>100,000-300,000 sq. ft.</td><td>10 acres or more</td><td>40,000-150,000 people</td></tr><tr><td>REGIONAL CENTER</td><td>One or more full-line department stores of at least 100,000 sq. ft. of GLA*</td><td>400,000 sq. ft.</td><td>300,000-1,000,000 sq. ft. or more*</td><td>30-50 acres or more</td><td>150,000 or more people</td></tr></tbody></table>

*Centers with more than 750,000 sq. ft. GLA usually include three or more department stores and hence are superregionals.

NOT JUST TWO LEVELS BUT THREE.
EACH A FIRST FLOOR WITH SEPARATE ENTRANCE AND PARKING AREA.
WANAMAKER'S CROSS COUNTY

CROSS COUNTY CENTER, Yonkers, N. Y., is on the narrow neck of land where Manhattan and the Bronx spread out into the suburbs of Westchester Co. and Connecticut. At the intersection of the Cross County Parkway and Grand Central Avenue (an extension of the Bronx's busy Grand Concourse), it is enmeshed in a net of parkways and expressways. Within a short bus ride are the densely populated areas of the Bronx and Yonkers. With in easy driving distance by parkway are most of the rich New York suburbs. The 60-acre site has been especially rezoned

for business use. This is one of the most potentially successful sites for a shopping center in the New York region.

The birdseye perspective (opposite), shows a tentatively proposed arrangement of buildings on the site. This layout has been dictated in large part by the difficulty and expense of sinking foundations in many parts of this land owing to the spongy subsoil conditions.

Also influential in controlling the design are entrances from Central Park Avenue along the west, Kimball Avenue to the east, and Vredenberg Avenue on the

south. Two roads, connecting these en-
trances, cut the site into quarters. One,
dedicated to the city, with center and curb
parking, goes right through the middle
of the store group from Central Park
Avenue directly up to Wanamaker's de-
partment store. A narrow mall, inter-
rupted by a parking area next to the
supermarket, parallels this road. Entry
direct from the parkway is forbidden.

Developer: Cross Properties Inc., Sol

Atlas, Pres. Architect: Lathrop Doug-

lass. Site Engineer: W. Lee Moore.

172

WANAMAKER'S DEPARTMENT STORE IS AT TOP LEFT, ON A SEPARATELY OWNED SITE

173

## ROOSEVELT FIELD SHOPPING CENTER, Nassau County, L. I., N. Y.

Owners: Webb & Knapp
Architects: I. M. Pei & Associates

Project Staff: O. Aftreth, A. P. Moore, J. LoPinto, A. Candido
Graphics Head: Don Page. Associate Architect: R. C. Brugnoni
General Contractor: George A. Fuller Co. Consultants: Structural, Severud-Elstad-Krueger; Mechanical, Syska & Hennessy; Special Lighting, H. Abe Feder; Landscape, Robert Zion; Traffic Engineers: Wilbur Smith
Market Analysis: Larry Smith & Company

Architect I. M. Pei says:

The site plan is essentially a free-flowing ring surrounding a central building group. The stores form a compact cluster, minimizing walking distances and heightening cumulative drawing power. The relatively narrow malls encourage cross shopping, double the presentation of merchandise, and heighten the impression of activity. The shopper's route leads him through streets of different widths and varying architectural treatments, affording a variety of experiences. Trees, flowers, music, fountains, gay awnings, and bold use of graphic art combine to make the retail atmosphere. Variety of store front design along malls was encouraged.

Store fronts facing parking areas are designed by the center architect to give the impression of a planned center, yet provide tenant identification. A modular system of dark-brown steel frames, rough-faced off-white brick and glass was used. Within this system, each store was given individual treatment.

Architectural Record
September 1957

Store front treatment in multiple-tenant buildings.

One of the mall areas.

Significant features of this center are: the great amount of attention given to graphic design, the achieving of color and movement by fountains, flags and banners, the introduction of kiosks used for advertising and selling concessions.

The center is presently being enlarged by the addition of a department store branch (Gimbel's) on the extreme opposite end of the double mall from the existing branch of R. H. Macy.

Fountains in mall area.

Photographs: Ezra Stoller, Frederick J. Miller

Merchandising plan.

GARDEN STATE PLAZA, Paramus, New Jersey

Owners: Garden State Plaza Corporation

Architects: Abbott, Merkt & Company

Real Estate Consultants: Larry Smith & Company

In the planning and design of this shopping center a number of difficulties had to be overcome. A brook had to be re-routed, accessibility had to be improved in cooperation with the highway department, and difficult foundation problems had to be solved. The center was designed for future expansion and since the opening day in 1957 the expansion has been carried forward in a planned fashion. The addition of a second department store (Gimbel's) is now under way.

The first stage of the center development is organized in cluster-like fashion around the large Bamberger store branch. An interesting feature of the center is the Arcadian Gardens, an establishment selling plants and garden books in a supermarket merchandising fashion. The owners control considerable areas around the center for which, at the present time, land usage plans providing office buildings, medical buildings, laboratory and research structures, etc. are under way. Pedestrian areas are strictly separated from transportation areas and all service activities are taken care of in the basement, accessible by underground truck road.

When completed, this will be one of the largest regional
shopping centers.

Entrance court.

Bird's-eye view.

This center, a colorful showcase for the artistry of Mexico's finest artisans, was developed by Los Arcos Investments.

The focal point of the main court is the Mexican colonial fountain, 8 feet in height, hand-sculptured from cantera stone by skilled artisans in Tlaquepaque, Mexico, near Guadalajara.

A large stained-glass sunburst set in the octagonal glass dome of the center court is the work of Felipe Derflingher and his associates of Articulos Feder's Glass Studio in Mexico City. Another attraction of the enclosed mall is a colorful gazebo roofed in Tiffany-style glass. This is a Feder design, as are a number of glass lanterns.

Of unusual interest are the murals by the Mexican artist Jose Servin of Guadalajara, who is also the chairman of the Fine Arts Committee of the state of Jalisco, Mexico. His murals depict the varying cultures and crafts of the Mexican Indian and the American Indian. Colorful Mexican tiles are used extensively throughout the mall. These hand-painted, glazed tiles depict favorite Mexican designs of flowers, sun, animals, witch doctors, etc.

A variety of restaurants includes the Heidelberg Inn and Delicatessen, specializing in Bavarian dishes; Hobo Joe's; Rob Roy, an old English pub restaurant; The Robbers' Cave, a wine-cellar lounge with cheeses and gourmet foods; and El Jardin (The Garden), with an ornately carved fountain.

While Sears and The Broadway each had its own architect, architectural plans for the buildings were modified to harmonize with the general architectural concept of the mall. Uniform arches were used and Spanish motifs repeated.

Site plan.

## LOS ARCOS

Scottsdale, Arizona

ARCHITECTS: For center and Sears;
Burke Kober Nicolais Archuleta

For The Broadway Store:
Charles Luckman

ABOVE: Woodbridge Center, Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. Interior of main court. (Architects: Daverman Associates, Inc. Photographer: Otto Baitz.)
LEFT: Echelon Mall, Echelon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Court with fountain.

(Architects: Francis G. Vitetta, AIA, with Day & Zimmerman Associates; for Strawbridge & Clothier store—Gruen Associates.)

ABOVE: Woodbridge Center, Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. Interior of main court. (Architects: Daveman Associates, Inc. Photographer: Otto Baitz.) LFT: Echelon Mall, Echelon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Court with fountain. (Architects: Francis G. Vitetta, AIA with Day & Zimmerman Associates, for Strawbridge & Clothier store—Gruen Associates.)

Woodfield Mall, Schaumburg
(Chicago), Illinois. Upper-level plan
showing crossovers at second-level
mall. (Architects: Jickling & Lyman.)

completed and others in the planning stages which follow and blindly repeat the sterile patterns of the asphalt parking fields. Plans still on the drafting boards should be studied for more imaginative solutions, provided that owner, architect, and financier can broaden their vision of future potential.

In my presentation of design considerations, I will start with examples of various plan configurations as well as special adaptations to the topography of the site. This presentation will be followed by examples of parking solutions. I emphasize the parking solution because this is the shopper's first contact with the center facilities. It may condition the shopper for a positive and pleasant experience or put him in an irritated mood. I will then discuss exterior design elements and, following this, there will be a presentation of interior courts and malls. This discussion will include materials, lighting, climate and comfort control, artwork, graphics, and signing.

## Plan Configurations

The desire on the part of the developer to place as many and various facilities and services in one area as possible has led to the planning of the two- or three-level centers. Whether they are planning one-level or multilevel centers, the architects are creating a variety of imaginative schemes all intended to shorten the distance which the shopper would need to walk from one department store to another. Some of these schemes are illustrated on pages 18-25.

19 Suburban Shopping Centers

Built on reclaimed land from the sea and strategically located in the center of metropolitan Honolulu, Ala Moana is owned and was developed by the Dillingham Corporation. The center was built in two stages. In addition to 12 acres of double-deck parking, a four-level parking deck was added. In planning the center, careful attention was paid to the concealment of mechanical housing, air conditioning, and other equipment.

A truck concourse inside the building accommodates all delivery, garbage, and similar "back-door" functions completely concealed from the public eye. Also established were strict sign regulations. Moving neon signs were not permitted.

Art forms at Ala Moana reflect the rich cultural origins of Hawaii's cosmopolitan population and represent some of the finest art talent in Honolulu.

According to Lowell S. Dillingham, President, "Bringing art to the marketplace has helped make the center successful, and the merchants and the developers believe that art and architecture are important elements of a successful business and that a business should make a cultural, sociological, as well as an economic, contribution to the community and its citizens."

ALA MOANA SHOPPING CENTER

Honolulu, Hawaii

ARCHITECTS: John Graham & Company

SECTION THROUGH PHASE 1

Sections.

SECTION THROUGH PHASE 2

MALL LEVEL PARKING
STREET LEVEL PARKING
CORAL LEVEL PARKING

SCALE 0 50 100 FEET