Reinventing the Mall

In this age of high gas prices and carbon consciousness, the suburbs get a bad rap. And the poster child for suburban blight has become the shopping mall, vilified since the 1950s for sucking the life out of downtown centers.

If malls have a birthplace, it's the Southdale Center, just outside Minneapolis, built (and then disowned) by architect Victor Gruen. Since then malls have become symbolic of architectural compromise.

So it’s surprising that influential architects are trying to breathe new life into malls with contemporary design, and to revive the original idea of malls as small-scale urban centers. Two malls opening this month, in Bern, Switzerland, and in west London, exemplify the new trend.

Mason Currey wrote about the new crop of high-concept malls for Metropolis magazine, where he's an assistant editor. He joins Word of Mouth with more on the new trend of high-end malls.

(Photo of West Village, London's mall courtesy of Gabellini Sheppard Associates)