Shopping Mall as Privately Owned Public Space - School of ...

SHOPPING MALL AS PRIVATELY OWNED PUBLIC SPACEPhenomenaPrivatization of public realm in Hong KongSince the Hong Kong government triesto improve the urban environmentby providing public spaces in privateproperties, developers are encouragedto provide extra public spaces in theircould be exempted. Privatization of publicspaces seems to be the trend of urbandevelopment in high-density city like HongKong. On paper, this idea makes sense.However, how public are those “publicspaces”? Most of them are inaccessible forpublic and our rights are restricted in thoseareas. In response to the failure of many ofthose spaces, we have to reconsider thisapproach and reinvent this kind of spacesby regaining publicity of public spaces thatcan truly promote public life in our city.Thesis statementThis thesis will investigate the possibilityof using privatized public spaces asdesign strategy for shopping complex,by integrating civic functions and retailsto create a new type of public realm totransform the city. It provides an alternativetemplate of urbanization based on theprocess of hybridization of malls, civicprograms and public spaces, enriching thecity’s public offering by extending publicsectors in private properties.Background Research1. Development of shopping in Hong KongThe development of shopping wasnew town developments since 70s and theintroduction of podium & ComprehensiveDevelopment Area (CDA). Those policieshad great impacts on architecturesof shopping in terms of organization,complexity and bulkiness.2. Shopping as contemporary lifeThis part ofresearch is goingto analysis thefactors enhancingconsumer culturein HK as city ofshopping. Shoppingmalls have mergedto residentialand railwaydevelopments, the change in form of livingand the development of railway shorten thedistance from our home to shopping malls,encouraging the consumption activities indaily life. On the other hand, people preferto stay at indoor area because of hot andhumid environment in Hong Kong, thisalso enhances the role of mall as the mostfavourite gathering place.3. Typology study:Studying and comparing different types ofshopping architecture in terms of scale,circulation, accessibility, openness andpermeability in relation of its publicness.ThesisAbstractWhat is “Public Space”?1. Parks VS MallsBy comparing the restrictions in parks andspaces in contemporary city and seek ameaning of public life.2. The role ofpublic spaces incontemporary cityThe decline in thequality of publicspaces indicatesthat we have torethink the role ofpublic spaces in ourcity. Public spacesare no longer simply functioned as urbanvoid like the lung of city. Public spacesshould be a hybrid of actual physical spacesand active public spheres, but active publicspheres require accountability to function,private corporation could be one of theaccountable bodies. Shopping malls providegood setting for public activities, on theother hand public space could act as thespatial strategy to organize the mall.Why shopping mall and open space?- Mall as city centreInvestigating the relationship betweenmall and city, shopping malls has beentransformed from a component of city tothe prerequisite of urbanity. Malls not onlyserve as the iconic centre of city but alsoprovide physical spaces for social activities,as a result shopping malls has replacedevery aspects of urban life. However, citycentre should also function as a “place”,where “every body occupies its place”. Citycentre should help one to construct hisown identity and relate to himself to thehistory of that place.- Investigating the relationship betweenmalls, public spaces and cityCase study: e.g. Namba Park in Osaka byJon JerdePotential SiteTaiwai station is proposed as experimentalsite where provide large empty spacefor development, railway provides goodinfrastructure of transportation and stable11