Design of New Shopping Centres in Historic City Cores

Bouhalas, L (1987) Design of New Shopping Centres in Historic City Cores. Master of Architecture thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The first chapter is a brief introduction to the original idea of the shopping conception by looking back to the Eastern bazaars and the 19th Century shopping arcades in the U.K. By giving some description regarding their layout as well as describing the factors acting as a major ingredient influencing their conception in general terms such as climatic conditions, and defining the shopping centre as one element in the texture. The second part is basically describing the evolution of the shopping centre's conception in three distinct stages which are as follows: the centres of the first stage (open mall) - the second stage centres (enclosed mall) - the third stage centres (multi-level centres) The next step consists mainly in classifying all types of shopping centres into three main categories and introducing the problems of out-of-town shopping centre development in the U.K. The aim of the first chapter is particularly to give a clear idea for the reader to understand as quickly as possible the historical background of the shopping centre development. The second chapter is divided into three distinct parts. The first part is mainly, looking and trying to explain the most important commercial factors which have a direct influence in attracting people more and more to the shopping centre as a place for retail. The second part is essentially focused on describing planning and architectural components which constitute the shopping centre in design terms and their characteristics in relation to each other. Also, trying to present fire safety and its impact in designing as well as introducing some U.K. regulation applied in this kind of development in order to keep the place safe for the shoppers as well as ensuring safety for the environment in case of fire. The third part consists of looking at the developer's and Local Authority's role in making the shopping centre happen. The third and fourth chapters consist of the case studies which are the most important sections in the thesis, supporting the previous chapters. The two examples are analysed deeply in visual terms, presenting photographs with comments and criticisms and in each case drawing up a conclusion. The two shopping centres are as below: 1. Carlisle Lanes Shopping Centre 2. York Coppergate Shopping Centre The reason for taking these two examples is mainly because each one represents a particular type of shopping centre. For example, the Lanes shopping centre is from an enclosed shopping centre group. The Coppergate shopping centre is included in the group of open mall shopping centres. Each of them has its own characteristics, different from the other one in terms of appearance in relation to the urban environment where it is located and inserted. The fifth chapter presents the conclusion of the whole thesis, leading to some important recommendations for the future concerning the inserted shopping centre design in a sensitive environment which planners, architects and designers are obliged to take into consideration, otherwise we will loose our heritage in the near future. The final chapter essentially consists of a proposal scheme with a detail study in terms of planning strategy towards the central area of Glasgow and the site analysis adding the proposal scheme with an urban design brief explaining the whole points which I mentioned before in the fifth chapter.

• Item Type: Thesis (Master of Architecture)
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Keywords: Architecture, Urban planning
• Date of Award: 1987
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:1987-77556
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 14 Jan 2020 11:53
• Last Modified: 14 Jan 2020 11:53
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/77556