Today, some of the world’s most exciting architecture and public spaces are being created through retail.
In many ways, retail has become a cathedral of modern life — one of our largest
and most widely shared social and cultural environments. Retail is all about people, reflecting an extraordinary and continually evolving spectrum of human activity, culture, fashion, technology and changing lifestyles.
“We design these places as extensions of ourselves,” explains Geoffrey Morrison, Founder & CEO of Concept i, “by bringing together timeless principles found in
the great streets and marketplaces of history with the most progressive advances in technology, fashion and human lifestyles.”
Retail architecture has always evolved with society. From the ancient Agora and the Grand Bazaar to the great European gallerias and contemporary shopping centres, successful retail places have brought people together through a powerful combination of commerce, architecture and public life. The formats, scale and technology continually evolve, while many of the fundamental principles that shape successful places remain remarkably enduring.
Retail design is fundamentally about how people sense and connect with a place — how they see, move, touch, hear, explore and experience the world around them. Principles of visibility, flow, exposure, connectivity, comfort and atmosphere are central to this process. Like musical notes, these elements can be combined in infinite ways to create places that feel original, relevant, memorable and alive.
This RETAiL Architecture Knowledge Sharing Series brings together four articles exploring different dimensions of retail design. The 2,000-Year Shopping Trip takes us through some of history’s great commercial places to discover the principles they continue to teach us. “I LOV U” RETAiL Anatomies explores the geometries that organise movement, anchors, frontage, visibility and experience. The Magic “10” for RETAiL Architects brings together some of the accumulated rules of thumb that help architects give dimension and definition to the first blank sheet of paper. Finally, The Future Mall looks towards a changing future, where hospitality, wellness, food, entertainment, culture, landscape, community and experience are expanding the role of retail within our everyday lives.
Together, these four perspectives connect lessons from the past with the principles of planning, the experience embedded in numbers and the opportunities emerging for the future. They are shared as observations from our own experience and continuing exploration of retail architecture, with the intention of contributing ideas, provoking discussion and encouraging the exchange of knowledge across our industry.
Retail has always been about more than the exchange of goods. It is about people, place, experience and the pleasure of being together. As architects and designers, our opportunity is to understand these relationships and continually reinterpret them in ways that respond to changing lifestyles, cultures and aspirations.
To shop is to be — to experience, participate and connect with the life around us.