Malls and Department Stores

Retail trade has recognized the opportunity of qualification and individualization through high-grade buildings. For a long time commercial architecture was linked exclusively to the city center: markets, passages and, starting in the 20th century, Department stores. In the postwar period, shopping malls made their appearance at the urban periphery, introducing new approaches that included space for leisure activities and gastronomic amenities. In the next step self-contained mega-malls sprouted in the open countryside, making shopping facilities completely autonomous from urban structures. The richly illustrated volume, provided with detailed planning material, shows the latest tendencies in shopping architecture worldwide as seen in 101 projects in the cities, the periphery and outside.