In this essay I will discuss and compare two shopping malls as examples of pseudo-public spaces. A pseudo-public space is a non-private area that is deceiving in looks by taking on a similar look and feel of something else (Miller, G. A. 2010). Canal Walk in Century City, being one of the discussed malls, ‘is one of South Africa’s premier super-regional shopping centres’ and is based just off the N1 National Road, which is about 15 minutes out side the Cape Town CBD. The Centre was opened in October 2000 and was dubbed one of the largest shopping centres in Africa (Canal Walk: 2010).
The second mall is Bayside Shopping Centre, which is classified as a suburban, one-stop shopping mall catering for the Table-View, Blaauwberg district and is situated on the West-Coast road (SafariNow: No Date). Today, many shopping malls have ‘colonized other privately owned public spaces’ (Goss, J. 1993: p18) and incorporated these spaces into the shopping mall experience to give them more value. This is easily seen in the planning of and around Canal Walk. The Shopping Mall is surrounded by a large portion of residential spaces, four hotels that include the Protea Hotel Island Club and Crystal Towers Hotel and Spa, the Ratanga Junction theme park and Ratanga Golf Centre, a Virgin Active gym club, a Shell House petrol station, a wide selection of offices and Blue-chip companies and even an Abbots college, amongst many other spaces. Within the actual Canal Walk Mall there are two towers, the East and West office towers, and a leisure centre (Century City: 2010). Canal Walk and Century City function as a little urban community environment; offering retail, leisure, commercial and residential spaces, and therefore fit into Victor Gruens concept of ‘shopping towns’ that offer rich cultural, educational and relaxation experiences (Gross, J. 1993: p23). The 'shopping town' concept can be seen in the Century City Map below. All these spaces are in a confined urbanized environment making them easily accessible and convenient so that a lifestyle can be created where you hardly ever, if ever, need to leave the area because almost all needs and wants are catered for. On the other hand Bayside Shopping Centre does not encompass new urbanism principles, of ‘walkable communities’ (Steuteville, R. Langdon, P.: 2009), as such. Unlike Canal Walk, Bayside Mall does not really inhabit privately owned public spaces besides the centre management offices, security offices and only a few other services such as the post office and Telkom. But Canal Walk and Bayside were built in different time periods and to cater for different, community set-ups, reasons and functions.
Century City Map, 2010
There is no doubt that shopping malls are planned and structured to encourage the consumer to stay, shop and spend money. This is done through the architectural planning, the themes that are encompassed and how space is used within the mall. Canal Walk has an over all Cape Venetian architectural style (Thomas, R. 2004) with the use of columns, curves and details in the architecture and beautiful colour portrait and landscape pictures. This depicts a distant place and past, rich with history and culture that, according to Goss, provokes a modernist nostalgia and idealization (Gross, J. 1993: p22, 23). The tall palms and shrubs placed at points through the centre reflect a tropical setting and the hanging gardens of Babylon; and the curved, high glass ceilings contribute to the ‘softscape interior’ – bringing the outside in, giving the interior an exotic feel, soothing shoppers and implying freshness (Gross, J. 1993: p24, 36). The illusions created and softscape interiors give a sense of grandeur and wonder - see Canal Walk Images below. Both malls make use of natural light, but more so simulated lighting around the interior to enhance certain areas, spaces and objects making them look spectacular to the consumer’s eye. Bayside Mall relies more on natural light in the renovated new wing, recently built at one end, where almost the entire top section of the court is glass that gives a feeling of freedom and openness. Bayside Mall has a more modernized, basic, open/outdoor spaced theme. As a single level mall, Bayside Mall also makes use of greenery in large plant pots placed around the centre giving the sense of a garden city and life, this is also apparent around the parking lots. Both shopping malls are heterotopias of external spaces. They are not utopias because they are real in the sense of representation that the consumer can relate to and read (Foucault, M.1967: p2) - See images below.
Canal Walk Interior1
Canal Walk Interior2
Car Show Photos No.10
Car Show Photos No.13
The layout and retail planning of the malls differ to cater for the different needs and wants of the customers according to its functions. Canal Walk has a large center court that is a hive of hustle and bustle and gives the sense of a theme park or arcade. It gives the impression of a very American lifestyle, with a huge food court, lots of bright, bold and colorful signage, big screens and movie theatres and a stage at one end. Besides the shopping aspect of Canal Walk the center, food court is full of activities and is a main attraction in drawing and keeping consumers in the mall - See Canal Walk Center and Food Court Images below. At the far ends of Canal Walk each have a large grocery store (Checkers and Pick n Pay) and a retail chain store (Edgars and Woolworths). Where as Bayside’s main grocery store (Shoprite) is placed almost at the center of the Mall, with the entertainment and food court at one end and its large retail chain stores (Edgars and Woolworths) at the other. The layout of the stores manipulates the consumer and their movement through the mall space. Even though malls encourage class integration, they are designed according to an aimed social class and standard to meet the desired environmental outcome. Both Bayside Mall and Canal Walk have grand entrances welcoming the consumer into a fantasy world (Gross, J. 1993: p31, 32). Century City has lush plants and palms and huge archways leading into walkways to the actual entrance, following the Venetian style theme. Bayside is slightly more modern and have large covering canopies hanging over glass-surrounded entrances, which are highlighted with colour and lighting, enhancing the Bayside Mall logo and also inviting the consumer into another world. Though in both malls attention is not drawn to exits, as not to encourage the consumer to leave (Gross, J. 1993: p32). Whether the consumer walks into the mall with an aim they get drawn into the world of consumption and desire to a certain degree. You are made and directed to navigate past temptations and around obstacles. For example, on the top level in Canal Walk you have to navigate around the open balcony spaces that look down onto the ground floor to get to the retail stores on the opposite side and within doing that you pass other stores that catch you attention. The beautiful scenery and the world that is created by the interior distracts you, this plays on the consumer’s feelings of comfort and wonder. Near the entrances and exits you will find banks, and already the idea of money is set in the mind of the consumer who then passes jewelry and clothing stores, restaurants and coffee shops and so on. This is also apparent in the layout of the Bayside Shopping Centre, along the outside of the mall are already store entrances, before you even reach inside - See entrance images below. In the past Bayside’s main functional space in the community was the grocery store. Since the recent expansion Bayside has a lot more variety to offer local consumers. If you walk in from the middle entrance you are faced with the grocery store, there is only one wide through way and as a consumer you get pulled from one end to the other curious about what you’ll find. Through the year there are functions, shows and entertainment held in both shopping malls that do not include spending money, but this is a ploy to draw people into the mall in the beginning, getting them to stay in the mall in hope that later they will hang or wonder around or go for a meal and spend money. Many of these shows target children who have to be accompanied by their parents who pay for everything.
Canal Walk Food Court
Canal Walk Central Area
Canal Walk Entrance6
Bayside Mall
Bayside Mall in Tableview, Cape Town, South Africa
Malls are designed to encourage civic space, where space ‘benefits citizens as individuals’ (Miller, G. A.: 2010). They are spaces where people come together and allow different social classes to mingle in a free and safe environment and give the impression to be open to almost anyone, except to any unwanted people. Malls are classified as public spaces but they are surveyed by hidden camera (24hour surveillance) and are monitored by security agents. Bayside Mall also have parking attendants, who watch over customer vehicles and Canal Walk have secured parking that you pay for. Both Malls have security departments. These spaces are structured and maintained to make the shopper feel comfortable and safe and to cater for they’re every need, gaining the customers loyalty and fondness towards the Shopping Centre (Gross, J. 1993: p26). Both Malls are disabled person friendly and have lifts or ramps and specialized bathrooms; new mothers are catered for with specialized changing rooms and in Canal Walk there are many benches and even a relaxation lounge (See image below) for customers to rest or wait etc.
Canal Walk Relaxation Lounge
Consumers are ‘constructed as passive, sensual, and vulnerable victims’, and the stereotypical shopper is the female. Therefore the designers’ aim is to create a space that is pleasing in interpretation to the shopper (Goss, J. 1993: p19). Not that the space is not pleasing to the male but the female is more vulnerable to the trap of illusion and so is more likely to fall prey to philosopher Jean Baudrillard’s simulacrum, where the line between fantasy and reality can not be distinguished and a hyper reality is formed (Poster, M.: 1988, Gross, J. 1993: p21). The fantasy-like space that Bayside Mall and Canal Walk, specifically, provokes and manipulates the desire of the consumer to keep returning and to spend money. The malls create the illusion of socializing and entertainment (their movie theatres, restaurants etc.) but in actual fact it is only the act of shopping and spending money, which is what the desired effect on the consumer is. The malls make commercial and materialistic things acceptable to want and desire (Gross, J. 1993: p18, 19). Once you have purchased the first item it makes it acceptable to carry on spending more and easier with the forces the surrounding space exerts onto the consumer.
Both malls visually create an illusion and play on the consumer’s emotions and desires making them believe something that is not. They are also encouraged to act on these desires through the architectural and thematically structured spaces. Canal Walk is a stronger example of a pseudo-public space being able to function and offer retail, commercial, residential and entertainment. But in conclusion both Canal Walk and Bayside Mall are pseudo-public places in the sense that they are both deceiving in look and feel.
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Images
Hart, T. 2010. Canal Walk Interior1
Hart, T. 2010. Canal Walk Interior2
Hart, T. 2010. Canal Walk Entrance6
Hart, T. 2010. Canal Walk Food Court
Hart, T. 2010. Canal Walk Central Area
Hart, T. 2010. Canal Walk Relaxation Lounge
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