Abstract: Large-scale multilevel shopping malls are now sprawling phenomena in the urban landscape of the many megalopolises of South-Asian countries. Considered a Westernized influence, such planned, enclosed entities of volumetric building masses with multiple levels often generate excessively deep spaces both horizontally and vertically. Hence, channeling a sufficient flow of shoppers in every space of the mall considering both axes is usually addressed with the planned agglomeration of ample retail variations, mostly known as tenant mix. Taking a case study of such a pioneer modern mall in Dhaka, this paper explores consumers’ movement intensity and pattern in light of its present tenant mix to reveal the extent of its impact. The methodology incorporates identifying the tenant mix of all eight levels with first-hand surveys and data collection of consumer movement through the gate method. The results show that tenant strategy has multiple implications on movement both at each level of the mall as an independent system and vertically as a collective mechanism. It also shows gender and event or festivity-specific movements are also crucial factors to think about tenant mix. But a struggle of consumer visitations in many crucial locations of the mall despite the exquisite mix poses an urge for future research in analyzing movement in relation to the spatial and configurational properties of such mall. This finding can provide insights into the future design and sustainable functionality of such buildings.
Abstract: Large-scale multilevel shopping malls are now sprawling phenomena in the urban landscape of the many megalopolises of South-Asian countries. Considered a Westernized influence, such planned, enclosed entities of volumetric building masses with multiple levels often generate excessively deep spaces both horizontally and vertically. Hence, channeling...Show More
