Research Of Suburban Shopping Mall Design

Suburban shopping malls are the mark of urbanization of suburbs and the era of mobile. They also represent the high level of urbanization and the highly developed transportation net of cities. In western developed countries, the development of suburban shopping malls is already relatively mature, while in our country it is still in the stage of infant. People often confuse shopping malls with department stores and supermarkets. In the last several years, shopping malls start to be constructed in China, however, most of them are only in the center of cities and the style of developing is quite single. As the fast developing of the suburbs of big cities, the structure of cities, living styles of residents, habits and modes of consuming are changing a lot. Government, urban planners and the developers begin to pay more and more attention to the suburban shopping mall, since they not only offer the "one stop shopping"but also complement the deficiency in the utilities of commerce. As for the reasons above, this thesis chooses suburban shopping mall as the subject of study, which focuses on the direction of urban design. Firstly, based on the study of urban design and the experiences and lessons from the developing of suburban shopping malls of other countries, this thesis demonstrates that it is necessary to develop suburban shopping malls in big cities of China. Secondly, it brings up the point that designing of suburban shopping malls should pay more attention on the planning of earlier stage of commerce. This thesis applies urban design as a guide from three aspects, it are divided into three chapters, which explain the details of the whole procedure of developing of suburban shopping malls, from planning to designing. There are ten chapters for the main content: The first chapter is introduction, which introduces the range, reasons, backgrounds, purpose and importance of the study in the thesis. It also summarizes methods and frame of this study. The second chapter is the basis of this study, which thoroughly explain the concept ,brief history and classification of suburban shopping malls. Chapter 3 and 4 review the situations of the developing of suburban shopping malls in other countries and China. Firstly, chapter 3 introduces the value, background and history of the suburban shopping malls in other countries. Then, it points out the problems for developing of suburban shopping malls in every country. Lastly, it prospects the trend and future. In chapter 4, through the analysis of the background of suburban shopping malls in China and situations of economy and transportation for big cities, it demonstrate the necessary to develop suburban shopping malls in China, It also analyzes the current problem and the future for developing. Chapter 5 is the start point of the study of this thesis. From the view of urban design, it studies the motivation effects and probable problems to cities of the developing of suburban shopping malls. It emphasizes that from the overview of urban design; planning and designing of suburban shopping malls should consider the harmony of surrounding and also respect the urban context. Chapter 6, 7, 8and 9 are the main parts of this study. They describe planning and designing of the earlier stage, designing of the site, the inner space and exterior space of suburban shopping malls. The thoroughly description is helpful for designers to master the content, main points, principle and methods of the planning and designing of suburban shopping malls. In the part of conclusions, it emphasizes that suburban shopping mall is different from other types of buildings. It is not a simple issue of designing between function and shape. Architects should master three respects as below: firstly, we should design suburban shopping malls based on our nation conditions; secondly understanding the guiding functions of planning and designing of earlier stage; thirdly, considering the influence of multi-functional combinations to the shape and overall arrangement of the building.