Architecture design is about community.
The other weekend was market day on Ponsonby Road. We walked to Alma in the city for exercise and coffee with Manchego, honey, and thyme pastries. On the walk back we dropped a pastry into a friend. Along Ponsonby Road we chatted, bantered with several shopkeepers and acquaintances in the street while we soaked up the sun and the good vibes from people at sidewalk cafes with the music playing in the background.
It got me thinking about community, a word much used.
I remember my mother telling me she had made a mistake. My parents downsized and moved out of the area they had lived in for 40 years. Mum said now when she went to the local shops or to church, no one knew her, and she didn’t know them. She felt invisible.
So, for me, community thrives where the people know each other to the point that they enjoy interacting with each other. The personalised service from the local shopkeepers, the acquaintances you meet in the street, walking their dog, walking the baby or shopping, the local club you belong to, the cafe you frequent.
I don’t think malls provide the community spirit that the old shopping strip does, don’t ask me why this thought jumped into my head, but it did.
Shopping malls started from overseas experts telling us a windowless, internal shopping box and huge carpark was the modern way to go. Then the experts suggested windows on the exterior of the box would be a bit more friendly and provided some expectation. Then the anchor tenants developed specialist zones within their own shop, the bakery, the butchery, the cafe, etc, while the mall itself was full of chain brands. Finally, an external street was added to make the mall look like the original local shopping strip, except for the associated huge carpark to cater for the ‘foreigners’ that weren’t within walking distance.
Meanwhile the local community shopping street with specialist shops and personal service died.
paul@leuschkekahn.co.nz | 021 894 895 | leuschkekahn.co.nz
