Why U.S. Malls Are Disappearing | Decoding Mall Architecture and Their 21st Century Demise

[@UnravelingArchitecture]

What do you think of American shopping malls today? Do you see them reviving themselves in American suburbs?

[@mkrp4]

I don't like malls .They are too crowded and inconvenient to shop. The local mall (known as Buena Park Mall) used to have Sears and Walmart stores on the opposite ends, about 1/4 miles apart so , if you buy a lot of stuff from Walmart and want to go to Sears you have to go out (to put your items in your car) and then go in to shop at Sears. Small stores are expensive and have poor quality imported [censored] items...Good place for pick pockets, shop lifters and petty thief

[@UnravelingArchitecture]

Oleg!! I agree some malls have become hotspots for individuals to pickpockets or even snatch girls and women for human trafficking. It’s scary stuff! I do still think societies need to accommodate for a “third place” as we still are social creatures

[@theflare_9755]

malls in my country 🇺🇬 are never crowded even before covid, and they are usually some of the most beautiful buildings around

[@wickeddreamer713]

I feel like the stores in these malls have very overpriced products. It’s very loud and your mind never has a chance to calm down. Before COVID even, (in Canada) there weren’t much people there anyway and it was only ever busy on days like boxing days. But you are right, these malls just want to take our money, there are kiosks in the middle of pathways with people urging you to buy things and many times, I’m leaving with something I may not even use again.

[@venuschamunorwa3352]

I loved this video thank you so much Nat for the content. Please bring more lol 😅 My opinion is that times have changed and definitely the user wants and needs have adjusted accordingly. I think if malls can focus more on create a user experience, something where if I'm shopping online I'll still want to go the mall because it has something extra. Let's say some engaging activities some sculpture's, something that will draw people and convince them to get of their screens and enjoy a physical engagement. I see it all the time here is Cape Town South Africa 🇿🇦🌍 where they will bring local artist to perform in an open space where people eating at a restaurant or moving from shop to shop just stop for moment and appreciate the community essence a mall can create.

[@tatimarie8277]

I was thinking throughout the video “wow I would love more these to use as a podcast on my way home”. You should definitely make more, I loved it!

[@UnravelingArchitecture]

That's a great idea! I was never sure if people would consider listening to an architecture podcast, but maybe I can consider making a series!! It's interesting stuff!(: Thank you for watching!

[@j0w0_37]

i like your content!!❤

[@ericshiel]

People literally only use my local mall for target because, well... it's target. Great video ma'am.

[@UnravelingArchitecture]

People live in target hahah Thanks, Eric!

[@rotapronobis]

Thanks for sharing this insight. Last autumn I was in London in a place called Old Spittalfields Market. This was also mainly a commercial area, but it had this uncontrolled and unpredctive athmosphere which made this place feel very alive, sparkling and pleasant. The old-school organic public space where not only spending is important, bus also meeting people, sharing time together and just feeling good. Watching this vid just made me realise this.

[@Imranesm]

Really interesting! I personally think it'd be sick if school were combined with malls

[@UnravelingArchitecture]

I think so too!

[@leena2418]

I just stumbled on your video! I developed my master thesis on the subject of retail buildings sustainability. Pretty much all the information you mentioned in this video are written in the introduction of my research. I was so excited to see you talking about and I agree with it even from a personal perspective! I'm algerian and malls are still sort of a new think here, yet you can clearly see the difference in peoples preferences because developers only care for the economic aspect, omitting the social and environmental aspects. There's an example of a very expensive mall (I never afforded to by anything in it, not even beverages 😂) with a lot of people visiting and a bright central atrium, some nice sitting chairs, nothing attractive or fancy. Another one is bigger, newer and relatively closer to the tram station (the main transportation system for reaching both malls) yet it's an urban desert inside, almost since day one! It has a smaller central space, consumption oriented plan, everything you mentioned in the video, lol! Now I'm trying to continue on this subject for a PhD outside of my country, wish me success ;)

[@UnravelingArchitecture]

That's amazing!!! Best of luck while you are pursing you PhD!!! This is a very important building typology to talk about and that is so great that you developed a strong thesis around it. Happy you found this video (: Great to have an expert in the comments !!

[@leena2418]

@@UnravelingArchitecture Thank you so much! I'm glad to see you spreading awareness about it. Hope we can be part of change ;)

[@ravirajsinhmakwana]

can you share your thesis with me? even my topic is related to retail architecture. :)

[@shreejitmitra7663]

Wow ! Great Explanation ❣

[@UnravelingArchitecture]

Glad you liked it!(:

[@shreejitmitra7663]

@@UnravelingArchitecture My pleasure 😊

[@ShivuBasavaiah]

Wonderful video. I think malls will have to evolve to in how they can bring the community together. May be 1/4 th of the mall is turned in to residences, 1/4th of the mall is turned in to small spaces for local, regional arts, crafts, music, performers and handymen. They may not be able to pay the rent, but will attract people to visit and create an energy, around which another 1/2 of the mall can have rentable spaces. We all need places of gathering. Cannot live on our smart phones.

[@peterphillips-akindele2438]

Hi Natalie just saw your first project please just to let you know it was verry good for first year work am a graduate to in a diploma in Architecture this year and thanks for all your video toturials tks

[@nolannernberg4627]

This type of video is really good! I like how you talk about architectural concepts in the real world

[@amateurapple]

I guess you either see your plan die a hero or see it live long enough that now it's what you were trying to stop lol

[@patricksardo3303]

malls are dying because last time I went to the movie theater in the mall I spilled baked beans all over myself watching Cars 2 in theaters & a couple teenagers shouted 'he eating beans!' & everyone laughed

[@UnravelingArchitecture]

Patrick are you okay?

[@UnravelingArchitecture]

I'm buying you a bean mug so that will never happen again

[@amateurapple]

Cars 2 is my favorite movie lol

[@dorcaskeren6932]

I'm really sorry man. That was not ok at all. Hope you are ok now😄

[@josealfredosalinasgonzalez341]

Hello, Nat! Loved the video, thanks for the content... As a matter of fact, mall architecture has been on a downside since e-commerce "got real", haha, but I think it's most seen a downside in the U.S.A. I'm an architecture student in Mexico and I can be certain about one thing; in our country, we don't just go to malls so that we can socialize with people or to buy things, we also go or casually go there because it gives a sense of security in the establishment or the building there, as you might know, latinamerica is a pretty insecure place to live in, and a lot of the times, a big open space indoors is enough to make us feel protected and not vulnerable in some circunstances. Now, with all this, I'm not saying that it's totally dangerous to be out of malls and in the strees, but it sure does give enough trust to make us wanna be there in a weird situation. I still agree with the fact that it's become a consumerism place, rather that a social point... Oh, and btw, the pandemic has really seen a hit on several companies that used to be in certain malls over here in Mexico. Thanks again for the conent; just wanted to add that, haha.

[@UnravelingArchitecture]

Hi José !! Excellent points being made! Thank you for sharing. I hope I was not implying it was only architecture that caused the demise of malls but rather it was started by ecommerce, but the architectural design of malls didn't help the situation at all! I wish I would've interviewed you about how you use malls in Mexico!! Through all the readings I did to prepare this video, I never stumbled across that functionality of malls!! I do think I focused more on American malls and their systems. If you ever want to have a conversation about building program differences between Mexico and America, I'd love to chat with you! Thank you for the comment!!

[@prawingajbhiye8816]

I really appreciate ur hard work and Content creation technique...

[@yasminessou4897]

Hi I am from France, I adore your videos and this also helps me to improve my English😊

[@Music-pc2we]

Ive started to notice this as well lol. Its really sad, because one mall that was really popular in my city is totally dead now like its almost abandoned. And then my favorite mall of all time has a few stores that have closed down now and im sure more are going to as well. I honestly dont like shopping online and so its kind of sad that online shopping is getting more popular. Also this is a wierd question but how are your teeth so white?

[@UnravelingArchitecture]

I agree! Online shopping doesn’t have the same exciting experience that in-store shopping has. But still in-store shopping still has its cons. And hahah lol on the teeth comment! Drink coffee w a straw and I also brush my teeth like 3 times a day, in the morning, after my nap, and before bed(:

[@Music-pc2we]

@@UnravelingArchitecture That is true! And thank you for the tips!

[@Leaveyt505]

@@UnravelingArchitecture it's not coffee that causes plaque but it's cigarettes and tea

[@jubileeee]

So many good points thanks for this thought provoking video essay!!

[@UnravelingArchitecture]

Thank you!!

[@avalanche2565]

I was in a mall yesterday, about half the stores fronts are empty, and as an emerging artist I thought it would be really neat to have individual artists do installations or pop-ups in the mall and have it be more of like an art gallery art experience, as far as renting maybe local art foundations could help local artists, I don’t know

[@josefranciscouriberodrigue2161]

Hi I’m a Mexican guy , I love your videos and I hope you come to mexico near. Love it !

[@aethelwolfe3539]

Mixed use program with outdoor walk ways and window shops is vastly superior, there’s a reason we have done it for over a thousand years.

[@kwakuasaremensah3499]

I agree, this new age will need a new concept it will have to be a continuous project. By analyzing and figured defects. E-commerce is such a big “New thing” that has to be incorporated literally he smallest place to start.

[@redram5150]

When a mall begins its decline, it enters a cycle of degradation. The lack of revenue causes owners to put off improvements. Those improvements would update the architecture and bring more people in. The lack of customer in-flow creates conditions which inclines more shops to close. Fewer shops means areas of the mall are vacant, their austere gates acting as repellant for customers, new shop vendors, and even buyers who may be interest in purchasing the mall. And so the cycle continues until its closing

[@lauz7986]

I'm from Hong Kong and I would like to share to you how malls are still thriving here and in other Asian cities. In fact a lot of malls have successfully incorporated property and schools (kindergarten in particular due to its small size) which most Western counterpartshave failed to do so. A lot of this is due to politics, geography and economics which I won't go too deep about but basically there's a few reasons why they work so well here. In terms of politics the government here limits the land sales to gain tax revenue and therefore urban areas are rather focused into small areas that have a massive population. For geography, Hong Kong is rather small hence public transport is widely used for travelling to other districts (ironically for visiting malls in other districts which is normally in close proximity or directly above a metro station). For economics one of the main competitive advantages of Hong Kong is retail and trade, hence theres a wide range of goods sold originating from all around the world, and malls take advantage of this by having a wide range of shops and international brands. There is even a tough competition between these brands to get the best shop locations in the central districts driving up the rent, which results with a lot of cash for these malls to constantly renovate and update their fancy malls to make them look attractive to consumers (you can look up sth like "K11 Musea" or "Elements West Kowloon" they're so glamorous that literally anyone would wanna pay a visit even if they weren't planning to buy anything). But of course they do have their downsides. Ironically these malls are so effective in attractive customers it is literally emptying out consumers on the streets (why would one prefer to walk 15 mins extra in the sun under 30 degrees of humid weather when they can enjoy an air conditioned mall without having to get outdoors?). It's also creating a massive inequality between shops as small businesses are never gonna be able to afford that costly rent. So yea, malls aren't great but some do know how to businesses more than others

[@UnravelingArchitecture]

This is fantastic!!! the infrastructural differences are apparent. I do think malls in America had the potential to be something great, and they were for a little while, but once the need to shop was satisfied in a new way, malls didn't stand a chance here. That is fantastic that Hong Kong really saw great advantages to such a building program and adeptly structured everything around it. I do also agree with your last point about the shopping inequality. Rent prices must be outrageous for the small business owners - it's their whole livelihood at stake! Thank you for the comment. It was so great to read all of this stuff from your perspective.

[@roundedosu]

7:55 i think that's a mall in my city but they are so repetitive that i'm not even sure

[@yuvrajbet3054]

Make more of these

[@amateurapple]

Well here in Asia malls are a status symbol for how big or cool the city is. Having a small mall makes your city superior to your neighbors lol

[@UnravelingArchitecture]

That’s so interesting I didn’t know that!

[@benedict5978]

Your contents are verryyy interesting as a guy who is "planning to be an architect" HEHEH

[@kellygarcia6588]

I love you Natalie!!! ❤ Queen!

[@davidperrine.architecture]

Well done!

[@UnravelingArchitecture]

haha thank you David!

[@poojasaiwal3269]

Ur doing great ✨🐰👍🏻

[@UnravelingArchitecture]

Thank you! 😊

[@donerskine7935]

Every alternate unit in a shopping location could be a Starbucks. Oh, wait, they already are.

[@imdadtariq3423]

Amazing!

[@UnravelingArchitecture]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@raneemsamra7367]

i enjoy your content so much

[@UnravelingArchitecture]

Thank you so much!!

[@Joe-jv5mm]

Great video, different way at looking at our surroundings, Allways found modern Architecture lifeless No soul, the high line NYC brings humans back to our roots, we are to far removed from the pulse of nature, the pursuit for profit has cheapend life, humanity always chasing the next iPhone fix, we spend more time looking at our screens that we miss the big Picture

[@berntoast3186]

The modern mall should be like the agoras of ancient times. Enclosed cause its cold af here 😂

[@theflare_9755]

what happened to your cap, it was cute

[@jobbvir1]

I have to confess that your looks first made me pass by your channel until actually get to hear the good stuffs you're discussing. I'll bet someday you will become a very good architect if not a great one with very good looks. When I first came to US forty years ago, my first hate was the sea of parking lots everywhere especially around malls during Christmas, not to mention those mind controlling musics. For over twenty years that I stayed here I think my intentional visits to malls were limited to less than a 100. Once I met a mall designer who told me it was designed to make people lost in there and forget about time until they can suck all money out of your pockets then give you credits to buy things you never need. I almost glad to see this thing die that seems to be happening in America. Unfortunately, that gladness evaporated when I move back to Thailand and see this country is repeating the same stupid design mistakes.

[@donerskine7935]

BTW that popping sound with your graphics is very irritating.

[@DakkogiRauru23]

It goes to show that while capitalism is a great vehicle, it should never be the ultimate goal. People need to be treated as human beings whilst also free to trade and work as they choose. You cannot have one without the other and hope to last.

[@shinji1264]

Malls are dying because bigger isn't always better

[@UnravelingArchitecture]

greatly put!

[@matttemplin6241]

I think people are not making as much money as they use to.

[@tegakienautty6658]

Would you my friend

[@museumofdrawing965]

Those homeless people? I think you solved the mall problem. As many Americans are about to become homeless, the demand for a nice warm dry space with washrooms could be provided by the abandoned mall. Think of it as a new kind of commune. As a city within a city it offers the promise of helping the very many consumers destroyed by the adventures of capital that formed the mall. Justice? Yes. To help with the sadness of such an idea a mall could be a great place for a daycare. Daycares need playgrounds, parking and the private drop off, all too expensive in the city. The mall could be the incubator that America needs to reboot, while giving a level of security to its new friends. All those migrants coming to America also need a spot. A mall could be a kind of campus where new Americans could find there place easier, in a more cost effective way than in a large city. Language schools, donated older computers, a variety of food vendors could be a cyberpunk reality. The mall as an large interiorized institution is easier to control, and with some new AI devices, would not need the level of policing a city requires. After all the old mall has paid off its morgage years ago. In Its abandoned state it will deteriorate into ruin, then be taken by the city anyway. My firm creates daycare spaces in old buildings in Toronto.

[@RaBrando]

You dating anyone?

[@patricksaxon3983]

You are so beautiful!