This document discusses placemaking in shopping centers and public spaces. It provides examples of how placemaking has been implemented successfully at locations like Gardens by the Bay in Singapore and Barangaroo in Sydney. Placemaking aims to create shared spaces that are meaningful to communities through a collaborative process. Two early placemaking trends discussed are using public spaces as new anchors for activity and making shopping centers feel more urban. The document emphasizes that placemaking will continue to evolve but is important for connecting human experiences to built environments.

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Likewise, Singapore’s awe-
inspiring number one attraction
on TripAdvisor, Gardens by the Bay,
has reached over 20 million visitors
in three years and is in the world’s
top 20 for the most checked-in
places on Facebook. This venue
that contains over a million plants
provides an experience that
combines photography with
horticulture, arts, culture and
education. A major attraction is
its art sculptures program of over
40 featured sculptures from
around the world that connect
people with the stories of plants
and the world at large. Human
interaction is arguably the key
component in giving a place
purpose and making it relevant
and meaningful.
Interestingly, it was shopping
centres that were some of the
earliest adopters of placemaking
as a way to help define a point
of difference and enhance the
customer experience. With little data
to prove their value, placemakers and
owners alike relied on the simple
premise that, if you could make a
place that people enjoyed spending
time in, they would stay longer and
likely spend more. In a competitive
retail environment this was definitely
worth trying.
Today there is compelling evidence
that the value of place attachment
is directly related to economic
resilience and GDP growth in towns,
and this research can be extrapolated
to apply to other environments such
as shopping centres. It provides a
level of certainty and the opportunity
for increased rigour in place-led
approaches that can deliver a
measurable return on investment
for owners and customers.
Making places
to build your brand and
the customer experience
trends
A
recent journal article released by
JLL states that, within five years,
placemaking is likely to be a key
differentiator amongst commercial
assets. In 20 years it will define an
asset. Our shared priority will be to
produce well-balanced and sustainable
built environments with which our
customers can meaningfully connect.
In his recent tour of Australia,
Vincent Zawodny, Vice President of
global architecture practice, Callison
RTKL, stated that a key trend of
placemaking in the 21st century is
that nearly seven out of 10 consumers
would rather invest in an experience
than in a product. For the first time
ever, people in the US are spending
more money dining out than buying
groceries. Restaurant and food vendors
have accounted for nearly 45% of all
shopping centre expansion over the
past five years.
Placemaking is clearly a professional
discipline and strategic activity that can
add value to and differentiate an asset
or whole urban precinct.
So what is placemaking exactly? As
a relatively new profession, placemaking
has really only come into the mainstream
as a design and planning discipline over
the past five years. Part of the reason
it has become so popular is that it can
mean many different things to different
people. For designers it can help
differentiate the built environment, for
those in communications it can clarify
the imagery, language and tone of voice
for your marketing, for those in centre
management it can deliver the framework
for programs and events and so on.
‘Placemaking’ is no longer a fashionable theory; it’s a basic
principle to be adopted in retail property development. We used
to think of it in terms of a Town Square, a Court, an alfresco run,
a water feature surrounded by seating and so on. Today it’s much
more well defined but it’s still got a long way to go.
Placemaking is a broad term for
approaches that deliver shared
environments that are more meaningful,
attractive and useful for their
communities. Formally defined, it is
‘the collaborative process of creating,
enhancing and managing
people-focused places
that respect and respond
to the local context;
physical, social, political,
cultural and economic’.*
A leading example of
the use of placemaking
to connect human
experience to the built
environment is that of
Barangaroo in Sydney,
combining commercial
and retail space with
entertainment and
exhibition precincts
including ‘the cutaway’ and
publicly accessible parklands.
The recent Sydney Festival
2017 event, The Beach, gained
widespread accolades for its
creativity and inclusiveness.
by Kelvin Taylor
Project Director
Diadem
Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
▼ The Grove, Los Angeles
The Beach at Barangaroo, Sydney
by Kylie Legge
Director
Place Partners
& Founder,
Place Score
Barangaroo, Sydney

2. Two of the earliest placemaking
principles and trends that have been
applied to shopping centres and are
still relevant today are:
1. Public space as the new anchor
From The Grove in Los Angeles to
Rouse Hill in Western Sydney, it quickly
became clear at the turn of the century
that there was a growing shift toward
increased urban amenity for customers,
providing ‘public’ outdoor places to
enjoy their leisure time and support
social activities. This reflected a wider
trend away from convenience to
experience-oriented purchasing, and
a rejection of the overt consumption
of goods as a pastime in its own right.
Younger shoppers particularly value the
unique, engaging and ‘Instagrammable’
experience, and centres that want this
market know they need to entertain as
well as sell.
The design of the Farmers' Market in
The Grove harkens back to a day when
merchants sold their goods in outdoor
plazas and courtyards mixing retail with
entertainment. Originally an old orchard
and nursery, The Grove is a destination
and tourist shopping haven since its
opening with many of the store fronts
reflecting the Art Deco-style, reminiscent
of the early to mid-1900s.
Rouse Hill and Castle Hill in particular
are being transformed through the arrival
of the NW Rail corridor. With added
transport connectivity the shopping
centres are being redeveloped to serve
a broader diversity of tenants and users
with services and facilities that have a
community focus providing purposeful,
richer and deeper experiences.
2. Increasingly urban
There has always been a tension
between the city retail core and suburban
centres. In many cities it has felt that
the outlying shopping centres with
their ‘captive audiences’, proximity
to residential areas, accessibility and
high amenity were pulling ahead. More
recently we have seen a reversing
of interest back to the urban cores
reflecting growing populations, the desire
for authentic diversity and changes
in community values regarding
transportation.
Across Australia we are seeing
increased investment in city centres
that perhaps started with Melbourne
Central but has been reflected in
Sydney, Brisbane and Perth as well
as regional cities such as Wollongong
in NSW and Toowoomba in QLD.
GPT’s Wollongong Central has seen
a significant uplift in the human
connectivity with the physical
environment delivered through a
combination of considered planning
with architecture and interiors that
draw from the history of the region.
Suburban centres determined to not
miss out are increasing the diversity
of their offer to include a wide range
of services, hospitality and programs
that reflect the urban experience.
Mirvac’s new Tramsheds development
is a good example of creating an inner-
city urban space that offers authenticity
and uniqueness as well as capturing
the heritage of the area.
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The pressures and priorities on
developing meaningful and connected
spaces will continue to evolve. What
is clear is the need to create a sense
of community that supports human
wellbeing, social and cultural cohesion
with design that displays innovation,
creativity and meaning. Placemaking
is the defining element that will help
create memorable, unique and enriched
experiences of the future. SCN
* Knight ‘Soul of the Community’ 2008-2010
COPYRIGHT© 2017 SHOPPING CENTRE NEWS – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Wollongong Central
Rouse Hill Town Centre, Western Sydney