Bad customer experience is out of fashion, not bricks and mortar This fall, a 300,000-square-foot shopping mall will open in suburban northern California, built around a landscaped outdoor courtyard inspired by an Italian piazza.
The first floor is all glass, the better to see the wares; above that, corrugated stainless steel. An Equinox gym anchors the mall at one end, a dine-in movie theater anchors the other. You can drink boba tea or a Berkeley microbrew, slurp ramen, or down a burger.
From the rooftop parking garage, visitors can look down on the piazza??it is a sweet climate? says its European architect?or out to the surrounding hills. ?I don?t want to be nasty to shopping malls,? he adds, in a promotional video for the shopping mall. ?I just want to say, this is not a shopping mall, it is something completely different. Instead of something artificial, we need to make something very California.? In March 1954, a 990,000-square-foot shopping mall opened in suburban Detroit, built around landscaped outdoor courtyards, inspired by Italian piazzas. The first floor was all glass, the better to see the wares; above that, brick panels framed in concrete. A Hudson?s department store anchored the center. You could get a bite at the snack bar or candy store, or shop for dinner at the supermarket while your kids worked up an appetite at the playground.

Sunset Development Company
Rendering of City Center Bishop Ranch by Renzo Piano.

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