A second breath for a difference. The evolution of shopping malls in the era of economy impressed

/ Architecture /

Trade has always been a showcase for innovations, reflecting changes in the psychology of society, not just consumption. That is why reconception and renovation are inevitable stages of the functioning of commercial real estate. UVT Group has in its portfolio a successful renovation project - the metropolitan "Karavan Outlet", and now it is implementing a shopping center on ul. Marshala Malinovsky, 12 on Obolony and Kharkov "Caravan". COVID-19 spurred the transformation of retail spaces taking into account new requirements: multifunctionality and flexibility, digitalization and personalization. What should the updated shopping center look like in order to win the competition?

FROM THE SQUARE MARKET TO THE INDUSTRY OF SOCIAL SPACES

Since ancient times, the vital core of cities has been the market square. Of course, she also performed a whole range of functions - from leisure to politics, from communication to justice, but the main thing was everything-still commercial. In the XNUMXth century, places of exchange of goods, ideas and energy were transformed into shopping and entertainment centers. Now we are witnesses of a spiral movement with a decrease in the share of commerce itself and an expansion of the social functions of these spaces, with closer attention to humanitarian issues.

This is no longer a movement vector, this is the rebirth of an entire industry that has already taken place. Just the other day, ICSC, the global community of commercial real estate professionals, announced its rebranding to reflect industry innovation. Previously, the name of the ICSC organization was deciphered as the International Council of Shopping Centers. After the rebranding, the acronym ICSC sounds like Innovating Commerce Serving Communities.

The world's largest underground COEX Mall in Seoul was losing popularity. The renovation carried out under the Gensler project under the slogan "The Unfolding Sky" helped bring visitors back

"Nowadays, shopping centers are not just a set of premises for rent of shops. This is a whole industry of social spaces. Visitors come to the shopping center not only for shopping. Modern shopping malls have become the main place for leisure, entertainment, communication, work, and even vaccination, as our latest experience shows," explained the reason for the rebranding, the head of the Ukrainian Council of Trading Centers, head of the ISCS national committee in Ukraine, Maksym Havryushin.

KOREAN EXAMPLE OF SYNERGY OF RETAIL AND URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE

The most vivid and large-scale example of a commercially successful practice of increasing the share of social spaces in shopping malls is the South Korean Starfield COEX Mall in Seoul (COEX: CO — convention, EX — exhibition). It was built in 2000-m under the project of the American RTKL for 150 million dollars of investment by the Korean International Trade Association. Its area is 154 thousand. sq. m, of which 144 thousand are located on one underground floor, which makes it the largest underground mall in the world

STARFIELD LIBRARY FREE LIBRARY OCCUPIED 3 THOUSAND KV. M COEX MALL. IT IS NOW ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR PLACES IN SEOUL

 

Over time, the underground mall lost popularity, traffic and sales fell, tenants demanded lower rates. In 2014-m announced a reconception during which the updated COEX Mall was connected to two metro stations. The atrium of the central square of the shopping center created by Gensler with the concept of "Unfolding Sky" won the ARCHITIZER 2016 A+ Awards in the "Shopping Centers" category.

"We approached the project with a clear idea of ​​urbanism. COEX was not a shopping center, but part of the city infrastructure. We had to develop a new identity for the district, which lacked diversity," is how the architects described the project.

Parts of the COEX complex (CO — convention, EX — exhibition) also include exhibition and conference halls

However, the new two-story glass pavilion with an atrium was not enough to bring customers back to the trade underground. The shopping center was transferred to the management of the Shinsegae Group, which in 2017 took a bold step — took away almost 3 thousand. sq. m of the mall square, namely that very new glass pavilion, for a non-commercial function. Now the free Starfield Library for 50 is located here. books, hundreds of magazines, plus e-books.

The library has become one of the most Instagrammed locations in Seoul, a popular venue for talk shows, lectures, concerts, and a TripAdvisor leader. According to the Shinsegae Group, it was the library that helped bring visitors back to COEX Mall, and in pre-war times the flow was at the level of 1,7-2 million visitors per month.

In addition to hundreds of shops, this mall also has a movie theater, two food halls, a game area that is used for filming computer game tournaments, an aquarium, and a platform for seasonal events outside and inside the mall. Parts of the COEX complex also include exhibition and conference halls, which actively implement digital tools that allow to work effectively even in the conditions of a pandemic.

SELLERS IMPRESSED

"Shopping is impressed" - that's how a new approach has been formulated in recent years, focused on multifunctionality and flexibility of spaces, inclusion in the urban infrastructure and appealing to personal experience. Such projects became the finalists of the MIPIM Awards 2021.

For example, the Adana Town Center in Turkey was designed by JERDE architectural bureau. As the developers emphasize, its design was created with the interests of the community in mind. And as a result, the city got, in fact, a new district. "Implementation of such a task requires maximum flexibility and adaptability, which was achieved by creating multiple spaces for all-season events and attractions," the architects note.

At the Adana Town Center in Turkey, JERDE architects paid a lot of attention to open spaces, especially water features

The shape of Adana Town Center is reminiscent of historical buildings in Adana, which gives this place a familiar and timeless atmosphere. Much attention is paid to open spaces, especially to water objects, which, as the authors of the project hope, will give visitors positive emotions.

"These public spaces will allow the project to constantly develop and increase in value over time," - according to JERDE.

The BEO shopping center in Belgrade, which began operating in the summer of 2020, is also betting on the integration of shopping malls and open spaces.

The architect of the project is Chapman Taylor, the design was developed by TT Design. BEO offers an innovative modern architectural concept that corresponds to the latest retail trends, with more open spaces, wide corridors, lots of natural light and greenery. For guests, there are spacious recreation areas, a unique food court with two terraces, a multi-screen cinema with eight high-tech cinemas and a safe, guarded children's playground.

MULTITASKING, INCLUSION, INNOVATION, PERSONIFICATION

Changes in the field of commercial real estate reflect the transformation of the very concept of "trade", consumer habits, the balance of emotional and functional choice. Omnichannel — when the consumer chooses and buys online and offline equally comfortably — requires constant changes in planning and the introduction of innovations.

Igor Zabolotskyi is the leading expert of Colliers Ukraine in the segment of commercial real estate

"Globally, the commercial real estate market began its transformation long before the pandemic began. But COVID-19 became a kind of catalyst. Today, there is an increase in the process of optimization, acceleration of restructuring, evaluation by retailers of their least profitable or unprofitable stores, as well as their reduction," says Igor Zabolotskyi, Colliers Ukraine's leading expert in the commercial real estate segment.

According to the expert, retail operators, who even before the announcement of the quarantine strongly emphasized omnichannel, were able to work more effectively in the online mode during the period of restrictions.

"Probably, in the short term, more and more stores will strengthen their positions in this direction, developing online channels and providing the opportunity to issue pre-ordered goods (click&collect)," says Zabolotskyi.

BEO shopping center in Belgrade

As a result, warehouse spaces of stores in shopping centers will be transformed into mini-distribution centers for packaging, issuing and delivery of orders coming from online channels. This can affect not only hardware stores, which have already actively developed this format, but also fashion, jewelry operators, and even food zones.

"In general, offline retail is moving in the direction of the development of shopping malls as a place for socialization, entertainment, and not just shopping," Igor Zabolotskyi notes.

OFFLINE RETAIL IS MOVING IN THE DIRECTION OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF SHOPPING CENTERS AS A PLACE OF SOCIALIZATION AND HAVING TIME, NOT JUST SHOPPING

Following the transformation of consumer behavior, shopping centers in their development will focus on segments that require the physical presence of customers and emotional involvement.

It is primarily about food halls, entertainment and educational areas, fitness areas and beauty salons. A few years ago, plans to place a co-working space or a children's development center in the mall seemed fantastic. But, for example, in 2020, the D.side choreography studio will open in the capital's River Mall shopping center.

"It can be stated that the most relevant trend in the development of commercial real estate today is multi-functionality," Igor Zabolotsky emphasized.

Also, modern shopping center concepts are distinguished by environmental friendliness, energy efficiency, social adaptability, and personalization.

ENERGY-EFFICIENT SOLUTIONS – MOTION SENSORS, AUTOMATED LIGHTING, HEATING AND VENTILATION SYSTEMS – NOT ONLY A MATTER OF ECONOMY, BUT ALSO OF REPUTATION

As an example, the expert gave the Respublika Park shopping center, which even before its opening received an expert opinion on the accessibility of the building and its premises for persons with disabilities and other groups of the population with reduced mobility. Also, in Respublika Park, attractions for people with disabilities will be presented for the first time in Ukraine in the Neopolis family entertainment theme park.

Energy efficiency of projects for today is a mandatory element. Back in 2015, Gartner analysts noted that smart lighting systems can save up to 90% of electricity costs. Motion sensors, systems of automated lighting and control of heating, ventilation, LED lighting help significantly save on utility bills, and moreover, position the company's brand as a socially responsible business.

In general, the use of renewable energy sources in the energy supply system, separate collection of waste, etc., is of greater importance.

"Such ecologically responsible approaches are not just a consequence of global trends, this is an excellent way to reduce operating costs, as well as an additional opportunity for investors and potential tenants," says Igor Zabolotskyi.

In Ukraine, there are no longer rare cases when developers envisage placing, for example, solar panels on the facade or on the roof of a building to save electricity. There are successful cases of using solar energy to support the activities of commercial real estate. For example, the developers of the "Fabryka" shopping center in Kherson placed about 7 people on the roof of the building. solar panels (1.5 MW). Such an installation is able to cover about 50% of the needs of this shopping center (GLA more than 65 square meters). Moreover, in case of non-use of electricity, the shopping center can earn from its sale within the framework of the "green tariff". This gives additional cash flow, especially in quarantine conditions.

The BEO shopping center in Belgrade attracts visitors with open spaces, wide corridors, a lot of natural light and greenery

The expert emphasizes that another trend is emerging in more developed markets — virtual reality, which is becoming an integral part of the general sales strategy. That is, in the coming years, a similar practice will begin to appear in Ukrainian projects as well.

"Quarantine restrictions provoked the active implementation of digital solutions in management, increased demand for green standards and flexible solutions in general in commercial real estate," summarizes Zabolotskyi.

Serious growth of competition has a noticeable effect on the domestic market as a whole. "The situation with the appearance of new, strong shopping malls forced the owners of facilities that were put into operation more than 10 years ago to change their view on the concept of their project, plan reconstruction, change the tenant mix or even the real estate segment. Examples of such solutions are shopping centers Cosmo Multimall, Aladdin, Piramida, Dream Town, Karavan Outlet and others," says Igor Zabolotskyi.

UVT GROUP: RENOVATION - LISTEN TO THE CUSTOMER FROM THE FUTURE

For commercial real estate, the stage of renovation / reconceptualization is part of the business process. The requirements for such projects are even higher than those created from scratch. They are designed to find solutions to already existing problems of the object and urban environment, to become a point of development. UVT Group has three retail real estate renovation projects in its portfolio: the metropolitan "Karavan Outlet" and a shopping center on ul. Marshal Malinovsky, 12 on Obolony, Kharkiv "Caravan". Andrey Antonenko, the founder and managing director of the UVT group of companies, spoke about the tasks and features of such projects.

Andrey Antonenko, managing director of the UVT group of companies

According to Andrey Antonenko, when developing the project, the actual requests of consumers are evaluated first of all: "The global trend and the pandemic have changed the demand for shopping areas. The share of entertainment and recreation areas in relation to the total area of ​​shopping centers is growing. The task is to create spaces that will be able to keep people inside the mall as long as possible, expand the range of services for the most diverse pastimes, and at the same time create additional demand for rental space. We strived to meet world standards, to be at the level, and maybe even better, than European analogs of quality. In our reality, this is still the same task: to create a new, bright, beautiful building from a twenty-year-old center, without going beyond the budget set by the customer, while anticipating or even creating the request of the future consumer."

For example, at the time of creation of the renovation concept of the Karavan shopping center (Kharkiv), when analyzing the attendance of each zone, narrow and congested places were found, optimization of these areas was carried out, and development options were developed based on this.

Creating the interiors of the Karavan shopping center (Kharkiv), the UVT Group team was inspired by the aesthetics of the desert and focused on the integration of the shopping center and open spaces

"I'll be honest, not everything turned out the way we initially planned, but in the end it turned out even better. Nevertheless, it is necessary to be able to listen to all sides and, most importantly, to follow the visitor of shopping centers - after all, everything is done for them.

The DCH team and I removed the ice stadium, as it proved to be one of the most ineffective in loading, although it occupied a lot of space. They expanded the food zone, added new restaurant operators. In fact, instead of a food court, we got a new food hall area, combined with a recreation area and children's areas. They added acoustic rooms for holding negotiations, equipped places for computer work. As a result, it turned out to be another core, a point of attraction with a new function," says Antonenko.

The emotional component of the mall was strengthened by the new design. "The chief architect of UVT Group, Alexey Agafonov, and the project team, architects, designers, were inspired by the aesthetics of the desert. They used warm tones, light shades of wood. This very idea transformed the space — there were more spacious common areas with landscaping," says Andrey Antonenko.

During the renovation, infrastructure requirements were taken into account. For example, new bathrooms are equipped with inclusion requirements in mind, navigation is improved, and elevators are added.

THE MODERN TREND IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SHOPPING AND MULTIFUNCTIONAL CENTERS CAN BE DESCRIBED SIMPLY: PEOPLE WANT MORE COMFORT

"In general, the shopping center will look new and welcoming to people. We are confident that visitors will enjoy spending time here, this is already evident from the new open areas. The work is going very quickly, but the most difficult part is yet to come, says Antonenko. — We need even more light, places to charge phones; places where you can eat tasty and leisurely, spend time with your family. For example, "Karavan" (Kharkiv) is visited by about 9 million people per hour, this is a large number. The complex is still in demand, our task is to give these people maximum comfort for years to come." Thus, the modern trend in the development of shopping and multifunctional centers can be described simply: people want maximum comfort.

Shopping center on ul. Marshal Malinovsky, 12 on Obolony has an excellent location

The director of the UVT Group believes that, of course, commercial real estate will continue to undergo transformation. In the coming years, the share of leisure time will increase, the digitalization of people's service processes will increase, and their maximum involvement in interaction with brands will increase.

It is obvious to consumers that there are many screens in shopping malls created by UVT Group, which in the future will offer thematic media content. Out of the obvious, they were designed with the help of BIM technologies. "We had only 4 months for the concept, the "project" stage and going to the construction site with ready-made drawings to start work on the zones. During reconstruction, changes occur constantly. The joint work of BIM specialists helps to quickly react to them," says Andrey Antonenko. And he emphasizes that if the customer wants to use the BIM model for modernization in the future, it will allow it to be done quickly.

RENOVATION IS A COMPROMISE OF REALITY AND DESIRE

Shopping center on ul. Marshal Malinovsky, 12 on Obolony is located in an excellent location, but its concept is so outdated that in recent years it has constantly lost visitors. Transformation by UVT Group is designed to breathe a second life into this shopping center.

"He was very tight inside," says Antonenko. Changes to the layout and engineering solutions will allow you to optimally organize the space.

IN ORDER TO KEEP PEOPLE, MALLS SHOULD BECOME PUBLIC CENTERS, PLACES WHERE TIME IS COMFORTABLE AND INTERESTING

A special feature of the shopping center is the proximity of the parking lot and the subway, and this was used in the renovation concept, which has already passed expertise. Now the entrance to the shopping gallery will be organized both directly from the parking lot and from the underground passage of the subway. For this purpose, escalators and directions of shopping galleries have been deployed. "People will get to the mall directly from the subway, without going outside," explains Andrey Antonenko.

The second floor was cleared of bulky ventilation chambers - the equipment was moved to the roof - as a result, the rental areas were expanded. "We also moved a lot of ventilation shafts, smoke extraction shafts, because they almost completely crossed the building, preventing the efficient use of the gallery space. From the point of view of engineering 20-a few years ago, everything was done there properly, but it was superfluous," says Antonenko. The result is simultaneously increased GLA and increased comfort level in the shopping center.

Possible variants of layouts and engineering solutions of the shopping center on ul. Marshal Malinovsky, 12 on Obolony allowed to optimally organize the future space
Possible variants of layouts and engineering solutions of the shopping center on ul. Marshal Malinovsky, 12 on Obolony allowed to optimally organize the future space
Possible variants of layouts and engineering solutions of the shopping center on ul. Marshal Malinovsky, 12 on Obolony allowed to optimally organize the future space

Office spaces will appear in the new shopping center on the third and fourth floors. "This will be an interesting solution - people from offices will be able to get directly to the shopping area and, if necessary, to the subway," says Andrey Antonenko.

And, of course, the shopping center on Malinovsky will get a new, expressive facade. In particular, on the side facing the intersection, a large screen will appear, which will become one of the dominant features of the square.

"Reconstruction and renovation is a second breath for "adult" malls that have worked for 15-20 years. These are complex projects, because they are about finding a compromise with what was and what the consumer wants to see in the future. And this, accordingly, will accelerate the payback of the project. The main advantage of such shopping centers are good locations and an established loyal audience. The main task is to identify and adjust to the requests of the new generation, to how they set priorities. A person will always have a choice — to go to the park, for a run or to a shopping center, eat in a restaurant or a shopping center, buy online or in a shopping center. This is a kind of competition of ideas. Reconception and renovation is a new chance for the location. In order to retain people, shopping malls must become public centers, places where people feel comfortable and want to spend time," Andrey Antonenko emphasizes.

ARCHITECTURE OF EXPERIENCE

Brian Solis, the global preacher of innovations at salesforce.com, predicts the further strengthening of digitalization and "disnease", the use of gaming tools for "flashing" the personal experience of the client into brands and architecture as a whole.

"By 2030, 5G will give way to 6G. We will have sensors, computer vision, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, immersive and spatial computing. How can these worlds play together? To understand this, you need imagination. This requires an architecture of experience — a new type of discipline. I won't be shocked if the best retailers in 2030 are hiring game designers or spatial computing developers," he said in a recent interview with McKinsey.

According to him, retailers will no longer be able to simply build fixed structures and rely on business models based on calculations of "how much can be squeezed out of this design before reconstruction is needed?" Future business models will be built on a rethinking of space and flow: how will people pass through this space, what will they feel; What is his attractiveness, besides the things on the shelves?

TRC-2030: RETAILERS WILL HIRE GAME DESIGNERS OR SPACE DEVELOPERS

It is the "connection" of the consumer, the use of digital tools to stimulate commerce and involvement that will become one of the most important trends in the development of commercial real estate.

/The material is published on the pages #33 of volume PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA/

 

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