Evaluation of interior shopping mall design within the context of urban public realm

Abstract

This work puts forth a different point of view for the evaluation of the design of interior shopping malls. In this approach, public interior spaces are defined and analyzed as a component of the urban public realm. The problems and concepts of interior shopping malls are analyzed in a historical perspective, after briefly introducing the relationship between the city and the public realm, the city and the interior shopping mall. Thus the aspects of urban public realm and the design criteria of interior shopping malls are obtained and defined. Finally, based on these aspects and criteria, interior shopping malls in Ankara are analyzed. The stages of development and typologies derived from these analyses are discussed in teims of the context of urban public realm. All researches and analysis aim to form a basis for an interdisciplinary study, and to draw attention to the interaction of 'exterior space', 'building mass' and 'interior space'.