in faded metal sheeting , with rusting industrial details and covered with outdated fading signage , the centre was clearly beyond its ‘ sell-by date ’.
This state of disrepair was even beginning to show several underlying layers of past alterations . The result was an array of shopfront styles , finishes and signage . Its underlit malls were , by then , littered with half-empty shops , many about to close down - with a deteriorating , narrow LSM .
ONE GESTURE , FIVE BENEFITS : External Treatment 1 The main intervention was the ‘ Great Wall ’, applied as a new ‘ layer ’ facing the motorcar precinct . This 8m high 300m long wall , as a single macrogesture , acted as a ‘ backbone ’ onto which all other façade components hang - thus the term we coined : ‘ One Gesture , Five Benefits ’.
This multitasking ‘ grand gesture ’, was designed to : hide the old façade ; be the new façade ; become structure onto which to hang signs and
graphics ; channel a pedestrian walkway under it ; act as a protective interface between motorcar and pedestrian realms - with its colonnade , seats and outward opening shops .
CROSS-OVER OF ARCHITECTURE & GRAPHICS : External Treatment 2 The second idea was inspired by Yale professor , Robert Venturi , who coined the term ‘ Decorated Shed ’ in his 1970 ’ s book ‘ Learning from Las Vegas ’. His premise was that architecture within motorcar precincts is perceived visually at driving speed , through lots of competing urban clutter and signage chaos .
As design devices to be used within this ‘ information overload ’ environment , he proposed the use of well-designed super-graphics , for visual clarity . He also made a case for Gestalt psychology ( the ‘ double-take ’ effect ) and symbolism , to instill a sense of architectural meaning and honest message to façades .
Shoprite Park 375