The impact of the context on the construction of shopping centers. Analysis of shopping centers in Medellín and its metropolitan área

Abstract

The most crowded space for collective use in contemporary times is the shopping mall: large buildings dedicated to the consumption of goods that have changed urban dynamics and have had, among other consequences, the partial substitution of local commerce and public space. Their rules of composition are almost invariable: a hermetic volume that facilitates a controlled environment with artificial conditions of lighting, acclimatization and security. We present an analysis of the architecture of shopping centers and their urban relations in the metropolitan area of the city of Medellin (Colombia), a region that is transforming its economic vocation, favoring deindustrialization and turning shopping centers into service and leisure nodes. Through questions such as: What is the urban impact of these infrastructures; what are their design characteristics; what geographical, climatic, social, regulatory and economic parameters are taken into account in their design; and through the comparative method, we seek to understand the typological characteristics, urban implantation and internal composition of the shopping centers. With indicators and evidence on the ways of designing shopping centers and their relationship with this specific urban environment, it is concluded that, despite the genericity of shopping centers, local conditions affect their composition.

Keywords: Shopping malls, Generic, Latin America, Urban.