Window Shopping & the Corrirdor…a thing of the past?

“In those parts of the city where the theaters and public walks…are located, where therefore the majority of foreigners live and wander, there is hardly a building without a shop. It takes only a minute, only a step, for the forces of attraction to gather; a minute later, a step further on, and the passerby is standing before a different shop…” Benjamin (60)



With the birth of the arcade we can begin to see a new type of interaction between the customer and the merchandise. Prior to the arcade the idea of “window shopping” was nearly non-existent. This new style of shopping has directly influenced the architectural format for the consumer market and we can see this come embodied in the formal layout of the arcade itself. The space of the long corridor allows the consumer to casually walk through the building and see the selection of stores in their entirety. This subsequently calls for the implementation of the storefront window and allows the entire façade of the store to become advertising space. When we compare the arcade with the mall of today we can clearly see the evolution that took place of the past hundred years. In layout of the modern mall or even the modern mega-mall, organizes the retail space in two long rows. Although the malls of the modern world have grown, the “arcade” like corridors are still as predominate as our culture’s tendency to casually window shop.

In researching the plans for Destiny USA, we can see a revolution in the shopping mall industry. The original format of the arcade corridor is nearly exempt from the architectural layout of Destiny’s primary shopping areas. The creators of Destiny are focused on creating a new experience in the shopping culture. Instead of viewing the mall as a long narrow line of displays, the mall becomes a more hands-on encompassing experience in shopping and learning. Instead of occupying one of two spaces, corridor or shop, Destiny will create an entire indoor world of entertainment, food, and of course retail.