Its fine…Ill just park in the courtyard

Centuries ago the Spanish courtyard was an extravagantly articulated space allowing sun to reach the interior of the dwelling while at the same time providing a green area privatized by the borders of the building itself. However, in the late 1920’s the courtyard saw a very different type of resident, the automobile. The Chapman Park Market in Las Angeles was designed to thrive off of the dynamic consumer who was no longer constrained by a walking distance, but by a car. According to Shopping Towns USA: The Planning of Shopping Centers, most consumers will commute “…a maximum of 25 minutes to reach a regional shopping center” (Smith, 33). With the mass production of automobiles well underway all around the country, the issue of parking seemed to evolve right along with the development of shopping malls themselves. Specifically in the Chapman Park Market, “the arrangement retained the drive-in’s direct relationship between selling space and cars, while reestablishing the primacy of the street for its orientation and identity” (Longstreth, 140). Interestingly enough, parking and the distribution of goods was moved to the inner workings of the courtyard, allowing the shopping center to still have curb-side dominance accompanied by a pragmatic approach to dealing with the onset of the automobile.

Today, our shopping malls resemble that of Venturi’s “decorated shed” in that a symbol is applied to a conventional building system, differing from the malls seen at the beginning of the 20^th century which were built with a profound architectural presence. Longstreth notes, that “…the mass appeal of a large food outlet was balanced by the more elite draw of the specialty shop purveying fine goods.” (Longstreth, 140). As if the sight of a ‘big box’ store was too much to bare, richer architectural elements were added all around to offset the presence of a building distinctly designed for function. Longstreth also brings to fruition the idea of “self-service”, and its origins starting in the drug store. It’s interesting that back in the 20’s the idea of self service meant that you entered a store and independently picked out merchandise. Today we have become so immersed in this shopping typology that some stores feature a self-check-out, where you can autonomously scan and pay for all of your items without speaking a word to an employee. This is just one element of the modern day shopping mall which is clearly a derivative from early “self-service” methods, yet has been merged with technology to create not only a new way of life, but a new way to shop.