THE AFTERMALL

CONTENDING WITH THE WHITE ELEPHANTS OF LATE CAPITALISM

Urban Vitality in the Age of E-commerce / Adaptive Reuse of Large Retail Structures / High Streets in the Era of the Virtual Storefront  / The Marketplace in the Time of Online Shopping

 

Cities generally develop around two key streams: water and trade. One a natural resource, the other a social phenomena (exchange) violently transfigured into an economic mechanism (commerce).

An uninterrupted line can be traced through history — from the open air bazaars of Assyria over 4000 years ago to the megamalls of China today — showing an ever-growing ambition towards societal and environmental control in spaces of trade. Open air markets gave way to souqs and covered stall networks in public squares, later formalised as arcades, macella, medieval halls and grand bazaars. High streets, shōtengai, gallerias, and department stores followed suit, responding to the bureaucratisation of commerce and the introduction of speculation networks (read: stock market), ultimately leading to the one we love to hate: the shopping mall.

Profoundly threatened by online shopping, malls are either dying, taking with them a swathe of cultural references — or otherwise, in sharp contrast and in certain conditions, they have turned into increasingly bustling lifestyle centers, enclosed substitutes for the overwhelmed and inaccessible inner city zones. There can be no in-between. The mildly successful mall cannot exist.

Malls have shops in which barely anyone buys anything. If you see it at the mall, you might order it online later or simply look at things as a mere pastime during your Saturday afternoon stroll. Malls are — at best — glorified browsing datascapes, disorganised libraries of things to be purchased later at a discount on Black Friday. Shopping happens online, in the virtual marketplace whose endpoint is the high street, now merely an improvised delivery network for the marketplace piggybacking on independent retailers. The mall killed the high street and online shopping took it over, while leaving us with the carcasses of the mammoth malls that it rendered obsolete. It's the awkward spiral of neoliberal life.

If you have made it to the ivory towers of academe, you probably don’t like the mall. Or maybe you do, but don’t tell anyone. Architecture-with-the-capital-A has largely ignored ‘mall architecture’. While we would love to believe that this was in the name of antineoliberalism, it somehow stinks of snobbery. Whatever the reason, it just can’t be ignored any longer. Too much carbon has been captured in the obsolete structures of malls. Demolition is not an option. If we are to build alternative futures for our urban societies, we must deal with the still unclaimed inheritance of this late capitalist architecture.

The following topics will be expanded on in lectures:

BROWSING CIVIC SPACE BIGNESS AND JUNKSPACE THEMING AND AESTHETICS SPATIAL DATA LIBRARIES

OBJECTIVES

The studio will work with the transforming spaces of commerce in the city of Vienna, proposing adaptive reuse strategies that take into consideration the impact that e-commerce (media) is and will continue to have on them. 

This studio will focus on spaces where physical goods are traded, specifically retail goods—so-called consumer goods—such as fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), apparel, electronics, cosmetics, and entertainment products. We will leave out wholesale markets and immaterial goods (such as financial assets and services).

For the purpose of this studio, we will use the term marketplace to describe all types of spaces where retail goods are available, including:

• Open-air and traditional markets
• High streets and urban retail districts
• Gallerias and department stores (urban settings)
• Shopping malls and mega-malls (suburban settings)
• Online digital marketplaces (e-commerce platforms)

Students will explore the role of large private spaces such as malls, which are increasingly relied upon as public spaces, raising significant issues regarding accessibility, governance, and the blurred lines between public and private space. Students will consider what can be done to address these challenges, with a focus on adapting these spaces to better serve the public while maintaining their (commercial) viability.

The studio will also develop a critical approach to the growing impact of online shopping in the city, acknowledging its permanence in the retail landscape. Students will explore how to design viable alternatives and adaptations within this reality, building awareness and criticality towards what ought to be sustained and at what cost.

A global understanding of the transformation of retail spaces globally will provide broader context and perspective on the approach to the local context. The global case studies will serve as inspiration and cautionary tales, as well as provide a more diverse understanding of what is expected of civic space and the modes of engagement with public infrastructure.

METHODOLOGY

The studio will conduct two types of research: global and local. 

Through this dual research approach, students will gain both a broad comparative perspective and a site-specific understanding, helping to critically engage with the current and foreseeable urban transformations driven by commerce and media.

GLOBAL RESEARCH

The global research will investigate marketplace transformation as a global phenomenon, analyzing how shopping infrastructure has shaped and disrupted urban life across different cities worldwide. This will include case studies of Addis Ababa, Istanbul, Bangkok, Dubai, and Medellín, each offering a distinct retail condition and response to contemporary shifts such as online shopping.

While the shopping mall will not be the sole focus of the studio, it remains the most ubiquitous and disruptive marketplace typology today, influencing urban form at an infrastructural level. By starting with these international case studies, we aim to expand the students’ frame of reference beyond the Eurocentric or North American retail model, widening the scope of precedents towards the Global South and East.

The first two weeks will consist of virtual tours, guest talks, and discussions, followed by a week dedicated to processing and synthesizing information, culminating in a global-scale study report.

Students will work collaboratively on a comparative analysis of their assigned city, focusing on the transformation of marketplaces over time, with an emphasis on contemporary shifts (e.g., online retail, fulfillment centers, lifestyle malls). The goal is to identify patterns, disruptions, and local particularities in the evolution of market infrastructure. 

LOCAL RESEARCH

The local research will consist of a detailed study of marketplace transformations in Vienna, both historically and in their present-day manifestations. This will involve identifying and analyzing key retail networks including markets, department stores, malls, and fulfillment centers. The goal is to identify, document, and critically analyze sites where retail-driven urban changes are observable—both historically and in the present day, and to show the networks that connect and flow through them. 

Examples may include:

• Long-standing markets such as Naschmarkt and Kohlmarkt, whose origins date back centuries. 
• 19th- and 20th-century department stores and shopping hubs, such as Herzmansky, Graben, or Warenhaus Rothberger.
• Contemporary retail developments, including the controversial Lamarr shopping center and suburban malls.
• Newly emerging retail infrastructures, such as fulfillment centers servicing online shopping.

Students will work collaboratively on this research, organizing tasks either by area/district. 

The study will follow the methodology of the cartographic study Forma Urbis Romae by Rodolfo Lanciani (1901), a tiled historical map of Rome that layers different versions of the city over time. Similarly, students will construct a composite map of Vienna’s retail evolution, capturing its changing marketplace landscape through time. This map will include an AR (augmented reality) layer, making visible dynamic urban elements such as delivery networks, pedestrian and vehicular traffic, and the flow of goods. 

ADAPTIVE REUSE PROPOSALS

Students will work on declining or obsolete marketplaces, both in suburbia and the inner city, with a set of pre-selected sites. Their task is not only to design an architectural intervention but to envision the transformation process itself—considering phased redevelopment, stakeholders, economic and social dynamics, and the impact of media in shaping perception and use.

This transformation will be explored through several key areas of design. Repurposing of space will focus on spatial transformations, additions, and hybrid programming to adapt these structures to new realities. Circulation and experience will analyse movement through the space, considering what visitors encounter as they walk, how they enter and exit, and how the space unfolds through movement. Aesthetics and theming will address the architectural language of the space—what it communicates, to whom, and how ornamentation and media shape its identity. Logistics and infrastructure will track the movement of goods, looking at storage, fulfillment, and supply networks that operate behind the scenes. Spatial jurisdiction will explore the boundaries of public and private control—who sets the rules, how surveillance operates, and what forms of occupation and resistance are possible.

LARGE SCALE DOLLHOUSE MODELS

The main design methodology will be large-scale dollhouse models (1:50 / 1:20) of the given sites that, by opening up in various ways, allow for working closely on key spaces while also serving as narrative tools. Models in this studio are considered working tools for exploration, analysis and storytelling. 

These models will integrate interactive elements such as lighting, projections, or embedded screens, to highlight spatial transformations and commercial flows. Additionally, some models may incorporate passthrough VR layers, enabling digital overlays that reveal hidden or virtual layers of activity. This approach transforms the models into both analytical tools and immersive storytelling devices, making visible the often-invisible dynamics shaping contemporary marketplaces.

DELIVERABLES

GLOBAL RESEARCH

Students will work in groups to prepare the following documents:  

• Tour Introduction: a brief presentation to the tour location prior to the event including material such as found maps, photographs, drawings, etc. 
• Expanded Travel Log: an  illustrated essay telling the experience of the virtual journey combined with additional research material such as drawings, diagrams, news clippings, etc. 

LARGE SCALE DOLLHOUSE MODELS

Students will work in groups to build a physical dollhouse model of the assigned site in Vienna at scale 1:50 / 1:20 with a mechanism for opening up in various sections to allow for additions and modifications during the design phase. 

A workshop on mechanised architectural modelmaking will take place during this phase and introduce students to various techniques.

The following deliverables are required for this phase: 

• Mechanised dollhouse model
• Documentation of the final result and process

LOCAL RESEARCH

Students will work in groups and coordinate with the entire studio to draw a map of Vienna to scale 1:25/50,000 (TBC) with a series of information layers as agreed across the whole studio and an AR layer for dynamic objects.

The following deliverables are required for this phase: 

• Assigned portion of the map with all layers agreed on with the entire studio printed according to specified scale, lineweights, and paper
• Research materials compiled in collective document 

DESIGN PROPOSAL

Students will work in groups to develop design proposals for their assigned sites.The following minimum deliverables are required for this phase: 

• Design proposal integrated in the dollhouse model
• Model documentation (images and videos) edited and digitally layered as needed
• Architectural drawing set
• Cosmological map of activity, resource and logistics flows

EVALUATION

EVALUATION CRITERIA

• Deliverables (as listed above): depth, thoroughness, quality, and clarity in both research and design
• Response to feedback 
• Timeliness and organisation 
• Attendance and participation in all studio activities 

PEER TO PEER EVALUATION

Students will evaluate the work and participation of the members of their team through anonymous, optional, submission. 

While this feedback will not affect individual grades directly, it will provide insight into team dynamics and the effectiveness of collaboration.