THE EVOLUTION OF SHOPPING CENTERS: THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE CITY CENTER IN THE SHOPPING MALL AS IMITATION/SIMULATION

Ece Ceylan Baba
 Assoc. Prof. Dr., TURKEY, eceylanbaba@gmail.com

Abstract
Shopping malls have emerged in the Western world, starting from mid-1950s as a new architectural form that was constructed outside the city as a simulation of the city center, and in isolation from all the negative external aspects of the city, with their enclosed environments. Starting to integrate into the global economy in 1980s, cities set out to import the components of the global economy within the perspective of liberalism. The concept of the shopping mall, invented by the global economy as the new public space, was also imported to cities at 1980s. The import was carried out by copying the shopping mall concept, which is a simulation of the city center in the West.
The new concept of shopping malls changed the understanding of spending leisure time, shopping and entertainment in cities, and made a big impact on the city and the citizens. Paving the road for a new and significant public space model in the minds of residents in cities, shopping malls became one of the significant triggers of the postmodern transformation in global cities.
This paper analyzes the evolution of shopping malls in history briefly and explains the relationship of city centers (which are used as an imitation) and the shopping mall space design.

Keywords: Shopping Malls, Imitation, City Centers, Mall Design