Malls are dying.
Well, in other countries they probably are, but in the Philippines, malls are still popping up here and there under the same old shopping mall developers.
Malls are everywhere.
Malls are now a way of life to some Filipinos. Going out most of the time would usually mean going to the mall. When my friends and I went to Tagaytay to go sight-seeing, we could not help but go to the mall because for some reason, malls have compelling powers that makes us want to go there and now it feels like it is our second instinct to go there whenever we need something.
But seriously, malls are very popular among Filipinos which is why According to Nielsen Media Research, at least twice a month, approximately 36 million people go to shopping centers and almost everyone has been to one.
One particular mall here in the Philippines has a catchphrase that says “We’ve got it all for you” and true enough, they usually have it all.
Unlike the original purpose of malls wherein you go there just to buy stuff then leave; Malls here would make you feel like it is your second home, presenting you a new environment that separates you from the real world, I mean, there are malls who put mini-amusement parks already!
Presently, you can almost find and do everything in the mall. Shopping is not the main purpose anymore and it is now only an option. You can shop, dine, watch a movie, pay your bills, do bank transactions, play at arcades, get a check-up, ice-skate, and many more which is why malls extremely attracts a lot of customers whether it is day or night.
I know a lot of people go there for the air-conditioning, especially during summer. Instead of shopping, it’s now a place where you can just go out and kill time. A lot of us Filipinos are short on money so the act of actually shopping at the mall is occasional.
Ever since I was young, I have been going to this mall in Sucat for almost every day since our house was close to it. Now that I’m older, I still go to the same mall and as far as I’m concerned, all the mall that has the same brand as the mall I often go to has the same style that looks like a chunk of box that just got placed there and they haphazardly placed a name just for the sake for it to be called a mall. If you go to another mall with the same brand, they kind of almost look the same.
The old malls are easily affected by the frequent storms and you can clearly see the effects through the faded paint and cracked surfaces of its facades. After a certain typhoon that struck years ago, the mall I usually go to got its brand name removed and its finishes were scrapped; which goes to show how unfit their structures are for unexpected happenings such as that typhoon. But now, new malls are adding even more amenities to attract more customers and are finally adapting their buildings to the tropical climate of the country.
Which is why it is great that some malls are now being renovated and new malls are going green by adding more landscape and better natural lighting and ventilation. Unlike the old malls which is kind of copying a certain foreign style Filipinos love, they now finally thought of adapting the Filipino principle of having open spaces.
Before the malls were renovated, there were no windows. They placed a small atrium but you can clearly see that the utilities at the roof top are blocking it so it makes me wonder why did they even bother putting an atrium when they are just going to block it? There was a time I was at the mall for a long time then when I was going to go home, it was actually raining. Going inside the mall, it feels like I’m barricaded from the outside world.
I remember when I was young, I always get scared when the small started to close. I do not know if they made a mistake or if it is just their strategy to let their customer feel that they’re trapped inside.
Going inside a mall, a good thing is you probably won’t get lost in it. Aside from the electronic map they provide, every store you need is lined up and all the stalls and boutiques there are categorized according to their use. It is like the mall has its own comprehensive land use plan which is very effective since the customers can easily navigate through the mall and somehow, grouping similar units of boutiques helps create a landmark for the customers.
With the limited space we have today, it is a good thing that the malls has this all-in-one concept that helps save space for other establishments and increases the convenience for their customers by making everything easily accessible.
Which is why there are a lot of malls in the Philippines. There’s this shopping mall developer that has 56 malls nationwide while there are still more developers other than them that also has numerous branches of their mall.
But more malls would mean more traffic since there would be a lot more people which would also mean more vehicles. In Las Pinas City, I once went to a certain mall in Alabang and when I tried to get home, it took me about 3 hours wherein the vehicle I was riding on was on a standstill for about an hour. My ride home was only supposed to take me about 30 minutes or an hour at most. I’ve noticed that the only time the car moved was when we were away from the malls. Whenever there is a mall, cars suddenly start clogging up the road.
Not only does it happen in Las Pinas but also in other places like Sucat that has malls just several blocks away from each other. Why would they even allow it? Aren’t there planners who can see that you can’t just place one mall after the other since even if you don’t research on it, it can obviously cause traffic since malls are usually crowded.
Moreover, not only does it cause traffic but also eat up smaller business enterprises. I remember my aunt built a spa and salon near the mall in the south and unfortunately, the mall eats up most of the customers my aunt could have had. She had no choice but to close it down.
That does not only apply to my aunt’s spa but to all other establishment surrounding it. It can also apply to the ‘carinderias’ and other small business that are dying out because of malls.
Furthermore, like I said earlier, a lot of people go there nowadays just to hangout and mostly because of the air-conditioning but it is because the things sold at the mall are somehow pricey and not a lot of Filipinos have the privilege to have the budget to buy themselves something.
It is safe to safe that the mall culture in the Philippines is thriving and the Filipinos flock to it. But as much as it provides for people, it also takes up so much. Since I go to Intramuros every day, I actually prefer to go to the mall near the city hall than stroll around the stone fortress. As malls evolve, so is our preference to it. We crave more. But like what was said earlier, somehow, malls are now part of our lives and it is great that unlike the malls from when I was young, they are immersing our current malls to fit our present culture, climate and the people they are catering to.
Should we hope for malls to die as well in our country?
No, but upgrades sure are nice.
Hopefully they’ll be more considerate of everyone and everything this time.
Architectural Essays 