98 > Shopping Centre News > SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010

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SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010 > Shopping Centre News > 99

It’s been a decade since the inception of the mall culture in India, when the mall developers deemed the very existence of a combination of stores and shops built within a dedicated pedestrian environment as sufficient to attract customers. But now, the increasing demand for new format retail stores, increased wallet share of Indian shoppers, entry of overseas retailers combined with increased mobility of customers in India, necessitates a modern approach to achieve and maintain the commercial aspirations of our shopping centre industry in the long term.

Have shopping centres in India attained similar design and presentation standards as those of matured markets like Europe, Australia and other developed countries? Even though the answer is “no” but “we are getting there”. Rather, we are at a stage where both developers and investors have started perceiving the need for innovation in shopping centre design.

The design process of any retail format is largely dictated by its catchment. We cannot transplant a set of design patterns from one place to another. However, international standards in design and circulation planning of spaces can and should inspire formats of upcoming shopping centres in India. The recommendations made

By Vythnathan M

By 2012, 40 million sq ft of retail real estate is expected to come up in India with at least 300 shopping centres in place. Success awaits developers ready to master mall design and development fundamentals to meet market expectations with a truly compelling offer.

Physical planning requirements Retail units: Most of the

speciality retailers in India look for an average shop size in the range of 800-1200 square feet carpet with a frontage of anything between 18-22 feet. These are defined as Standard Units in a design perspective. Similarly, provisions should be made for shop units in the range of 400-500 square feet carpet to accommodate categories like jewellery, cosmetics etc.

Mini majors are one of those biggies who might require larger space in the range of 8000-15,000 square feet carpet with an adequate frontage. This includes categories like electronics, books, mixed fashion, sports etc. For the Standard Units, the average frontage to depth ratio can be maintained in the range of 1:2.5 to 1:4 to avoid deep tunnel stores that end up in paying low rentals and are of functionally less use to the retailers.

Design tip-off proposed development and the conceptual sketches to be prepared to accommodate the same in the desired site location. Considering the land and financial constraints of the developers, it is difficult to fulfil the demand completely. However, it is essential to plan a floor space that generates sufficient development returns and establishes its position within its prime catchment. This exercise involves the review of concept plans and various iterations to arrive at a maximum GLA with due consideration towards local planning norms. The conceptual sketches can spin around few successful layout forms – such as dumb-bell, L-shape, 8-Shaped, linear, race course etc – and placing of anchor tenancies, car park, broad circulation and access etc based on the local site characteristics.

here are based on learning from international experience, however, there is always a possibility of arriving at various permutations and combinations based on site conditions, designer’s expertise and various other external factors.

Concept DesignResearch being the first

step, should be complete in terms of careful identification of the catchment area (primary, secondary and tertiary) with the realistic assessment of shopper’s

profiling and competition. Also the demand and gaps in the existing retail offer are to be understood to determine the scale of the centre to be designed. Based on this study, the development team can determine the GLA of the

Clocks, sculptures, fountains, and plants in the mall can contribute to some visual interest for the customers.

100 > Shopping Centre News > SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010

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Anchors or majors who take the maximum space in the range of 20,000 square feet and above include supermarkets, department stores etc. An anchor does not require huge store fronts, so an effective design can tuck the speciality stores with the anchors and can be positioned in the nodal points of the centre to have an even flow of foot traffic.

Height: The clear storey heights for anchor tenants can be in the range of 18-20 feet with wider column grids. The clear storey height for Standard Units can be 12-14 feet with an overall height of 16-18 feet and the provision of mezzanine levels for mini-majors can be considered.

In an international context, the anchor store requirements are met in the initial stage of the designing process and then the Standard Units are planned.

Mall designThe width of the malls should

be sufficient enough to allow comfortable passage for a large number of shoppers but at the same time not too wide to discourage shopping on both frontages. A short mall (90 ft-150 ft) can have a width of 15-18 feet and probably a linear mall (much longer) can be 24-36 feet wide depending on the number of shop units that it caters to.

For shopping centres having more than two levels, which are very common in India, the mall galleries should provide maximum visibility to the shop units in the upper level. Crossing points from gallery to gallery should be provided at every hundred feet intervals.

Flooring material for a shopping centre should be aesthetically appealing, robust, durable and also easy to maintain. Stone or marble slabs, ceramic or terrazzo tiles are a good choice. Expansion joints should be designed to provide full support to the edge of the screed and finish up to the floor surface. It is essential to treat the same probably with an intentional seam of polyurethane caulk and honour the joint while tiling.

Structure of mall roofing can itself be part of the aesthetic design

anchor tenants are also located at nodes. Even though positioning escalators might suffice the circulation requirements, it could block customer flow. So placing of escalators, probably at the midpoint of a mall with careful attention to the sightlines is essential. Travelators are also recommended in linear malls and for the ones that contain hypermarket tenancies.

Clocks, sculptures, fountains, and plants in the mall can contribute to some visual interest for the customers. Adequate seating facilities in the centres

lighting scheme. Pilasters that are present in between store fronts along the partition wall need to be treated properly with a base of similar material as used for the mall finish. Projections, if any, should be restricted to 250 mm for better visual appeal.

Escalators are effective means of vertical transportation in shopping centres. However, if badly placed, they might block the sightlines along the mall and to the shop fronts. Locating escalators at nodes seems to be a common practice, however, most of the

and should be created to permit maximum daylight and probably a limited glazing (up to 25-30 per cent) is admissible to reduce any solar heat gains. Also proper provisioning is needed for banners and danglers and towards the maintenance aspects of the roof or ceiling.

Majority of the frontage within the mall will be of tenant displays. Area of blank walls should be treated properly and can be used for locating telephones, cash dispensers, directory, signages, fire escape plans etc with adequate

In an international context, the anchor store requirements are met in the initial stage of the designing process and then the Standard Units are planned.

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SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2010 > Shopping Centre News > 103

About the author:

With over six years of diverse experience across mall operations, pre-opening services, retail development and management, Vythnathan M is currently associated with WT Retail Services (India) Pvt Ltd – a JV between Pelorus Property Group (Australia) and Assetz Property Group (Bangalore) – as DGM, retail asset management, assisting in setting up of business operations in India. Prior to WT Retail, he worked with Jones Lang LaSalle. Vythnathan is an architect with a master’s degree in construction management and went on to specialise in Shopping Centre Management from British Council of Shopping Centres, London along with an Intensive Asset Management training from Melbourne.

services, usually operated by the centre management team, include the sub-stations, transformer yards, switch rooms, captive power supply units, water supply and sanitation, HVAC plants, BMS, CCTV, Pumping systems, PA systems etc.

Customer facilitiesCustomers are the life-blood of

the shopping centres. Customers should be regarded as guests to be entertained, cosseted and encouraged to enjoy their visits thereby ensuring repeat visits again and again. In addition to providing

clean and secure shopping environment, the following amenities are also to be provided for customer comfort: toilets, information kiosks, shop mobility service, lounge, baggage counters, mother care rooms, first-aid rooms, driver’s toilets etc.

Ancillary space requirementsIn addition, there are few

ancillary spaces to be demarcated towards effective operating of the shopping centre. This includes a centre management office, stores for cleaning, maintenance, general

goods and decorative items, bulky goods, workshops, security control room, command centre, cleaners’ room and toilets.

ServicingThe servicing requirements of a

shopping centre are a vital element in the design scheme. Servicing is not only required for replenishing the stocks in retail but also for the shopping centre as a whole. This includes provision of service yards, service corridors, loading docks, freight elevators, garbage rooms and chute for disposal.

a clear height of 16-18 feet. Service corridors are needed to carry the goods from the service yards to the respective shop units. The service corridors can be 8-10 feet wide with power floated concrete finish to withstand wear and tear with easier access to the freight elevators. The loading docks if raised should be at least four feet high with a minimum width of 8-10 feet.

Freight elevators are to be placed at right intervals and will be better if a zone-wise approach is adopted for the same.

Effective waste management is essential to maintain good standards of hygiene in a shopping centre. Retailers have to collect their waste and dispose it in an identified zone that contains cold and dry storage. Multi-level centres should provide garbage collection points on each floor with a dedicated lift for transportation.

Retail is a service industry with a creative orientation that values the consumer first. Hence, the design of the shopping centres has to be productive. Just as India is known for its amazing capability to blend the best of other cultures into our own to keep evolving with the passage of time, this is the way to go for our burgeoning retail business as well.

The service yards should be designed to accommodate at least 5.5-6.5 truck bays for every 100,000 square feet of the GLA (excluding anchors) of the centre. In addition, the anchor tenants will demand a dedicated loading bay to accommodate 2-3 trucks for their convenience. The loading bays must be designed with proper consideration of the turning radius of the larger trucks. It would be advisable to do a mock run with a truck after the respective areas have been demarcated. We need to ensure that those service yards have

Structure of mall roofing can itself be part of the aesthetic design and should be created to permit maximum daylight.

are important to ensure customer convenience. For smaller centres, the seating can be hard surface, back less, bench-type relatively for a short pause while the larger centres can provide sofas, arm chairs for a prolonged stay and rest to the customers. The seating layout should be planned in such a way that it allows a small gathering of people without interrupting the main circulation path.

Terrace and minor civil worksWater-logging in the roof is

another major problem being noticed in most of the shopping centres, so a proper slope and an intact water proofing treatment is a must and should be done with a proper weathering course to avoid such problems. Also the loading can be light on the roof except for the zones demarcated for both tenant’s and landlord’s services/plants that include AHU, cooling towers and chiller systems. Specifically designed pedestals installed above the roof finish level with preformed service access voids are essential. To avoid leakages, it is better to have the pipe work and duct work of the tenant’s plant centres to the demised premise (space occupied by a tenant under a lease contract) horizontally through a vertical roof upstand rather than entering vertically through the roof

surface. This can be achieved if the plant level is bit lower than the surrounding roof level.

Internal walls that separate shop units can be block work or light weight partitions out of plaster board on metal stud frame, which are non load bearing with a soft joint between top of the wall and structure.

Building services: Mechanical and Electrical

All Services must be planned and installed to meet all the operational needs of the landlord and tenants with sufficient capacity to serve calculated load requirements including flexibility for change in future. The services are categorised as tenant service and landlord services.

Tenant services include water, electricity, telecom, sprinkler main, detector main, cable TV and AHU/FCU. All these services have to be terminated near the demised premise and it is the tenant’s responsibility to arrange for connection and ongoing service installation within their premises. For F&B operators provisions must be made to accommodate pipe runs and air intake/exhaust ducts from their shop units with adequate pluming and drainage system in place preferably with sunken slab system. The landlord

FuTuRE TREnDS In SHoPPIng CEnTRE DESIgn & DEvEloPMEnT

� Anchor heavy � Hierarchical development/

distribution of shopping centres

� Retail and retailer oriented than just being blocks of brick & mortar

� Wide range of offering � Destination more than a

conventional mall/ shopping arcade

� Excellent access, infrastructure and adequate parking amenities

� Planning policies and effective control by local authorities

� Sustainability and greener concepts

Flooring material for a shopping centre should be aesthetically appealing, robust, durable and also easy to maintain.

Adequate seating facilities in the centres are important to ensure customer convenience.