THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 5, 1996 TAG: 9611050024
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALEX MARSHALL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 62 lines
NARY A BRICK of the MacArthur Center in Norfolk has been laid, but Architecture, the leading magazine for the profession, has already declared the design of the $300 million mall a square peg in a round hole.
The editors at Architecture put a critical column about the mall in the current issue along with illustrations in the regular ``Protest'' section of the magazine.
Patrick Masterson, president of the Hampton Roads chapter of the American Institute of Architects and a steady critic of the mall's design, penned the Protest article at the request of Architecture magazine.
In the column, Masterson described the 1.2 million-square-foot mall as sidling ``up to its neighbors like an overeater at a cheap buffet.''
The criticism turns on the now-familiar debate over whether a largely suburban-style mall should be built in a downtown location. Masterson argues that a giant, interior-oriented mall is the wrong design for a downtown that wishes to bring back streets and smaller-scale buildings.
Reed Kroloff, one of the editors responsible for the story, said he visited the city and walked the site before the story went to press. He said better models are available around the country.
``It seems a shame that a city that is as sensitive and handsome as Norfolk would be forced to accept something that is obviously of lesser quality,'' Kroloff said from the magazine's Washington offices.
``In a period of time when architects and urban planners have finally become more sensitive to the rather delicate structure of urban areas, this project seemed to be particularly regressive in its suburban, blank-box approach to retailing.''
Horton Plaza in San Diego and The Plaza in Kansas City are two of many examples of well-designed large retail projects, Kroloff said. If it were better designed, it would probably be more successful commercially as well, he said.
City officials, the mall developer and store officials have consistently disagreed with such a perspective. They say critics have ignored the commercial realities that make a large retail center work.
In Hampton Roads, they say, a more suburban-style mall, similar to other regional centers, is more likely to succeed with shoppers who will appreciate the ease of parking and the safety of a private, interior mall. A more street-oriented plan, they contend, is unlikely to work in a region without a good mass transit system and with still a relatively small population downtown.
And they say the mall is still urban enough in its design to inject surrounding streets with people and new business.
In addition, city officials point out, Norfolk had suggested more street-oriented designs to developers without attracting any interest.
Terry Bishirjian, the city's public information director, criticized the magazine for illustrating the article with a computer composite of a corner of the proposed Dillard's department store. The design has changed since then, and the stark brick walls shown on the composite have been enlivened with recesses that, from a distance, will appear to be windows.
The mall is now in preliminary stages of construction and is set to open in two years. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
Architecture magazine by CNB