The Architecture of the Marketplace
Buildings are among the most lasting of
human creations. Their forms and
functions are evidence of the dynamic
social life that has long been tied to centers of
economic and political power. One ancient
structure and gathering place, the marketplace,
has evolved into what we call today the
regional shopping center or mall. It is often
constructed on a site so big that it requires a
location outside of the crowded urban center.
There it sometimes develops into a commercial
rival to the older city center.
In many ways, these 21st-century malls are
nothing new. In fact, they follow a long tradition
of commercial expansion that began with the
development of the first long-distance trade
networks and markets. These markets were
temporary at first, but they became more
permanent with the rise of cities in the Middle
East about five thousand years ago. They gresalongside the rivers, harbors, and overland
caravan routes that connected the swelling
towns of the agricultural era.