Most people shop in shopping malls in Hong Kong. Retail experts say these cavernous emporiums have become the central meeting points for social interaction and landmarks for orientating in the city. But, given their significance, malls fall frustratingly short of their potential to enrich our lives.
'Shopping centres are what I call the urban living room,' said Terry Waterhouse, a retail designer and director of Redgoodss. 'A replacement for what the town square used to be.'
Jolyon Culbertson, director and general manager of Swire Properties, agreed. 'Malls are in many ways the cosmopolitan living room of high-density cities like Hong Kong. We are not sure if they could replace a real town centre.'
While some are larger than others, open all night, or with a newer cinema, there is little difference between the competition. 'There are signs of overexpansion, thus the observation that Hong Kong has too many malls all looking similar to each other,' Mr Culbertson said.
Yet, the expansion continues with competition heating up in the past few years. We have seen the development of new retail locations away from the traditional city core, and the regeneration of neighbourhoods. Examples are the developments in East Kowloon and Mong Kok. When done well, these regenerations are positive for the city and for our experiences of living in it.
Herein lies the problem - too few shopping centres offer the consumer something special. Mr Waterhouse suggested looking at the Philippines where he believes some of the best designed malls can be found. The Ayala Centre Greenbelt in Makati City, Metro Manila, for example, is a multi-use building, which provides open space, alfresco dining, educational outlets, an indoor children's playground, entertainment venues and, of course, retail shops.