Well, how many consultants do we need? Just one! Someone with enough experience to tell us exactly who we should hire for:

By the time we have listed them all a day is gone. And tomorrow we have to add all the names of the directors, their dedicated project managers and their team members.

Work is continuing on our Development Handbook.

This is about the looks, the aesthetics, the beauty of a building.

While a plan has to be functional and is based on figures, facts and tenant requirements, the elevations are a matter of taste, perception, age, upbringing, fascination and in the end should appeal to thousands, even millions of shoppers eventually coming to the mall, the shopping and/or entertainment centre the department store, etc.

So, who should decide what a shopping centre should look like? Well, we shall leave this to be debated. Here or in one of the forums.

Let's just list those who will have a say in the matter:

Sections are defining the height of a building and each floor on the way up to the roof.

Mostly sections are the consequence of technical requirements:

1. clear heights needed by tenants
2. space for suspended ceilings, lighting, ducts, pipes, sprinklers, cables, etc.
3. structural heights of beams and floor slabs

4.1.2.1. Sections in Detail ....

4.1.1.0. Intoduction

If we agree that the functionality of a Shopping Centre is the most important element to create a successful project, then we must place the plan at the top of the list of architectural requirements.

The next big thing for developers and ultimately any company will be the introduction of new working structures.

There is quietly developing a revolution in how we work. The future of how we organise our work can be seen when you open sites like Wikipedia.

This Chapter is about all the aspects needed to consider when to start locating and evaluating a site.

• 1.3.1. Location, Location, Location
• 1.3.2. The Cross Roads
• 1.3.3. Locating the Location for an SEC

The process of developing the concept for a retail and entertainment project is highly dynamic. And this dynamic process is the key to understanding how to be successful working in and around such projects.

In many ways this could be the most important chapter in the whole book.

• 3.3.1. Introduction
• 3.3.2. The Driving Forces of SEC Dynamics
  • 3.3.2.1. Tenants
  • 3.3.2.2. Customers
  • 3.3.2.3. Global Economy
  • 3.3.2.4. Local Economy
  • 3.3.2.5. Technology
  • 3.3.2.6. Fashion, Trends and Logistics
• 3.3.3. Development Strategy or “How to manage the Dynamics”
  • 3.3.3.1. First Step
  • 3.3.3.2. Second Step
  • 3.3.3.3. And again, and once more and again ... more cycles
  • 3.3.3.4. Conclusion
  • 3.3.3.5. Theory and Reality

Too many projects have been developed with a sensible Business Plan. Will the Credit Crisis of 2008 change this? Well it should, but history teaches us otherwise. Just in case you are interested in understanding the risks and the benefits of the project you are working on - continue reading .....

• 3.4.1. Introduction
• 3.4.2. How to Start
• 3.4.3. Add more Detail

Basic Finance & Mortgage Calculator - calculates full years in detail with a print out year by year.

The Affordability Calculator determines the financing/mortgage and property sales price/investment you can afford based on the current financial status.

In this Topic we want to define the Principals of the Concept to be developed. We will look through the list of items we need to include in the outline brief and discuss relevant points to consider.

• Introduction
  • 1. Site and Location
    • Relevant & Required Site Information
    • The other Aspects for the Outline Brief
  • 2. Concept Criteria
  • 3. Spatial Criteria
  • 8. Car Parking
  • 9. Servicing

This chapter looks at the details of the Architectural Requirements.

Mostly people understand Architecture to be equal to the looks, the visible design, the aesthetics of a building.

However the real definition of architecture is much wider and this is what architects study in their universities - for example:

This chapter will look in detail at the process how to develop a Concept for a SEC successfully.

• 3.0.1. Introduction

Table of Contents - TOC

Here you can find information about the process of developing a shopping centre, a mall, with or without leisure, entertainment, edutainment, major shopping projects in urban or out of town locations and how to improve existing centres and inner-city shopping.

• Go to Quick-Start for more background information or use our Help Section for FAQ & support.
• Add comments to each page (scroll down) or write your own articles.
• The navigation of the book is shown in a block on the left -  Library - Books

TOC in full

It is important to develop a structure for reporting and decision taking early on. Without clear reporting and decision taking a project will not move forward efficiently.

• 2.9.1. Reporting Structure in General
• 2.9.2. Reporting Structure in Detail

We will take a quick look at facility management here so we understand the difference to Centre Management.

• 2.7.1.1. The Role of Facility Management
• 2.7.1.2. Facility Management in Detail

Procurement refers mostly to the task of finding and signing up a contractor to build the retail project. But every developer is employing advisers and consultants all along the way and uses a similar process of search, research and agreeing terms.

And with reference to the construction contractor the design process will be influenced by who is chosen and on what contractual basis to be the main contractor. Therefore the entire team needs to discuss early on the options of procurement and the client needs to take a decision during the overall design development process.

• 2.8.1. Procurement in General
• 2.8.2. Procurement in Detail

We have not even designed the concept yet and there we are discussing the Centre Management already? The Centre Manager will be in charge of the completed shopping centre and she or he needs to bring harmony to a busy, crowded and noisy place in the future.

So, the Centre Manager would be one of the best people to ask what is really important to be successful. Involving an experienced Centre Manager from the start will help the process of developing a suiccesful shopping centre tremendously.

• 2.7.0.1. The Role of the Centre Management
• 2.7.0.2. Centre Management in Detail

The Technical Design Team (TDT) should be formed when the concept design is completed and a technical brief has been started. We take an early look of who is in that team as a bit of foresight is usually important in order to get to know who is a real expert in the field and in relationship to retail & entertainment projects.

• 2.6.1. The Role of the Technical Design Team TDT
• 2.6.2. The Team
• 2.6.3. The Team in Detail
  • Acoustic Engineer
  • Architect
  • Concept Architect
  • Cost Control
  • Environmental Consultant
  • Executive Architect
  • Infrastructure Engineer
  • Interior Designer
  • M & E Engineer
  • Project Manager
  • Specialist Architect
  • Specialist Consultant
  • Specialist Engineer
  • Structural Engineer
  • Traffic Engineer