SHOPPING

CENTRE ,
OWORONSHOKI

THESIS FOR THE AWARD OF

A BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
DEGREE IN ARCHITECTURE.

AGBAJE OLAKUNMI T.
MAY, 2009

Supervisor: Prof. Okedele

 SHOPPING CENTRE
OWOROSHOKI,
LAGOS STATE.

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE,

FACULTY OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES,
UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS,
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR
THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREE IN
ARCHITECTURE (B.Sc)

BY
AGBAJE TESLIM OLAKUNMI

060501004

MAY, 2009

2
 CERTIFICATION

This is to certify that I am the sole author of this studio

thesis as partial fulfillment for the award of a Bachelor of
science degree (B.Sc) degree in Architecture and that it has
not been presented by any previous application for submis-
sion.

Author Supervisor

…………………… ……………………...

Agbaje Olakunmi T. Prof. Okedele

Nov., 2009 Nov., 2009

3
 DEDICATION

I dedicate this thesis to architecture and my colleagues

who have been a source of inspiration.

4
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My profound gratitude goes to the Beneficent and Merciful

God for all his blessings, my lecturers, my supervisor, my family for
all the support, my friends and foes for keeping me on my toes.

5
 TABLE OF CONTENT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES
ABSTRACT
Page
CHAPTER 1
1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of study………………………………………..9

1.2 Statement of problems ……………………………………..15
1.3 Aims and Objectives ………………………………………..15
1.4 Hypothesis/Research Questions……………………………16
1.5 Scope and limitation of study………………………………16
1.6 Significance of study
1.7 Operational definition of terms

CHAPTER 2
2.0 STUDY AREA

2.1 Location, Physical & Regional Setting……………………..17

2.2 Climatic Characteristics, Soil & Vegetation………………..18
2.3 People and socio-economic Activities…………………….19
2.4 Population and development……………………………...20

CHAPTER 3
3.0 LITEATURE REVIEW AND CASE STUDIES

3.1 Theoretical and conceptual framework…………………....25

3.2 Review of relevant literature……………………………….29
3.3 Case studies……………………………………………….....32

CHAPTER 4
4.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

4.1 Methodology……………………………………………….39
4.2 Data collection……………………………………………...39
4.3 Data Analysis ……………………………………………….39

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CHAPTER 5
5.0 Site selection and analysis
5.1 Site selection…………………………………………..41
5.2 Site analysis……………………………………………43

CHAPTER 6
6.0 Design brief
6.1 Design/client’s brief, Goal & requirement…………...44
6.2 Spatial requirement/ Space programming…………....45
6.3 Special facility requirements and equipment………....45
CHAPTER 7
7.0 Conceptual Design
7.1 Layout Planning Concept ………………………….....47
7.2 Spatial requirement/ Space programming…………....45
6.3 Special facility requirements and equipment………....45

CHAPTER 6
6.0 Design brief
6.1 Design/client’s brief, Goal & requirement…………...44
6.2 Spatial requirement/ Space programming…………....45
6.3 Special facility requirements and equipment………....45

LIST OF FIGURE PAGE

Fig 1 Map showing geographical location of Study area-Oworonshoki.................17

Fig 2 Satellite image of Oworonshoki…………….………………………………..18
Fig 3 House on water of nomadic fishermen…........................................................19
Fig 4 Bar chart showing literacy level in Oworonshoki Community……………..20
Fig 5 Bar chart showing age group percentage in Oworonshoki community…….21
Fig 6 Pie chart showing occupation percentage in Oworonshoki community…...21
Fig 7 Street view of Falomo shopping center……………………………………….32
Fig 8 Overview of Falomo Shopping center in its urban context………………….33
Fig 9 Ground floor sketch V.G.C Shopping complex……………………………....34
Fig 10 First floor sketch V.G.C Shopping complex…………………………………34
Fig 11 Site plan sketch showing parking……………………………………………..35
Fig 12 View from a…………………………………………………………………...35
Fig 13 View from b……………………………………………………………….…..36
Fig 14 View from side…………………………………………………………….…..37
Fig 15 Overview of Westside Center………………………………………………...37
Fig 16 View showing integration into the urban fabric of the city………………..38
Fig 17 View showing 8 storey housing block behind the center…………………..38
Fig 18 Pie chart showing land use percentage in Oworonshoki community….…..40
Fig 19 Map showing site in new Oworonshoki………………………………….…..41
Fig 20 Site of Oworonshoki shopping center……………………………………....42

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 ABSTRACT
In shopping centers all over the world, new modes of subjectivity, inter-
personal relationship and models of social totality are being “tried on”, “tak-
en off”, and “displayed in the same way one might shop for items. These are
not modernist spaces of goal- directed individuals. Rather contemporary
consumption sites are spaces of individuals involved with shopping, leisure
and other socio-cultural activities.

There is a need to address contemporary social needs and emerging

economic potential in order to establish a new generation of shopping cen-
ters and leisure facilities. The sustainability of the center depends on the crea-
tion of public space which in their functionality and architectural character
provides a new identity by fusing together the attributes of commerce, cul-
ture and leisure.

This paper intends to identify attitudes and preference of Oworonshoki

shoppers towards shopping environments-both traditional street markets as
well as newer shopping centers-and engaging the experience of the Owo-
ronshoki community toward new dynamic shopping and leisure horizons.

8
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of study
The concept of shopping districts in the heart of communities has been
for quite some time. The Agora of the typical city of ancient Greece was es-
sentially a shopping centre in the business district. The typical Arabian souk or
market of the middle ages also had narrow protected centers lined with
shops. These shopping districts were easily accessible and where situated in
prime locations. They also functioned as meeting arenas and served as ve-
nues for communal functions.

Several factors have led to the evolution of shopping centers which in-
cludes population growth. Population growth has led to the outward expan-
sion of little communities into urban cities. This growth also affects major
shopping centers which grow along with the suburbs and therefore, are now
mega centre with retail chain stores, office buildings, entertainment and
parking facilities.
The shopping center establishes a new environment resulting from the
banding together of individual businesses in cooperative fashion with the aim
of creating greater communal effectiveness through unified endeavor.

A new era for shopping centers has developed in which they have to
meet the demands of this age to survive. Developments has progressed to-
wards new commercial outlets and providing sustainable, ‘green’ buildings.
Shopping centers now have to take into consideration their position in the
community and the need to improve their amenities and services.

Shopping center as community centers

The urban migration since the 1950s played a great part in the building
of shopping centers close to residential communities and satellite offices.
Suburbs without a major core within the community have little community
consciousness so the needs of a kind of community center- a shopping cen-
ter where they can enjoy shopping and other various cultural activities that
bring the people of that community together which gives birth to a unique
environment that aims at establishing an effective community through united
effort.

9
 Shopping in Nigeria
Commercial business is growing rapidly and attracting large mass of
people. This is evident in the scattered mobile shops along our high ways and
even streets which have attempted to contaminate our communities making
them seem crowded and dirty and causing other vices like inexplicable traf-
fic jams and extortion by false officials due to a poorly established commer-
cial structure. Providing a commercial area would not only attract people for
the purpose of shopping but also serve the function of providing an agreea-
ble and comfortable meeting place for the community inhabitants.

Shopping centers as entertainment centers

Today, lots of shopping centers include food courts, which were born in
1980s as an important convenience in shopping and dining. To display add-
ed value to visitors, shopping centre now have movie theatres, live music
stages and open temporary exhibition floors.
The design of shopping centers has also changed very much to create
a more fun place to shop. The use of skylights, artificial ponds, plants, orna-
mental flowers, and sometime trees is also prominent. The dramatic Ancient
roman townscape of the forum in Las Vegas and outlook of a miniaturized
streetscape of Los Angeles in universal studios city walks are very popular
tourist spots. Also the Silverbird centre mall and the Palms shopping mall are
also popular attractions in Lagos with food courts, exhibition spaces, cinemas
and outdoor activities.

Evolution of shopping centers

Garden City
The antecedents of the modern shopping center were the ancient
agoras and medieval piazzas of European cities. The industrial revolution of
the 19th century produced the department store but made cities crowded
and dirty, and the desire to improve life by moving away from the city gave
birth to the suburb and shopping mall. In 1842 Andrew Jackson Downing de-
scribed English "Landscape Gardening" with "curvilinear" layouts in his Cot-
tage Residences book, and inspired his disciples such as Frederick Law
Olmsted and Calvert Vaux to improve city life with parks and gardens.
Edward Bouton in 1892 built Roland Park near Baltimore that included a "store
block" arranged in a linear pattern along a street to serve the commercial
needs of a planned residential community.

10
 Similar store blocks were built in Los Angeles 1908 for the college tract
on West 48th street. Ebenezer Howard in Britain 1898 published To-morrow: A
peaceful path to Real Reform on garden cities to escape the industry and
crowding of large urban centers, this led to the building of Letchworth.

Automobile center
1916 Chicago architect Arthur Aldis persuaded wealthy residents of
Lake Forest, Illinois, and investors such as Cyrus H. McCormick, Jr., to form the
Lake Forest Improvement Trust to build Market Square, an integrated shop-
ping complex of 28 stores, 12 office units, 30 apartments, gymnasium, club-
house and landscaping. According to Richard Longstreth, "The automobile
was a central factor in this planning, since most Lake Foresters had cars at an
early date. Market Square was perhaps the first business district to be laid out
specifically to accommodate motor vehicles. The National Register of Historic
Places has listed Market Square as the first planned shopping district in the
United States.
1922 J. C. Nichols created Country Club Plaza on the outskirts of Kansas
City, Missouri, as an automobile-centered plaza built according to a unified
plan rather than as a random group of stores, owned and operated by a sin-
gle entity who leased space to tenants. Nichols made the term "shopping
center" popular to describe such commercial sites built for the automobile.
1928 Don M. Casto opened Grandview Avenue Shopping Center in
Columbus, Ohio, with 4 supermarkets (Piggly-Wiggly, A&P, Kroger, Polumbos)
and 20 other stores and parking for 400 cars. Grandview became a model for
the auto-accessible strip mall. In New Jersey, Radburn was built as a planned
city with parks and walkways and decentralized shopping areas.
1929 Westwood Village opened as a shopping center for the "second
Hollywood" of Westwood built on the site of the 3300-acre Rancho San Jose
de Buenos Aires, purchased in 1919 by department store owner Arthur Letts
(Broadway, Bullocks), and developed as a housing tract after 1922, including
the sale of 384 acres to UCLA in 1926 for a university campus that opened
1929, and a shopping center of 34 stores in 1929 that grew to 452 stores by
1939.
1943 Linda Vista Shopping Center in San Diego was built by the De-
partment of Treasury for the government housing project that served Reuben
Fleet's Consolidated Aircraft workers in World War II, and it was one of the first
shopping centers designed as a unique space, separate from the streets and
the houses, using a hollow square design for 82,000 sq. ft. on a block of land
with landscaped green and pedestrian walks, but limited parking space for
only 216 cars.

11
 Suburban center
1946 Abraham Levitt’s Levittown on long island pioneered the post-war
era of mass-produced low-cost housing tracts located in automobile suburbs
and satellite cities on the edge of large urban centers.
1947 the broadway-crenshaw center opened in south los Angeles in
November, with 550,000 sq. Ft., 13 acres parking, anchored by a Broadway
department store, Woolworth variety store, and von's supermarket. Known
today as the Baldwin hills Crenshaw shopping plaza, it remains in operation as
the oldest regional shopping center in the U.S.
1947 the north shore center opened near Beverly ma to serve as a re-
gional shopping center for the Boston area, designed by Kenneth Welch as a
village green with stores surrounding a 100-ft. Landscaped central open area.
1949 don m. Casto opened the town & country in the suburb of White-
hall east of Columbus: "nighttime shopping was inaugurated at town & coun-
try shopping center in Columbus, Ohio, when developer don casto hired
grandma carver (a woman who dove from a 90-foot perch into a 4-foot pool
of flaming water), to perform her act in the lighted parking lot, bringing shop-
ping center promotion to a new level."
1950 Northgate opened near Seattle, the first regional shopping center
defined as a "mall." anchored by a bon Marché department store, it pro-
vided 800,000 sq. Ft. For stores arranged in a linear pattern along a 44-foot
wide pedestrian walkway, or "mall" that became the center spine of all future
regional shopping centers. The word came from the British game of pall-mall,
or "ball and mallett" combining elements of croquet and golf, played since
the 1500s on a wide fairway green.
1951 valley plaza opened as the first shopping center designed to be
built near major freeways, anchored by a sears store, located in the rapidly
growing suburbs of the san Fernando valley north of los Angeles.
1952 Lakewood center opened 7 miles north of long beach near a
Douglas aircraft factory as one of the largest shopping malls in southern Cali-
fornia, with 100 stores and parking for 12,000 cars on 154 acres, anchored by
a 350,000 sq. Ft. May co. Department store with 2 supermarkets at each end
of the linear center. 8 years after, 13 other regional malls were built in the Los
Angeles area.
1954 Austrian-born Victor Gruen designed northland, near Detroit, with
110 stores in 1,192,000 sq. Ft. On 2 levels, in a cluster arrangement surrounded
by parking lot, modeled on the agora, the town squares of ancient Greece.
Detroit's j. L. Hudson department store chain commissioned him to design a
center 8 miles away from its flagship downtown store to take advantage of
the recent suburban developments spawned by the city's postwar express-

12
ways. In 1954, when it opened, the northland center was the world's largest
shopping mall." (U.S news 12/27/99)
1956 Victor Gruen's 95-acre two-level Southdale center mall opened
Oct. 8 in Edina, near Minneapolis, the first fully enclosed shopping center, with
a constant climate-controlled temperature of 72 degrees, inspired by the de-
sign of the galleria Vittoria Emanuele designed and built by architect Gi-
useppe Mengoni 1865-77 in Milan, Italy.
1957 international council of shopping centers was founded with a
membership of 36. The first chairman of the ICSC board was Leonard l. Farber
who had developed suburban strip centers from his New York company
headquarters. Albert Sussman was elected the ICSC president 1958-86.
1959 Burdick mall opened in Kalamazoo, a downtown pedestrian mall
designed by victor Gruen who believed shopping centers could revitalize
declining urban centers in the United States. The USIA selected Kalamazoo as
the all-American city for 1959 with a traveling exhibit in Europe. The success of
the Burdick mall inspired a national craze for downtown pedestrian malls.
1964 Ghirardelli square opened in San Francisco in renovated choco-
late factory buildings from 1893, one of the first urban specialty malls. The Ful-
ton street downtown pedestrian mall opened Sept. 1 in Fresno, California, "a
pedestrian oasis with its fountains, cascades, pools, brooks and excellent
sculptures was admired by architects around the world." (UNHCR)
1968 Montgomery mall opened as the first regional shopping center in
the Washington dc area, followed by Tyson’s center in 1969, Landover mall in
1972 that was reborn in late 70s as "the first successful black shopping mall in
suburbia".

Festival market place

1969 For the city's 200th anniversary, the San Diego City Council ap-
proved an urban renewal study with a downtown shopping center that be-
came Horton Plaza, designed by Jerde Architects in 1975 and built by Ernest
Hahn, opening in 1985, with a United Artists seven-screen movie theater.
1972 After 20 years of steadily expanding construction, the United
States had a total of 13,174 shopping centers.
1976 Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston, built by Rouse Co. , following
ideas of Ben Thompson, opened Aug. 26, on the 150th anniversary of the de-
dication of the original Quincy Market, and was one of the first "festival mar-
ketplaces" that centered on food and retail specialty items, causing a revival
of older urban downtowns.

13
 Entertainment center
The lifestyle concept first emerged in the late 1980s, starting with Shops
of Saddle Creek in Germantown, TN, developed by Poag & McEwen in 1987,
but it has really taken off in recent years. Since 2000, developers have built 84
lifestyle centers in the United States nearly four times the number of regional
malls built during the same period. The decade of the 1980s saw the con-
struction of more than 16,000 shopping centers. A Gallup poll showed Ameri-
cans averaged four trips to a regional or neighborhood mall per month.
1996 AMC opened the largest megaplex in the U.S, a 30-screen, 5,700
seat theater in Ontario CA. "At the 200-store Ontario Mills Mall, a new con-
cept called "interactive shoppertainment" specifically targets parents, dating
couples, families and kids. The lure: do everything from ogling bobcats and
lizards at an on-site museum to skiing in virtual reality video game." (Sun-Times
3/21/99)
2005 according to Emil Pocock, the largest shopping center in the
world was the Golden Resources Shopping Mall in Beijing, China, with
7,300,000 square feet total area. West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada
was the largest mall in North America with 5,500,000 sq. ft. and 20,000 parking
spaces. In the United States, the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota is
the largest, with 4,200,000 sq. ft., parking for 12,500 cars, and a seven-acre
amusement park, nightclubs, restaurants.
2006 - Otay Ranch Town Center opened on 85 acres off Olympic Park-
way in the boomtown of Chula Vista. As a "lifestyle mall," it will combine some
aspects of a regional mall with an old-fashioned town square. In its first phase,
it will have 80 specialty stores, mostly upscale. In its second phase, it will add
an additional 20 specialty stores and possibly another upper-end department
store. The project will have a "Main Street" for cars to drive past or park in front
of many stores. The developer is Chicago-based General Growth Properties,
who have calculated that an estimated 70,000 people cross the border each
day, and 63 percent of them come to shop.
(Citation: Schoenherr, Steven E. Evolution of the Shopping Center.
http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/soc/shoppingcenter.html [Feb. 17, 2006])

14
 1.2 Statement of problem
The use of building frontages as shops is a prominent feature in Owo-
ronshoki community. This street trading has constituted a degree of discom-
fort due to the usurpation of the shops into the streets. Some key problems of
the street trading are itemized as;

 Poor shopping environment

 Poor waste disposal facility

 Unmanageable commercial activity

 Insufficient storage facilities, security and other ancillary facilities.

In establishing a shopping center, some factors that threaten the de-

sign include;

 Low awareness level among client, government and the designer.

 Short sighted and unimaginative planning

 Poor analysis of site access and landscaping

 Climatic and environmental constraints

Some problems of the site include;

 Parking spaces

 Pedestrian and vehicular conflict

 Absence of recreational and social facilities

1.3 Aims and Objectives

The aim is to design a shopping mall in the suburb, Oworonshoki, which
would act as a solution to harmonize the uncontrollable state of commercial
activities (including street trading), in a controlled and highly functional envi-
ronment. Also in a world striving to go green and create sustainable architec-
ture, the objective is to solve the challenges using an innovative sustainable
design taking into consideration; the traditional and cultural identity of the
Oworonshoki community.

15
 These problems will be addressed through

 The conception of a contained and specific environment for commer-

cial activities in the community
 The provision of both indoor and outdoor experience in relation to
shopping activities
 The fusion of modern commercial and shopping trends with traditional
and cultural activities.
 The provision of adequate parking facilities and security
 The provision of proper waste disposal mechanism
 Optimization of functionality by creating value added services
 Creation of proper storage facilities

1.4 Scope and limitations of study

The scope of the study is a shopping center which focuses on the es-
tablishment of a point of trading and communal activities after analyzing
and resolving the unique characteristics and issues of the study area.
Limitations encountered during this research include the poor re-
sponse of the inhabitants of Oworonshoki due to the assumption that the da-
ta needed from them is being collected for use by the government and for
their reservations on government officials. Other factors caused errors in fig-
ures data and statistics with some constraints like finance, time and unfavor-
able weather.

1.5 Significance of study

This study recognizes the local customs and preferences in trading in
Oworonshoki community with the prospect of providing a solution to predo-
minant problems.
The provision of a shopping center will not only remediate the issue of
unfitting infrastructures for trading in Oworonshoki but will also serve as a
communal center for its residents. This study executes a transformation of the
character of the Oworonshoki community to provide adequately, a comfort-
able, gratifying commercial environment.

16
CHAPTER TWO
2.0 STUDY AREA
2.1 LOCATION, PHYSICAL & REGIONAL SETTING
The subject site location is OWORONSHOKI community of Kasofe lo-
cal government area of Lagos State. Oworonshoki is bounded to the north by
Gbagada, to the south by Abule Okuta, to the west by Bariga and the Third
mainland bridge and to the east by the Lagos Lagoon.

Fig1. Map showing Oworonshoki

geographic location.

17


Fig2. Satellite Image of

Oworonshoki.

Topography
The topography of Oworonshoki is approximately 10 meters above sea
level with a steep slope or gradient of 5meters. The soil is mostly marshy and
clayey especially on the lowlands of the eastern shoreline of the Lagos La-
goon.

2.2 CLIMATIC CHARACTERISTICS, SOIL AND VEGETATION

Oworonshoki is located in Lagos, Nigeria in the continent Africa, which
falls in the tropical wet and dry region of the world’s climate. The Climate of
Oworonshoki is not far from the average weather condition of Lagos State.
There are two rainy seasons with the heaviest rains falling from April to
July and a weaker rainy season in October and November with a brief dry
phase in August and September and a longer dry season from December to
March.

18
 The Relative humidity is generally high in the state throughout the year
and is not usually less than 75% in the coastal areas around Lagos and 65%
around Ikorodu and other northern locations.
Relative Humidity could be well over 90% at peak periods around 0600
hours and be as low as 56% around 1500 hours. The average temperature in
January is 27oC and for July 25oC. On the average, the hottest month is
March with a mean temperature of 29Oc.

2.3 PEOPLE AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES

Character of Oworonshoki
The original settlers of Oworonshoki are the Aworis, who were the child-
ren of the Olofin of Eko (Lagos). The Aworis, who were mostly nomadic fisher-
men, migrated from Ile Ife through Agboyi and Isheri Olofin due to scarcity of
resources and constant war and finally settled in a final location approved by
“Ifa” (religious deity) due to the abundance of fish.
Owo, now Oworonshoki, is an irregular oval land bound by the Lagos
lagoon and the Third mainland bridge.
A substantial amount of residents of present Oworonshoki work outside
its community and the remaining engage in fishing, trading and sand dredg-
ing. The percentage of the unemployed is quite sizeable and is predominant-
ly youths though some youths engage in menial jobs. The traders are mostly
involved in small, medium scale businesses, usually in front of their homes;
there are also small scale industrial activities as raft building for fishing, dredg-
ing and woodworking centers (Carpentry).

Fig3. House on water of the

nomadic fishermen

19
 2.4 POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT
Demography
Information sourced from the National Population Commission showed
that the population of Oworonshoki as at the census taken in 1991 is 45,771
with male dominating at 24,052 (52.5%) and the female, 21,719 (47.5%). In-
formed projections based on the percentage population increase by 1996
figures (55,540) will have the population of Oworonshoki currently standing at
78,986 with an average population increase of 17.6% over every five (5)
years.

Education Level
Study shows a relatively high level of literacy especially among the
youth of the area whose basic educational qualification the West African
Secondary School Certificate-WASSC is as is the case is in the other parts of
the metropolis.

Fig4. Bar chart showing

literacy level in
Oworonshoki
Community

Age range
Statistics show that a large percentage of the population is made up of
young adults and youths. Youths, young adults and young couples oc-
cupy 60% of the population while the elderly occupy the remaining 40% of
the population.

20
 Fig5. Bar chart showing
age group per-
centage in
Oworonshoki
Community

Occupation
A good percentage of residents work outside Oworonshoki and the
remaining engage in fishing, trading and sand dredging. The percentage of
unemployed people is quite sizeable and they are predominantly youths.
There are more youths who engage in other menial jobs.

Fig6. Pie chart showing occupation

percentage in Oworon-
shoki Community

21
 Infrastructural Facilities
Electricity and Telecommunication: Power supply in Oworonshoki
is as in other areas in Lagos State, coming from the Power Holding Company
of Nigeria (PHCN). Telecommunication is predominantly through cell phones
as landlines have become obsolete and is however, frequent due to the
presence of masts and power stations.
Water supply: The survey shows that majority of the people in the
study area rely on water from the borehole. Other major sources of water are
from pipe borne sources, wells, water tankers and the lagoon.
Drainage: Existing infrastructure includes surface drainage through
gutters and drainage channels.
Waste disposal: Waste disposal facilities are few to nonexistent in
Oworonshoki, although PSP services are available.
Vehicular access routes: There are two types of roads in Oworon-
shoki; namely Access roads and distributive roads. The Access roads direct
traffic from the mainland into Oworonshoki while the distributive roads circu-
late pedestrian and vehicular traffic within Oworonshoki.
Problems associated with the study area;
People
 High concentration of low-income, unskilled labour
 High unemployment rate
 High population rate and congestion
Housing
 Poor hygienic and dirty environment
 Over-crowding and insufficient housing
 Inadequate communal and infrastructural facilities
 Existence of dilapidated buildings
 Inadequate setback around buildings
 Lack of amenities and green areas
Drainage
 Inadequate drainage system
 Blockage of drainage due to refuse dumps
 Over flooding of drainage during rainy season
Sewage/waste disposal
 Inadequate waste disposal system
 Poor sewage system, leading to water pollution

Commercial activities
 Inadequate infrastructure for commercial activities

22
CHAPTER THREE
3.0 LITERATURE REVIEW
The functionality of shopping centers has gone beyond only trading
activities to social, communal centers. Traditionally, the market square has
often been an essential part of a community from the existence of the first
organized community. It had often been used as a meeting place for inhabi-
tants of the town, and many other activities due to its character of attracting
people from all over to trade goods and services.

Shopping centers regenerate a community, creating whole mixed-use

activity environments. New reasons have evolved for going to shopping cen-
ters everywhere around the world;

 Shoppers aiming to satisfy an immediate need e.g. convenience store.

 Shoppers who make routing trips for household necessities needed
weekly i.e. provisions.
 Shoppers who make infrequent purchases of lasting items like house-
hold appliances and furniture.
 The recreational shopper or those who see shopping as a social event.

The last category has been increasing therefore, the unique quality of
the merchandise and the character of the shopping environment become
quite significant. An individual in such a category goes to be entertained and
while at it, may be convinced to buy a particular product.
The success of a shopping center plan is dictated by the convenience
of shoppers to encounter all retail point someway therefore, ensuring there
are no dead spots where tenants of the shops do not receive customers.

Development of shopping centers in Lagos

The shopping malls, a cultural entity has sneaked into the hard wired
psyche of the Lagos citizen, several years of behind the acceptance of the
phenomenon by city dwellers in most first world cities.

23
 Among the first set of shopping centers was Mega Plaza on Idowu Mar-
tins Street, Victoria Island. Mega Plaza was known as the first shopping mall in
the country because for the time, Nigerian shoppers had the mall expe-
rience, encountering a multitude of retail outlets under one posh and well or-
ganized roof. In a city chocked with dysfunction and hardly any recreational
facility, Mega Plaza provided shopping and recreational activities.
Then the Silverbird Galleria opened its doors on Ahmadu Bello, Victoria
Island, effectively adding a new dimension to shopping in Lagos - entertain-
ment. With five cinema halls, exquisite bars, large atrium and an expanse
store for movies, music and books spread out on a whole floor by Nu-Metro.
Then there is the Palms which boasts of a food court and five cinema
halls, and has become a foster home of sorts to hordes of Lagosians.

Malls operate on the basic concept of low cost mass distribution of

goods for retail. This is done by concentrating retail outlets to one controlled
zone, creating the right ambience (air conditioning, heavy presence of
mega brands, lots of parking space) and facilities (car parking, trolleys, au-
tomatic teller machine etc) to attract volumes of shoppers and providing
goods at competitive costs, most often undercutting neighborhood family
owned stores though lopsided economies of scale.
Retail shopping and cinemas are emerging with their own structures,
but how does that tie in with a megalopolis like Lagos where the whole city is
in an uncontrolled (and largely untaxed) market? Can shopping malls in La-
gos survive the slump that followed a similar boom in India (only 10 per cent
of visitors to the malls were actually buying anything) with 20 to 30 malls within
a small radius? Are local planning authorities, municipal governments, archi-
tects, investors and developers working together to predict the growth pat-
terns of the new malls and those that will come Vis-à-vis the implications for
the residents?
Can malls actually serve as tools for reversing urban blight by incorpo-
rating intelligently designed buildings with parks, gardens, play area and oth-
er public utility spaces that improve the lifestyle of the citizens?
With or without proper planning, the mall mania will spread, if only the
stakeholders could see the opportunity for creating pockets of sanity in La-
gos, then there might hope for the crazy city just yet.
(Excerpt from “mall mania by Dayo Arigbagu, Design article in Guardian Life Maga-
zine)

24
 Shopping center patterns
Certain patterns of building arrangement have developed subject to
the variations caused by site conditions, most of today’s centre’s fit one of
the patterns described below and illustrated;

 Strip shaped
A strip shaped is defined with straight line of stores, with parking in front
and a service lane in the rear. The anchor store, is commonly a supermarket
in small strip centers, is placed either at one end or in the centre of the strip. A
strip centre is usually a small neighborhood centre and the terms have come
to be used interchangeably.

 L Shaped
A strip centre with a line of stores placed at a right angle to it, forming
an L with parking in front of the stores and service lanes behind them.
Anchors are usually pieced at the ends, but it is possible to place an anchor
in the crook formed by the two lines of stores. The L shape is adaptable to
corner locations and is used widely for both neighborhood and community-
type centers.

25
  U Shaped
A strip centre with two lines of stores placed at right angles to the strip,
forming a U, with parking in front of the stores and service later behind them.
U-shaped centre usually have more store space than a strip of L’s and con-
sequently tend to be community-type rather.

 Cluster Shaped
Cluster shaped is an early form of regional centre design. Stores are ar-
ranged around an angular area, with parking on as many as four sides, with
service provided through a tunnel or shielded access or a combination of
both. Early cluster centers were open-roofed although some have since been
enclosed. A single-anchor cluster would probably have a corridor extending
from the periphery to the centre of the cluster.

26
  T Shaped
A centre designed to accommodate three anchor tenants which has
parking at all sides, with service provided through shielded service bays either
enclosed or open.

 Triangle Shaped
Triangle shaped is similar in many respects to the T, but with the added ad-
vantage of providing visibility of all anchor stores from the front of each side.
The triangular design is likely to be somewhat wasteful of land. It is advisable
to be employed where it optimizes the shape of the site. In most cases it has
two levels without a parking structure; parking is usually done around its peri-
meter. Unlike a U shape which can be designed to have graded parking to
allow direct entry at each level.

27
  Dumbbell Shaped
A double strip of stores placed face-to-face along a mall, with anchor
stores placed ar both ends of the mall, and with parking as well. The dumb-
bell is designed so that the anchors draw individuals into the mall in an effort
to achieve maximum interchange of pedestrian traffic.

28
 Shopping center types
Based on criteria established by the International Council of Shopping
Centre (ICSC)
Arcade: a type of enclosed urban shopping centre popular in the 19th cen-
tury, typically with an arched glass roof and two rows of shops either side of a
pedestrian passageway, which often connected two parallel streets.
Community centre: a shopping centre of 100,000 to 350,000 square feet GLA,
typically anchored by a one or two discount department, drug, or home im-
provement stores; they are commonly open, one-story, with stores arranged
in a single strip, L- or U-shape.
Convenience centre: an open shopping centre with fewer than half-a-dozen
with stores offering day-to-day necessities, such as a mini-mart, dry cleaners,
wine and beer, video rentals, and the like.
Festival (or themed) marketplace: typically, an urban shopping centre, fea-
turing restaurant and entertainments, associated with a place of historic or
cultural interest, such as Baltimore's Inner Harbor and Boston’s Faneuil Hall.
Galleria:a glass-roofed mall or mall courtyard, derived from the European
glass-vaulted Victorian-era shopping arcades, especially the design of the
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (built 1867) in Milan, Italy.
Lifestyle centre: typically, an open-air shopping centre whose array of retail
outlets (such as women's fashion stores, jewelers, leather goods, and restau-
rants) are designed to appeal to upscale consumers; lifestyle centers usually
include attractive landscaping, fountains, outdoor seating, and other fea-
tures that encourage browsing.
Mall: any large shopping centre (usually enclosed) with adjacent parking and
out buildings.
Mixed-use centre: an integrated complex that may contain residences, of-
fices, restaurants, theatres, a hotel and other services, in addition to retail
stores.
Neighborhood centre: typically, an open-air shopping centre of 30,000 to
150,000 square feet GLA with 3 to 15 stores, anchored by a supermarket.
Open-air: a shopping centre in which stores are directly accessible to the pub-
lic; exterior walkways may be covered, but the stores are not enclosed under
a single roof.

29
Regional centre: a shopping centre with 400,000 to 800,000 square feet GLA,
often an enclosed mall, with 40 to 100 stores anchored by one or more de-
partment stores.
Shopping centre: a planned group of connected retail stores, usually with an
attached parking area, specially developed on a parcel of private property
and managed by a single organization.

General Terminology
Anchor stores: the largest retail outlets, usually located at the ends or corners
of shopping centers, and chosen in part for their potential to attract custom-
ers to the shopping centre generally; departments’ stores usually anchor re-
gional and super-regional malls and supermarkets are typical anchors in
community centers.
Gross leasable area (GLA): the total area of floor space (usually cited in
square feet) leased for retail shops, consumer services, and entertainment,
including restaurants. The total floor area of any shopping centre or mall is in-
evitably larger than the gross leasable area; the difference can be ac-
counted for by mall offices, utility areas, storage, rest rooms, interior plazas,
and other non-revenue producing spaces. Areas that are not let on long-
term leases, such as assembly halls, exhibition space, public meeting rooms,
and the like.
Arcade: an entertainment area offering coin-operated computer games and
other amusements.
Food court: a separate area of a shopping centre containing fast-food out-
lets and a common seating area.
Back of the house: the office, stock room, and other non-retail areas of a
store.
a large national chain store specializing in one line of prod-
Category killer:
ucts, such as home improvements, office supplies, or toys, that can over-
whelm both smaller and more diverse competitors because of its size, variety
of merchandise, and prices.
Community room: an area available for public use, ranging from a bare
meeting room that can accommodate folding chairs and tables to a more
elaborate hall with stage, adjacent kitchen, and other services.
Draw tenant: a store that attracts a large number of potential customers to a
shopping centre, often an anchor store.
Factory outlet: a retail store that sells merchandise direct from the manufac-
turer, usually at reduced prices.

30
Mall rat: young person who frequents a shopping centre primarily for socializ-
ing and entertainment, rather than for shopping.
Mall manager: the person employed by the owner or a management com-
pany to supervise daily operations of a shopping centre.
Mall mayor: the retailer who acts as the informal spokesperson for the tenants
of a shopping centre.
Mall walker: person who walks in a shopping centre for exercise, especially
during a period set aside for this purpose before stores have opened in the
mornings.
Market area: the geographical area from which a shopping centre draws its
customers.
Outlet tenant: a free-standing retailer or service located on a separate parcel
in front of a shopping centre; also called a pad tenant.
Outparcel: (1) a physically separate store or service, such as a restaurant,
bank, office, or motel, included in a shopping centre’s property; (2) unoccu-
pied land on a shopping centre's property.
Shrinkage: (1) difference between value of inventoried merchandise and
merchandise book value, attributable to waste, shop wear, carelessness,
fraud, theft, and so on; (2) more specifically, loss of merchandise due to shop-
lifting, usually reported as a percentage of sales.
T-shaped: a shopping centre comprising two linear arrays of stores forming
the shape of the letter T, with anchor stores at each of the three ends and
parking on all sides.
Tall-wall stall: a temporary retailing display and counter built against an emp-
ty wall.
Temporary tenant: typically, a retailer that rents space in a common area for
a cart, kiosk, or tall-wall stall for less than a year.
U-shaped: a linear array of stores forming the shape of the letter U, with anc-
hors placed in the centre or on the two ends and parking inside the U.

31
 3.3 CASE STUDIES
 Falomo Shopping Center
Type: Regional center
Reason: Urban Context, function, scale

Falomo shopping center is an ultramodern, multifarious shopping center si-

tuated on Awolowo Road in Ikoyi. It possesses specialty shops for books fa-
shion, banking, travel agencies and restaurants and also special areas with
outlets for arts and crafts. The popularity of Falomo Shopping Center has re-
sulted in the commercial activity overflowing into Awolowo Road, which has
several offices and restaurants.

Fig7. Street view of the Falomo

Shopping Center.

The center was built in two phases. Phase 1 consists of shopping blocks
of 5 two-storey blocks linked by walkways on the upper floor. This contains 78
leasable shopping Units. Phase 2 started off with the restaurant and the ci-
nema theatre. The cinema has been converted to the center for creative
arts.

32
 The blocks are detached and connected together with concrete
Analysis:
walkways for circulation. There are paved courtyards that are landscaped.

There is no focal point or definite entrance orientation therefore shops

facing the major road seem more viable which has created some dead spots
within the center. There center lack proper anchors and food courts or well
located restaurants or food stalls. Due to its location in a major commercial
hub and fair level of affordability, the shops are fully occupied. The center
lacks prominent communal activity which makes it lifeless after working hours.

Fig8. Overview of Falomo shop-

ping center in its urban
context

33
  V.G.C Shopping complex
Type: Neighborhood center
Reason: Urban context, function

V.G.C shopping complex is a neighborhood center that provides basic

convenient goods and services for the residents of Victoria Garden City,Lekki.
It is made up of two floors and a gallery and has leasable shops which are
used for offices, cafes, salons, departmental store, pharmacy, clinic etc.

Fig9. Ground floor sketch V.G.C

shopping complex.

Fig10. First floor sketch V.G.C shop-

ping complex.

34
Analysis:The complex has 3 major anchors which are; Chicken republic, CRV
Clinic and Rennies-a departmental store. It also has smaller shops that pro-
vide the residents with daily domestic needs and various services which
makes it a busy complex. The Parking is a bit adequate; due to its location in
an estate it was provided to accommodate mostly the vehicles of residents.

Fig11. Site plan sketch

showing parking

Fig12. View from a

35
Fig13. View from b

Fig14. View of Side

36
  Westside Project
Type: Mega shopping center
Reason: Urban Context, function, scale, ideology

The Westside project, a new center for leisure and shopping in Bern-
Brünnen, is an urban scale architecture project totaling 457200 meters sq. In
addition to the 55 shops, 10 restaurants and bars, hotel, multiplex cinema, fun
bath with wellness center and housing, this mixed-use program radically rein-
vents the concept of shopping, entertainment and living.
Westside is one of a kind - a complex mixture of retail, residential and re-
creational facilities - an urban marketplace full of experiences that attracts
visitors of all ages, interests and backgrounds. The development creates an
exciting gateway into the city of Bern as it dramatically positions itself over
the major highway and is integrated into the city with its own highway exit
and train stop.

Fig15. Overview of Westside

center

37
 Fig16. View showing integration into the
urban fabric of the city

Fig17. View showing 8storey housing

block behind the center
38
CHAPTER four
4.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
4.1 Methodology
This research drives at discovering and exploring possibilities in the new
trends of the design and function of shopping centers and its interaction and
effects in its urban context.

The methods used in the research of this shopping center incude:

 Use of questionnaires and oral interviews of the resident, shoppers and

shop owners in the study area.

 Study of some thesis projects and various literatures relevant to the the-
sis topic.

 Analysis and evaluation of relevant case studies.

4.2 Data collection

The proposed method for the research of Oworonshoki shopping cen-
ter included a direct scrutiny of the study area, Oworonshoki, collection of
various data from different sources, proper analysis and documentation of
the data, relevant literature reviews and case studies.

4.3 Data analysis

The major sources of data collected were by:
 Primary method
 Secondary method

Primary method implied the use of questionnaires administered to resi-

dents of the study area and also personal interviews with the residents. The
information collected where analyzed and used to produce the primary da-
ta.
Secondary method implied the collection of information from the fol-
lowing:
National Population Commission: to determine the current population and
population growth of the subject area.
Survey General’s Office: to source the base map and aerial photographs.
39
Federal survey Nigeria: to get the topographical map of the subject area.
Google Earth: to source for current satellite images of the subject area.
The delegates from the group met with warm responses from majority
of residents while others refused to divulge information about some sensitive
issues like employment status and income. Also many residents were scared
and very speculative of the delegates being spies from the state govern-
ment.
During field survey it was noted that residential/commercial zone ac-
counts for 90% of the total land use. The residential and commercial zones go
hand in hand due to the large concentration of mixed use buildings as shops
and trading outlets can be found on virtually every building in Oworonshoki
and also, due to the absence of a large central market, Commercial activi-
ties take place within the residential areas year round.
This causes a gradual case of urban sprawl. A rehabilitative method of
reducing this phenomenon is centralizing all commercial activities in a facility
to organize the community, which means the establishment of a shopping
center.
Majority of the residences in Oworonshoki are inhabited by low income
earners. Few “high brow” residential areas for the medium and high income
earners exist though.

Fig18. Pie chart showing

land-use percen-
tage in Oworon-
shoki Community

40
CHAPTER five
5.0 SITE SELECTION AND ANALYSIS
5.1 Site selection
The subject site location is bounded to the north by Gbagada, to the
south by Abule Okuta, to the west by Bariga and the Third mainland bridge
and to the east by the Lagos Lagoon. The proposed site for the shopping mall
is situated along the major distribution road network, and is characterized by
various commercial activities situated along its length. The total area of the
site is 47492 square meter.

Fig19. Map showing site

location in com-
mercial zone in
New Oworonshoki

41
 Fig20. Site of Oworonshoki
shopping center

Factors that need to be considered before the selection of proposed

site of the project include;

Location
The site has been situated along the major distribution road network of
Oworonshoki where the road is used as a major distribution and also a major
reference point to all inhabitants of the community due to its high commer-
cial activity.

Accessibility
Vehicular and pedestrian access has been give serious consideration
due to the high importance of easy access to use the facilities by people. The
accessibility of the site has good potentials due to its location on a major dis-
tribution road.
Utilities
The availability of essential services such as water supply, electricity,
telephone system, good drainage system, good conditional roads, pede-
strian network around the site, spacious parking and adequate landscape
and the various utilities present on site.

42
 5.2 Site analysis

This is the process of understanding the existing and proposed site qual-
ities considering the factors that determine a sites character, the purpose
each factor serves, the location of each factor, the category, the category
into each factor will fit in the design process.

Topography
The proposed site has a relatively gentle terrain and has been cleared
for construction. This generally affords pleasant views into the site; the natu-
ral drainage pattern of the site is good.

Site potential
The site can be highly used for effective landscape and adequate
parking space due to its boundaries with the different access roads.

43
CHAPTER six
6.0 DESIGN BRIEF
6.1 Design brief, Goals & requirement
Mass housing is categorized as the most inherent part of an urban envi-
ronment and as the most important thread in the urban fabric of the subject
community. However, it is necessary to design and harmonize these housing
units to infrastructural facilities provided in the master plan layout in order to
achieve functional housing scheme.

The design brief: to design a shopping center to cater for the needs of
the Oworonshoki community and its surroundings therefore establishing a
new environment resulting from the bonding together of individual businesses
in cooperative fashion with the aim of creating greater communal effective-
ness through unified endeavor.

Shoppers could be categorized into three income levels: the lower,

middle income and high income earners. The proposed complex should pro-
vide for all categories and the following class of facilities:

 Shopping facilities
 Business facilities
 Recreational facilities
Others include;
 Administrative
 Commercial
 Communal
 Services

44
 6.2 Spatial requirement/Spatial programming

SPACE AREA NO PARKING REMARK

Shop Small 33.75m2 32 Total shop area
Medium 40.5 m2 20 5730m2
Large 135m2 15 Total parking
300cars
Special shops
Ground floor 67.5m2
First floor 40.5m2
Department 35.8% for sto-
stores rage and ser-
vices
Snacks 28% for ser-
vices
Restaurant 38% for ser-
vices
cinema 0.6m2 per
person
Media store

Spatial facility requirements

The main idea around the development of the proposed shopping
center is the integration of both shopping, community service and recrea-
tional facilities to create a harmonious unit that would help to bring the
community to a common ground of social uplift.

The layout of the facilities, the indoor-outdoor relationship, circulation

patterns around the complex for both shoppers and service circulation
hence becomes the important design considerations.

Layout
The internal cores of the center are used as indoor, relaxation spots,
children’s play areas and as a social ground. The exterior is meant to provide
the pull factor required to attract attention to the center. This is by the types
of facilities that can be seen from the outside relaxation spaces and the ex-
posure of shops facing outside the complex.

45
Certain facilities where classified as magnets hence their strategic location
ensure continuous circulation through the complex.
The location of the magnets also reinforces the communal concept of the
composition.
Circulation
Circulation is meant to serve the following purposes:
 Ease of accessibility
 Ease of flow
 Economy and convenience
Circulation of around the complex has been devised to be simple as possible
by utilizing linear circulation around the complex. A major feature important
to any shopping complex is continuous motion thereby necessitating the
need for a closed mall form.

6.3 Design Concept

The ideology behind the design of the Oworonshoki shopping center is
to establish an environment that brings together activities of commerce, cul-
ture and leisure to form a harmonious whole.

Layout
The layout was planned with regard to the shape of the site which
seems a bit triangular and other environmental factors. The site consists of a
mall which has the indoor activities with retail shops, offices, food court and
cinemas. The pavilion which has to do with outdoor activities acts as a meet-
ing place for cultural activities. The amphitheatre acts as a stage to view and
experience the center. The landscaped park is for outdoor activities like fes-
tivals, exhibitions and it has a great view of the Lagos lagoon.

46
CHAPTER Seven
7.0 Conceptual Design
7.1 Layout Planning Concept
The layout on site of the Oworonshoki shopping center is respect to the
shape of the site and the accessibility by cars and pedestrians. Also taken in-
to consideration are the panoramic view of the Lagoon and environmental
conditions like the orientation of the sun. The major hub which is the mall is
made up of a fusion of a modern mall with cinemas and food courts with
traditional market. The main recreation space-the landscaped park has an
orientation to benefit the panorama of the Lagos lagoon and allow for good
lagoon breeze to flow into the site.

Conceptual analysis

47
Site plan

48
 Ground Floor Plan

First Floor Plan

49
Approach elevation

Side elevation

Side elevation

50
 Perspective view

Perspective view

51
CHAPTER EIGHT
8.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
8.1 Conclusion
The shopping center design has provision for anchor shops, cinemas,
retail shops, fish market, landscaped greenery and parking spaces. By this,
the center would function effectively as a commercial centre and an enter-
tainment and communal center were cultural ceremonies can be arranged.

52
REFERENCES

Stockport Express ---------------------- £2million improvement plan revealed to give

facelift to Mersey way shopping mall k. Stockport Express

Dadeland Mall, Miami, FL---------------------------- Long-term development plan

for shopping centre

Daylight, Artificial Lighting Concept---------- Forum Shopping Centre, Duisburg

Mill Gate Shopping Centre, Bury-------------------Planning & Design Framework

International Council of Shopping Centers -------Shopping Center Definitions for the

U.S. Information accurate as of 2004

Newlands Shopping Centre-----------------How do you want your local centre to

change?

Manchester Evening News ------------------ Mersey view plan for shoppers. Manches-
ter Evening News

Nottingham city centre design guide--------- Shopping Mall workshop analysis.

Nottingham city, London, UK

Architectural Records--------------------------21st century Shopping Mall.

Ingham Planning
Lyndhurst, Pacific Highway, Lindfield NSW 2070---- Report on Shopping Centre Design

10 Shopping Centers Scheduled For Allied Stores Within 3 Years

53