Commercial Update: Shopping Malls - November 2008

By Brian Hamilton

The floors in the common areas of enclosed shopping malls offer designers a large canvas for creativity and the opportunity to make almost any kind of statement. These high traffic areas require highly durable, easy to maintain products, and increasingly these projects also have at least one eye on sustainable products because of the sheer amount of used flooring they generate during a renovation project.

According to CBL & Associates, the fourth largest mall developer in the U.S., there hasn’t been a new traditional closed shopping center built in the U.S. in the last two years. Most malls get renovated within ten to 12 years. Some are renovated simply because the flooring wears out, and some because the design is out of date and sends the wrong message to shoppers, and often it’s a combination of both. Shopping malls are in some respects like floorcovering in that they’re both fashion items and are designed with women in mind.

Malls with two levels are especially appealing to interior designers because shoppers can look over the rails and see a huge expanse of flooring. The mall owner handles the common areas, while retail tenants are responsible for their own spaces. The common spaces can range anywhere from 50,000 to 150,000 square feet, says CBL Senior Project Manager Jim Williamson.

“The floor is a pretty contiguous canvas and is a powerful medium in a shopping mall,” says designer Larry Weeks of Communication Arts Inc. of Boulder, Colorado, which works with CBL and other retail center owners.

“It’s a very effective medium. We see these floors as palettes for the telling of a visual story. We see them as a graphic design project.” For Weeks, the floor is a prime chance to make a design statement. He has no control over the store fronts and the ceilings are often cluttered with things like skylights. So, the floor is one of the major design elements.

Weeks and his colleagues study the community each mall is in and have the design reflect the community and the things that give its residents a feeling of pride. For example, in CoolSprings Galleria mall in Nashville, Tennessee, the firm used engineered hardwood on the main floor, partly because wood is so common in area homes and the region is full of hardwood trees. It also brought a warmth to the mall and provided a softer surface under foot. Custom patterning is also a valuable way to tell a story of the area.

In other instances, Communication Arts has used tile that looks like wood and Weeks says he’s becoming a fan of wood looks in vinyl for smaller spaces, but doesn’t use laminates. CBL doesn’t use vinyl or laminate in its properties.

The typical CBL mall on the main floor features a through-body, Italian porcelain tile, often with a neutral stone look, although domestic products are being used more frequently, partly because they are more available and scheduling is often a factor. In addition, domestic tiles from suppliers like Tennessee based Crossville are improving in both design and technology. In fact, Williamson says that he’s working with a domestic producer to create a line specifically for his projects. Weeks also prefers porcelain to real stone, because stone can sometimes be a problem for women who are wearing high heels or pushing strollers.

CBL is also using more wood, usually darker woods, although one mall in Myrtle Beach incorporates a light wood throughout its single story, simply because lighter wood works better in a beach community. Wood, like the tile, is extremely durable and can be sanded and refinished with a minimal amount of trouble in a mall, although Williamson says he hasn’t used wood long enough to know how well it will hold up between scheduled renovations. However, it’s not necessary to use product that will last 20 years because it’s important to give the properties a fresh look more often than that, and the typical mall gets a new look every ten years or so. Occasionally, decorative concrete will be used in an area like a food court. However, Williamson prefers the way porcelain makes customers feel and says it projects a higher end image.

CBL’s has a fairly standard palette of colors for flooring and uses floor accents, along with more colorful paint and furnishings, to give the property more pizzazz. For example, it will use carpet under seating areas, and will often use wood accents to break up an expanse of tile.

Renovations, especially on the main floor, can sometimes be problematic. If the mall has tile, it’s generally removed. If it has terrazzo, the preference is to go over the top with tile. However, much depends on the condition of the concrete underneath so a fair amount of testing has to be performed to avoid costly construction change orders later on if the concrete needs repair. That’s one of the biggest problems in a mall renovation.

Carpet, primarily carpet tile, is much more likely to be used on the second floor, although porcelain and wood are installed fairly often. The biggest determining factor is the budget and often carpet tile gets a boost because of the relative ease of installation and its relatively lower cost. Also, some second floors may not have been designed to handle the additional weight of tile without reinforcement. Carpet can be changed out more easily every few years, depending on the wear and other factors, to provide a fresh look. Color and pattern are chosen carefully for maintenance characteristics. Colors too light are hard to keep clean looking, but colors too dark can cause lighting problems. Generally mid range colors are used, and definitely no shag.

“The great thing about carpet is that it’s a great way to refresh a place,” Weeks says. “Malls are about fashion and they’ve got to keep up with the times. Another great thing about carpet is that we can design custom patterns, and it can be an expressive palette.”

Carpet also works well on the second floor, partly because the spaces are smaller and patterns don’t repeat as often, so it doesn’t become monotonous. It’s also good for sound deadening, which can be a benefit in a crowded mall. However, Weeks says it’s important that mall owners understand up front that carpet needs to be replaced regularly and maintained properly.

Communication Arts is drawn to sustainable products, and is especially careful to use carpet that has both recycled content and can be recycled, given the amount of carpet and the frequency it’s replaced. Weeks says that virtually every major client he works for has a sustainability office. These days, he says, it’s a given that sustainability will be a major factor in product choice, which wasn’t often the case even just two years ago.

The flooring in tenant spaces in malls is specified by the tenant in nearly every case, but it’s where the greatest variety of flooring can be found. Williamson says he sees a lot of wood and polished concrete in those spaces. Generally the chains have approved specifications for all of their stores.

If Weeks’ firm gets involved in a tenant space it’s usually because the tenant wants a one of a kind design. For example, his firm is working for a company that plans to offer skydiving simulation rides. The initial design calls for the floors to blend into the walls so that the skydiver feels like he’s falling through clouds. For this project, he’s using a custom vinyl.