The art and science of navigation (finding your way)
Do people get lost in shopping centres? Do they lose their car in the carpark? According to Kelvin Taylor, if we know where we are, we’re happier, more content, relaxed....
Understanding Time
‘Time’ is a critical factor in our business and it affects decisions we make on a wide variety of fronts. Whether it’s efficient parking, clear signage or even tenant mix...
Human-nature connectedness. A pathway for sustainability
HNC – Human-Nature Connectedness. The more urban we become, the less we connect with nature. More than ever, our everyday actions, the way we run our businesses, the standards we...
Nightlife: The after-dark experience
There is a worldwide initiative underway to create ‘after-dark’ experiences in major cities. Such experiences don’t just afford people pleasure and entertainment, they also extend the operating hours of CBD...
Designing for the next generation
Baby Boomers are the biggest spenders; but they’re on the way out; Gen Z is on the way in and they think differently. Design is one of their priorities and...
Building a better customer experience ecosystem
It’s a given that a good ‘Customer Experience’ is vital to the success of any business. And as shopping centre executives, we all know that ‘customer experience’ is a significant...
Activation, shared value and connection
‘A city without poets, painters and photographers is sterile’. It’s a quote from this article. That being the case, what about our centres? Shopping centres are often described as ‘the...
Designing with differences in mind
This article by Kelvin Taylor, Project Director, Associate at Diadem was featured in the latest issue of Shopping Centre News – Mini Guns 2022 edition. Inclusive design is human-centred design....
Universal design and inclusive retail
The best design is a product, service or environment that provides for, and enables, maximum use by as many people as possible. Simply put, Universal Design is good design. Universal Design...
Creating living history – adaptive reuse and reimagining architecture and space
As we become more socially responsible and more caring about our environment, the practice of knocking down buildings in order to re-develop, lessens. Increasingly, unused buildings are being adapted for...
User-centred design and contextual awareness
There’s Augmented Reality (AR); then we’ve got XR – a combination of augmented, mixed and virtual reality. Retailers and retail property people are some of the technology’s biggest users; worldwide...
The Connectivity Revolution
We’re in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution! It’s an age of ‘connectivity’ – connecting the physical world with the new virtual world! It has ramifications for our centres…...
Community and togetherness
It’s remarkable how the focus has changed. Twenty years or so ago, if you talked about ‘Community’ in our business, you might have been seen by some as a bit...
The intersection of architecture, identity and branding
Iconic buildings derived from transnational architecture can portray a city or place as progressive but sometimes at the cost of cultural and social experience. A balance needs to be achieved....
The details make the design
Kelvin Taylor takes us on a design tour of Hong Kong. We find new streets, a critique (well more of an appreciation) of the renowned Pacific Place and a pair...
Ground plane experience
You walk into a centre; what do you see? How the space around you presents will influence your mood. Everything from the columns, the texture of the floor, the lighting,...
Designing building wellness
If you’re happy at work, chances are you’ll produce more! It follows therefore that if the building you use – be it commercial, industrial, retail or residential – is healthier,...
The emotions and science of branding
The current events of the Banking Royal Commission has placed the corporate world on high alert with respect to promoting and protecting their brand values and reputation. Today’s ever-changing competitive...
Art as experience
We love this article by Kelvin Taylor and Rebecca Townsend! Our centres are ‘Community Focal Points’. One of the features that link us all, as humans, is ‘art’. There’s something...
Non-literal branding
‘Branding’ has been, is, and will be a hot topic, well into the future. One of the difficulties in defining branding is...
Car parks the new front door
Until recently the shopping centre car park has been viewed as a back-of-house area that has had little design thought or embellishment...
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