The sadness of the strip mall - Canadian Architecture News

Newsletters Subscription

The sadness of the strip mall

Archiseek / Canada / News / 2006 / December 3

Edmonton is designed for cars. Dream homes are built according to patterns, without genuine architectural input, in faraway neighbourhoods served by power centres and strip malls. Complaining about this is akin to complaining about fast food, reality television, litter, BUM Equipment fashion and the state of hip-hop music today. The complainer ends up sounding precious and contrary. It makes people happy, goes the standard rebuttal, so shut up. Despite the standard rebuttal, in the past year, two proposed cultural buildings have been front-page stories. Mayor Stephen Mandel publicly chided villainous developers who have, since 1970, made our city home to some of the ugliest structures outside the former Soviet Union. The Art Gallery of Alberta has sponsored a number of riotously successful lectures and debates about architecture and urban planning.

Due to circumstances beyond our control, the original story which was a working link at the time of publication may be no longer available on the newspaper site. In that case, the dates and headline of the story will allow you to research the original through your local library. In addition, some newspaper sites may require registration, either at a cost or free.