Kate Yoon

Kate Yoon

In both Newbury Street and the Prudential Center, the store (commercial space) and the space outside of it are mediated by a storefront. The open, protruding nature of the storefront expose the commercial space to the passersby and display the products on sale; this is the primary design feature that shows the commercial nature of the store to passersby.

On Newbury Street, the storefront and sidewalk is separated by an ambiguous space that is neither commercial nor public. The store is separated from the sidewalk by a physical distance of a few meters, and there are separate paths leading up to the doors of each store with a staircase leading to the door. This means that the individual must intentionally make a “commitment” of walking those few meters in order to enter the store. The storefront is elevated, adding to the sense of distance between storefront and sidewalk; there is sometimes even a fence between the two spaces. People rarely linger in this middle space (colored gray in my diagram) unless they are walking to get inside the store. From the viewpoint of the pedestrian, commercial elements stand out and invite one in (such as through the open storefront or the a-frames), but they are not intrusive and require a decision or commitment to engage in consumerist behaviors.

However, in the Prudential Center, no such ambiguous middle space exists between the storefront and the rest of the space; the open storefront is in direct contact with the public space of the mall. In fact, the public space of the mall is not truly public, because everyone is a potential consumer and the entire mall is set up around the stores and storefronts; in this sense, even the walkways of the mall are “gray spaces” rather than true public spaces. As a result, people are evenly dispersed through the entire space because there is no extra commitment to entering a store. Another interesting difference between Newbury and Prudential is the spaces where people sit; whereas on Newbury Street, people take any possible space (such as elevated areas on the sidewalk or in front of trees) to sit, the benches are the sole and designated sitting space in the mall. In this setup, people are continually engaged in an activity such as shopping or walking ahead.