shopping center owerri , imo state

Abstract

In the commerce industry, the word "shopping centre" refers to a complex of retail stores and related facilities, planned as a unified group to give maximum shopping convenience to the customers and maximum exposure to the merchandise, it offers not only high standard of commercial activities, and extra amenities, but special recreational opportunities, either natural or man-made. The internal layout of a shopping centre and the spatial relationships of the individual shop units within it are important, to retailers and planners alike and the circulation of shoppers is the ultimate determinant of the success or failure of planned shopping centres and the retail outlets therein. The basic challenge in the design of shopping centre is the harmonious resolution between the architecture of the shopping centre and its environment, and the circulation flow of its users. These challenges, associated with the design of shopping centre were discussed in this thesis work, and can be achieved through the harmonization of the circulation flow patterns via the segregated flow of the pedestrian and vehicular traffic on site and the four main generators of circulation (customers, staff, deliveries and services) in a shopping centre. The result of designing this circulation-efficient shopping centre afforded the opportunity in creating a conductive atmosphere, in harmony with the natural environment for the purpose of commercial activities, social interactions, leisure, recreation, relaxation and sight-seeing.