Shopping for the soul

The seductiveness of shopping centres is not simply a matter of achieving an attractive tenant-mix. To win a customer’s loyalty, his or her spiritual needs also have to be satisfied

There was much talk some time ago about TriGranit, the Hungarian company which, during the development of the Silesia City Center shopping centre on the site of a defunct coal mine, also paid for the construction of a chapel. It cost almost PLN 1 mln to adapt an old building into a place of prayer. The investment proved to be a success, since the chapel turned out to be a significant place for Silesia’s customers – this being a multi-functional project. The shopping centre is to be accompanied by the construction of a 1,000-home estate, the presence of the chapel being the natural result of the existence of such an estate. And it wasn’t only the future residents that the centre’s investor was thinking of, but also of Silesia’s personnel. Such a spiritual element is nothing new in the Silesia region. Dariusz Rudziński, Silesia City Centre’s managing director remarks that: “The figure of St. Barbara, the patron saint of coal miners, is present in all mines, and it was on the land of a closed mine that the Silesia City Center was built.”

 Speaking bluntly, however, spiritual growth was not the only guiding factor. Shopping centres spend increasing amounts on concerts, exhibitions and even on creating art galleries. Exhibitions are usually not permanent since customers get bored just as quickly with a shop display as with an art exhibition. Dariusz Rudziński stresses that: “Our experience proves that temporary events are more effective. Most of the events we stage in our centre are financed by ourselves. But the present exhibition of the Terracotta Army is ticket-entry, a commercial event which could bring in a profit. A modern shopping centre can also earn from culture.”

Army of artists

 The managers of the Warsaw Blue City Centre reached similar conclusions. Temporary exhibitions are practically staged non-stop, with several events being held in H2 of 2006, starting from the Terracotta Army exhibition and finishing with one on birds and regional products. The centre also holds an art gallery where a cycle of painting exhibitions are to be held soon, with that of each artist to last one month. Blue City also attracts customers with less sophisticated entertainment offered by the Lucid club.

The Stary Browar shopping centre in Poznań was one of the first malls to decide to merge art with shopping. Dozens of exhibitions, dance, film and theatre displays, literature meetings and concerts have been held on the Art Courtyard – in brief, this is a wide high-quality cultural offer.

The whole Art Courtyard occupies almost 13,000 sqm, the courtyard proper occupying more than 3,000 sqm, the remaining space being taken up by old listed buildings: the Malting and Drying Houses and also the Villa created out of a former office building. These buildings have been adapted for exhibition as well as entertainment purposes. Restaurants, a brewery and a club are situated on the three storeys and the cellars of the Malting House.

According to Dominika Kulczyk-Lubomirska, Stary Browar’s PR director: “Ambitious and modern art very much forms the character of the centre, where many of the commercial activities assume an artistic character. Shopping centres are the best places to popularize art. They are the contemporary equivalents of Greek agoras, Roman forums or mediaeval cathedrals.”

Fabricum Novum

 Apsys followed in the steps of Stary Browar by developing its Manufaktura centre in Łódź on the foundations of former factory buildings converted for various kinds of cultural activities.

Aleksandra Wasilewska, Apsys Polska’s communications director remarks: “Apsys handed over the building of the former weaving shed to the Łódź Contemporary Art Museum. The building is to be adapted for exhibition purposes, with its opening planned for the first half of 2008. The second such unit within Manufaktura is the Factory Museum which is managed by Grupa Fabricum on behalf of Apsys Management. Manufaktura also organizes numerous events of a cultural nature, which enhance the centre’s image as a prestigious place to visit. The merging of cultural and retail functions is gradually becoming a trend.”

An avant-garde approach

 Place for cultural activity can be found in many buildings still under development. The Rzeszów Millenium Hall planned to open at the year’s end will have 17,000 sqm of cultural and entertainment space in addition to 62,000 sqm of retail space.

Robert Wróbel, Millenium Hall’s development and marketing director, claims: “The centre’s principal attraction will be Rzeszów’s largest performance hall, to hold up to 4,500 spectators. Classical music concerts will be held here, theatre performances, exhibitions, dance balls and banquets, as well as rock concerts, festivals and trade fairs. It is possible to hold such diverse events in one and the same space due to the innovative technical and layout solutions that have been employed, for instance the possibility of organizing any configuration of seating and standing places.”

Galeria Legnicka in Wrocław will also open this autumn, with the developer being Redis Legnicka Devco, and where the catering, entertainment and cultural space will cover a total of 17,600 sqm.

Gilbert Boulanger, Redis Legnicka Devco’s director reveals that: “The cultural events space will consist of an amphitheatre with 500 seats and a Craftsmen’s Avenue. The amphitheatre will become a place where many cultural events will be staged (of both a local and regional character), while interesting thematic exhibitions and presentations of works by young talents, especially from Wrocław’s art schools, will be held in the Craftsmen’s Avenue. The décor of the Avenue’s will be changed at the beginning of each season.”         

Zuzanna Wiak