Vacant to Vibrant: Sustainable Strategies for Shopping Centre Transformation

The rapid evolution of retail in recent decades has had a profound impact on the built environment, particularly the once-thriving shopping centres that anchor many towns and cities across the UK. Born from a legacy of trade and community gathering, these large-scale developments played a vital economic and social role throughout the 20th century. However, the rise of e-commerce, shifting consumer habits, and the acceleration of online retail following the COVID-19 pandemic have left many shopping centres underutilised, struggling, or altogether obsolete. In this Insight paper, Architects Szymon Milczarek and Raluca Bratfalean-Igna explore the challenges and opportunities presented by this transformation, proposing sustainable and creative strategies to repurpose and revitalise these spaces. Through a careful analysis of architectural typologies, locational advantages, and reuse potential, it argues that shopping centres—once symbols of consumerism—can be reimagined as vibrant, multifunctional assets that support contemporary urban life.

The rapid evolution of retail in recent decades has had a profound impact on the built environment, particularly the once-thriving shopping centres that anchor many town and city centres across the UK. Born from a legacy of trade and community gathering, these large-scale developments played a vital economic and social role throughout the 20th century. However, the rise of e-commerce, shifting consumer habits, and the acceleration of online retail following the COVID-19 pandemic have left many shopping centres underutilised, struggling, or altogether obsolete. This Insight paper, Architects Szymon Milczarek and Raluca Bratfalean-Igna explore the challenges and opportunities presented by this transformation, proposing sustainable and creative strategies to repurpose and revitalise these spaces. Through a careful analysis of architectural typologies, locational advantages, and reuse potential, it argues that shopping centres—once symbols of consumerism—can be reimagined as vibrant, multifunctional assets that support contemporary urban life.

Evolving Retail Landscape

Shopping centres are much more than just a retail spaces. They are heirs to the long-time legacy of trade as a backbone of any developing civilization. Starting from an informal collection of stands, colourful bazaars and bustling markets, those early shopping destinations were not only crucial for economic growth but were also key places for the communities to gather, socialize and entertain.

Since the 1960s shopping centres started becoming a vital part of towns and cities across the UK. Consequently, they began playing a key role as the main shopping destination, with some of the previously popular department stores facing closure or being integrated with newly created shopping centres as an anchor tenant.

With the majority of the shopping centres being built inside the cities and towns, that shift drastically transformed large areas in prime retail locations where entire buildings, streets and neighbourhoods were erased to allow for the construction of brand-new shopping experiences.

In recent years, we have experienced significant changes in customer preferences due to the rise of e-commerce, with online platforms consequently increasing their sales percentage to 20% in 2019. Covid-19 further accelerated the online shopping trend which currently accounts for 26% of retail sales.

The shift in customer behaviours has caused a decline in foot traffic to physical retail spaces, particularly shopping centres, which rely on anchor stores and high visitor numbers to sustain smaller retailers.

While not all shopping centres face the same struggles, with many regionally dominant shopping centres still able to maintain high occupancy rates, many smaller centres have struggled to secure long-term tenants. According to the 2024 “Shopping Centre Revisited” report by Lambert Smith Hampton, 12% of shopping centres are likely to require demolition and replacement with a further 40% of retail spaces being in need of repurposing.

This gives a new and exciting opportunity for communities, councils and investors to rethink the future of retail but also to improve and reinvent town centres across the UK.

Architectural Anatomy of Shopping Centres

While each shopping centre is unique and responds to its own context, the majority of shopping centres in the UK followed similar design principles.

The scale of shopping centres intended to accommodate high footfall and large areas of commercial space becomes a challenge when retail demand declines. The vast amount of unused or underutilized floor area can lead to urban decay and increased anti-social behaviours in the area. Additionally, the presence of vacant units also leads to depreciation in value for both the remaining tenants and the owners.

Shopping centres are typically designed as enclosed environments with controlled artificial lighting within stores. While this design worked well for retail spaces that depend on carefully curated lighting conditions to present products in an attractive way, it presents challenges for the majority of other uses which require access to natural lighting for users’ well-being.

While the circulation spaces are often accompanied by skylights as the only source of natural lighting, the deep floorplan, which allowed for very efficient layouts to maximise uninterrupted areas for stores, walkways and storage, significantly limits the benefits of natural light from skylights.

Additionally, many shopping centres were designed as an internalized retail environment, often leading to significant spans of blank and inactive frontage. The absence of windows not only additionally limits the natural lighting inside the building but also visually and functionally disconnects them from their context.

Challenges

Lack of natural lighting

Deep floor plan

Scale and massing

Blank facades

Unlocking Opportunities

Despite all the challenges mentioned regarding the building configuration, those spaces are often filled with potential.

The central location is usually considered as one of their biggest assets. Originally located to attract heavy foot traffic, those locations can be considered desirable for a wide range of potential uses.

The locations are also supported by convenient transport links enabling accessibility by all ways of public and private transport. The strong connectivity not only reduces the need for additional transport investment but encourages sustainable methods of transport. The potential reconfiguration of a shopping mall presents a valuable opportunity to reinstate previous routes and create new ones, enhancing and improving the pedestrian experience in the city centre.

While the large size of retail spaces is often seen as a challenge, it can also provide significant flexibility for future developments. The extensive layouts can be reconfigured and redesigned to accommodate a mix of complementary programs under the same roof.

Supporting a high number of visitors and heavy loads required the shopping centres to be constructed with durable structures. The “strong bones” of the buildings make them suitable for adaptive reuse often reducing the need for complete demolition.

Opportunities

Central location & transport links

Size and span

Durable structure

Opportunity to reinstate routes

Strategic Directions for the Future

When analysing stranded retail assets, it is important to maintain a holistic approach and also take into account local and emerging community needs as well as the environmental impact of the building. While demolition often seems like an extremely wasteful solution, it is not something we should run away from either. However, before deciding upon demolition it is worth considering other alternatives to reduce the environmental impact of the project and take full advantage of the existing building fabric.

While retail is usually the main component of the shopping centres, the decision behind choosing to visit a shopping centre is often driven by other factors including quality of F&B units, entertainment or spaces to socialize and be around people. Incorporating leisure, cultural activities and food and beverage offerings can transform underperforming retail assets into new and exciting multifunctional destinations.

An alternative could also be to compress the existing retail area by eliminating the excessive rentable floor space and creating open-air breathing space within cities by introducing much-needed new green and public leisure areas. This “addition by subtraction” method allows for an increased value of surrounding assets by balancing the supply of retail spaces with the local demand while making urban centres more attractive and visitable.

Adaptive reuse is often a feasible solution where the shopping centre is completely or partially converted into uses not traditionally associated with retail. These spaces may include offices and coworking spaces, cultural venues, community hubs, gyms or even healthcare facilities.

This approach allows for maximising use of existing structures, reducing costs and environmental impact while ensuring that these buildings remain a valuable asset to their communities.

The building can also undergo more substantial transformation to accommodate new programmes through vertical or horizontal extension. The introduction of new residential towers or office blocks can transform an outdated shopping centre into a vibrant mix-use development.

Strategies

Creating new destination

Creating ‘breathing space’

Adaptive re-use

Addition/Extension

Solution to stranded retail asset issue

The first step in resolving stranded retail asset issues is engaging in a collaborative process between clients, architects, local councils and communities. Understanding unique context-specific factors, local needs and constantly evolving customers’ decision-making drivers is the key task in coming up with the most viable option. This is also when good architects and designers can create the most added value for clients by looking at outdated shopping centres through the lens of hidden opportunities and coming up with the most creative and out-of-box solutions.

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As shopping centres face an uncertain future, the path from vacancy to vibrancy depends on bold thinking, collaborative planning, and a commitment to sustainable transformation. While no one-size-fits-all solution exists, adaptive reuse, strategic redevelopment, and the introduction of mixed-use programmes present powerful alternatives to demolition. By unlocking the latent potential of these centrally located structures, we can help breathe new life into our towns and cities, creating inclusive, resilient, and future-ready urban environments. Ultimately, the success of these transformations lies in recognising the intrinsic value of existing assets and reimagining them not as relics of the past, but as catalysts for regeneration.

Unlocking opportunities

Despite all the challenges mentioned regarding the building configuration, those spaces are often filled with potential.

The central location is usually considered one of their most significant assets. Originally located to attract heavy foot traffic, those locations can be considered desirable for a wide range of potential uses.

The locations are also supported by convenient transport links, enabling accessibility by all means of public and private transport. The strong connectivity not only reduces the need for additional transport investment but also encourages sustainable methods of transport. The potential reconfiguration of a shopping mall presents a valuable opportunity to reinstate previous routes and create new ones, enhancing and improving the pedestrian experience in the city centre.

While the large size of retail spaces is often seen as a challenge, it can also provide significant flexibility for future developments. The extensive layouts can be reconfigured and redesigned to accommodate a mix of complementary programs under the same roof.

Supporting a high number of visitors and heavy loads required the shopping centres to be constructed with durable structures. The “strong bones” of the buildings make them suitable for adaptive reuse, often reducing the need for complete demolition.

Opportunities

Strategic directions for the future

When analysing stranded retail assets, it is important to maintain a holistic approach and also take into account local and emerging community needs as well as the environmental impact of the building. While demolition often seems like an extremely wasteful solution, it is not something we should run away from either. However, before deciding upon demolition, it is worth considering other alternatives to reduce the environmental impact of the project and take full advantage of the existing building fabric.

While retail is usually the main component of the shopping centres, the decision behind choosing to visit a shopping centre is often driven by other factors, including quality of F&B units, entertainment or spaces to socialise and be around people. Incorporating leisure, cultural activities, and food and beverage offerings can transform underperforming retail assets into new and exciting multifunctional destinations.

An alternative could also be to compress the existing retail area by eliminating the excessive rentable floor space and creating open-air breathing space within cities by introducing much-needed new green and public leisure areas. This “addition by subtraction” method allows for an increased value of surrounding assets by balancing the supply of retail spaces with the local demand while making urban centres more attractive and visitable.

Adaptive reuse is often a feasible solution where the shopping centre is completely or partially converted into uses not traditionally associated with retail. These spaces may include offices and coworking spaces, cultural venues, community hubs, gyms or even healthcare facilities.

This approach allows for maximising the use of existing structures, reducing costs and environmental impact while ensuring that these buildings remain a valuable asset to their communities.

The building can also undergo more substantial transformations to accommodate new programmes through vertical or horizontal extension. The introduction of new residential towers or office blocks can transform an outdated shopping centre into a vibrant mixed-use development.

Strategies

Solution to the stranded retail asset issue

The first step in resolving stranded retail asset issues is engaging in a collaborative process between clients, architects, local councils and communities. Understanding unique context-specific factors, local needs and constantly evolving customers’ decision-making drivers is the key task in coming up with the most viable option. This is also when good architects and designers can create the most added value for clients by looking at outdated shopping centres through the lens of hidden opportunities and coming up with the most creative and out-of-box solutions.

------

As shopping centres face an uncertain future, the path from vacancy to vibrancy depends on bold thinking, collaborative planning, and a commitment to sustainable transformation. While no one-size-fits-all solution exists, adaptive reuse, strategic redevelopment, and the introduction of mixed-use programmes present powerful alternatives to demolition. By unlocking the latent potential of these centrally located structures, we can help breathe new life into our towns and cities, creating inclusive, resilient, and future-ready urban environments. Ultimately, the success of these transformations lies in recognising the intrinsic value of existing assets and reimagining them not as relics of the past, but as catalysts for regeneration.