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| Repurposed architecture London, ON July 2025 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
The gleaming mall that decades ago was dropped into the middle of the downtown core and accelerated the hollowing out of a once vibrant neighbourhood now suffers an ironic fate.
Its corridors now stand virtually empty as what were once storefronts have been turned into office space. People indeed work behind these now-opaque glass walls, but they may as well be invisible, slipping into the office in the morning, then out again at the end of the day. The space is still functional, sort of, but is it truly alive?
Yet when we strip away the tragic back story of urban planning gone wrong, there’s an architectural wonder lurking under the acres of glass. Glorious sunlight pours in and warms the cool marble floor below. Complex geometries play out for as far as the eye can see, all to the soundtrack of the soft swish of the air conditioning system.
It isn’t Notre Dame Cathedral, but it’s resonant in its own, understated way, and a reminder that successful placemaking takes many forms.
It also reminds us that plans don’t always work out as originally intended, failures can set the stage for new chapters to be written, and success isn’t necessarily defined by a loud or crowded space. Sometimes it whispers.
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Related:
Small signs of life in a dead mall, May 2025
Where we follow a man who shops, November 2024
Deli meat under glass, January 2024
After the shoppers have gone, August 2023
Mezzanine mall scene, July 2023
Another transient shopping experience, June 2022
Bust the glass ceiling, December 2010
Breaking through the glass ceiling, April 2009
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