The Tropical Shopping Mall

If the Westerners are proud with their 4 seasons climate, Malaysians are diffident to live in their tropical environment.

Mid Valley, Pavilion, Time Square, Suria KLCC and other huge podiums have become one of the main attractions in Malaysia tourism. With the low price offered on the goods and being encapsulated in high end urban finished interior, ‘shopping’ has become the best word to describe Malaysia. Unfortunately having successful shopping malls have created imbalance in local economy and environment.

The demolition of historic Pudu Jail aged 114 years in return of a new shopping mall and 4 condominiums has triggered a question, are we that desperate to erase our historical building for the sake of having another shopping mall?

While Malaysians are blinded by the trend of having gigantic boxes filled with retail premises and fresh cold air, we are actually at a crucial point to decide whether to go on with these non environmental friendly lifestyle or not.

1. The absence of nature.
2. Increasing number of vehicles
3. Old shop houses are neglected.
4. Money wasted for a new ground breaking project

Shopping malls are more attractive and able to pull anyone with promising offer of cold air. However this requires dozens of air conditioner units installed which unfortunately damages the stability of external temperature. Ascribed by the law of energy conversation, energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only be transformed from one state to another. Not many knows that the air conditioners work by exchanging heat inside the space with the external air and heated up our walking pathway, streets and etc.

Shopping malls consume a lot of greenery space and thus reduce our nature ability to recycle back the produced carbon monoxide. This affectively contributed to the temperature rising and indirectly increases number of cars which again air conditioner in cars release heat. While not forgetting the lack of reliable public transport provided, cars became preferable mean of transportation to get to the shopping mall. Thing come worst when cars are only occupied by single person or two and directly increases number cars on street.

With our new generation which are brought up in a shopping mall culture, the existing shop houses especially with front opened to the air become victim of this raising temperature. They are neglected and left over for the lower classes. Awfully the adjacent roads are congested with high traffic which are not pedestrian friendly and brought down the shop value.

Despite the frustration, whether intentionally or not, Malaysia has found a solution which is successfully practiced at Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur. Petaling Street which is shaded and leaved open for natural ventilation have sustain the backdrop of existing tropical environment. If Petaling Street is filled with low budget retailers, we could imagine that the same operable roof installed on different street filled with refurbished old shop houses, occupied by the big brands such as GUCCI, LACOSTE and CHANEL.

Not only we could save the environment but also help Malaysia magnifies our identity as a vigorous tropical country.

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