Thinking Outside the Big Box

There must be a million ways to re-imagine Suburban Plaza. Simply defaulting to a big box retail store at that site is - for lack of a better word - lame. The motivation is clear: it’s all about money. Wal-Mart wants urban locations so they can cash in on untapped markets; the property owner, Selig, wants to profit off their land; and the county just wants the tax revenue. It’s pretty cut-and-dried, as lame things often are.

What we need is vision. Because, only vision will arouse the passion to insist on something better. So where are all the visionaries? Turns out, there are many - even right here in Atlanta metro. 

I was checking out a website for an architectural show that took place in Canada. The site is www.strip-appeal.com . The mission was to re-design run-down strip centers, like Suburban Plaza. I’ve included a few of the renderings here, and they’re amazing. In fact, one - called “Strip Mall Metamorphosis” by the firm GreenbergFarrow (right here in Atlanta!) - re-imagines an area in Avondale Estates! 

Art changes the way we see things. It provokes, excites and asks us to take action. It breaks through the mundane, and pushes us to do better.

Wouldn’t it be smart to host an international design competition in our area, centered around the re-imagining of Suburban Plaza, and the other distressed properties nearby? It’s an idea worth spreading.