Monarch West is Randy Brown Architects’ latest exploration into improving strip mall development. Regarding strip malls as inevitable, Brown has developed a series of them with the intention of making this reality inspiring. Previous projects include 120 Blondo, Village Pointe East, and Monarch Place.
Architect: Randy Brown Architects
Location: 72nd Street and Hwy 370, Papillion, Nebraska, USA
Project: Team: Randy Brown, Jonny Kaufman, Brian Kelly, Andrea Kelly, Brandon Schumacher
Civil Engineer: E&A Consulting Group
Electrical Engineer: Alvine & Associates
Mechanical Engineer: CEI
Contractor: Darland Construction
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Farshid Assassi
The design of Monarch West relied on the same concept and goals that made Monarch Place a success. With the concept of a billboard, the building’s structural steel pieces, skin and lighting organize tenant signage and catch people’s attention as they drive by.
The design features of the project including Z-shaped steel benches, native grasses and pea gravel create a more desirable public outdoor space than is usually associated with strip malls.
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- © Farshid Assassi
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- © Farshid Assassi
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- © Farshid Assassi
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- © Farshid Assassi
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- © Farshid Assassi
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- © Farshid Assassi
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- © Farshid Assassi
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- © Farshid Assassi
“Regarding strip malls as inevitable, Brown has developed a series of them with the intention of making this reality inspiring.”
Why don’t more Architects think like this when they design?
There are plenty of architects who think like this; the problem is there are not nearly enough developers who do.
Strip malls are a blight on the community. There is nothing inevitable about them. Architects should build for the future, not just put lipstick on pigs. Shame on this impostor.
Until people move back into our urban cores and rely less on their cars, strip malls are alive and well.
Until we stop building strip malls, people will avoid the urban core and become increasingly reliant on their cars.