MIXED USE &
RETAIL CENTERS
Mixed-use developers have an increasingly keen understanding of how their developments contribute to and benefit the overall community. Residents, guests, and customers are now conscious of how their own neighborhoods affect their health and happiness. Mixed-use developers are following suit with the perks and flexibility needed to best accommodate people and businesses alike.
Toyota Music Factory, Irving, Texas
01
Open space has become a necessary asset.
The pandemic forced retailers to reprioritize open space as an essential part of their layouts. Open space allowed businesses to stay running during the pandemic shutdowns. Now it’s a way to future-proof for potential disruptions since it readily can be adapted for new uses. Communities have come to value open areas for their mixed-use capabilities and seamless integration into the public ecosystem
02
Biophilic design principles are trending up.
Biophilic design principles are increasingly driving design plans because of their prioritization of public health and sustainability. Integrated green spaces encourage better mental health and well-being by promoting more human reconnection with nature, and they can turn urban industrial spaces into ecologically beneficial areas. The result is a design that is better received by the public and the natural environment.
03
Communities increasingly want 20-minute neighborhoods.
Mixed-use spaces are crucial for achieving “20-minute neighborhoods,” a concept in which every commercial, residential, and institutional need is within a 20-minute walk or bike ride of each other. Mixed-use developments help facilitate walkability by reimagining single-use residential and commercial blocks as multiuse spaces that cater to a variety of needs and experiences.
04
Micromobility will continue to displace car traffic.
New mixed-use projects are being designed with micromobility in mind from the start, specifically favoring hop-on shuttles, electric scooters, and bike shares. Many cities now require new developments to be sustainable or net zero, so reducing car traffic is an easy way to meet such mandates. As a result, street space is being reclaimed for parks, outdoor dining, and a variety of uses besides driving and parking.
The Hub on Causeway, Boston
Fifth + Broadway, Nashville, Tenn.
Places that support a variety of activities and behaviors yield better experiences overall. The best environments support a diversity of activities and experiences.
The Central Park, Phoenix
This catalytic mixed-use development offers a rich experience for tenants, residents, and visitors, giving new life to Phoenix’s mid-town market. The integrated live, work, and play community includes office, hotel, residential, and retail space, as well as an outdoor plaza. The design fuses nature, culture, and leisure to produce a distinct sense of place.
The Highlight at Houston Center, Houston
What Sports Venues Must Do to Be Tomorrow’s Cultural and Economic Anchors
We will soon see sports and entertainment venues designed to be seamlessly integrated into districts. For both renovations and new venues, outward-facing activation will be key.
How Affinity Districts Find Purpose in a Transactional World
Affinity districts offer an alternative to the purely transactional approach of selecting a place to live or work and herald a return to values-based planning and urban design.
Shopping Malls Are Dying — Here's How to Bring Them Back to Life
Malls are not necessarily dead; what’s changing is the expectation of what they should or could be.
One Museum Place
Shanghai, China
Hines, a global real estate investment, development, and management firm, approached Gensler with a vision to enhance the rich urban fabric of Shanghai's Jing'an district with a new and dynamic mixed-use development. Located above a major metro hub, the site's existing basement structure...
100 Stockton
San Francisco, California
The 100 Stockton Street project is a transformative repositioning of the former Macy's Men's Store, located steps from iconic Union Square in San Francisco. Standing seven stories tall, the existing building was originally designed for a single retail tenant in the early 1970s. With a Brutalist...
Toyota Music Factory
Irving, Texas
Toyota Music Factory in Irving hosts a variety of bars and musical venues, each with a distinctly-themed musical component allow everyone, from rap to country fans, to mingle together among the indoor and outdoor spaces. The center of the space is an outdoor Plaza with programmed events...
Beatriz De Paz
Mixed Use & Retail Centers Leader, Design Director
A global leader of Gensler's Mixed Use & Retail Centers practice, Bea has been a key player and a design leader in complex and outstanding interdisciplinary projects, such as...
J.F. Finn, III
Mixed Use & Retail Centers Practice Leader, Principal
J.F. is a global leader in Gensler’s Mixed Use & Retail Centers practice, based in our Los Angeles office. He has devoted more than 35 years of professional experience to the...
Michael Townsend
Design Resilience Leader, Design Director
Michael is the Design Resilience Leader for the firm’s Mixed Use & Retail Centers practice and a Design Director, based in Gensler’s Chicago offices. He brings more than 15...
