04
how do we begin discussing
our malls
From this framework arose two prototypes. The Retail Therapy card game addresses the question of stakeholder indecision, which frequently represents a formidable impasse among older malls. By understanding a mall not just from its financial returns and building services, but from its Spirit-Structure pairing instead, stakeholders are freed to consider alternative lifepaths for the future of their ageing mall.
DIAGNOSIS
The card game would be played in two stages: DIAGNOSIS and ACTIONS .
Selected ‘Diagnosis’ cards would describe the overall ‘health’ of the mall attributed to the mall and entail respective opportunities and constraints that would affect the ‘Actions’ cards that could be played.
Stakeholders would have to discuss and decide on the best course of actions for the mall. This engagement process can be repeated with other stakeholders from a diversity of backgrounds (e.g. from Association representatives to individual business owners) to gather more feedback and extend the reach of consensus building to transparently and inclusively encompass the whole community.
Photographs from workshops we conducted with members of the Merchants Association and Heartland Enterprise Singapore, and with members of the public.