Plan Physical Design to Increase Visits
My husband and I loved going on market discovery trips, especially in Asia and Europe where the public markets reflect so much of local life and culture. In Phnom Penh (where we lived from 2015 to 2016), we visited both large markets like the Central Market (Phsar Thom Thmey) and the Russian Market (Phsar Tuol Tom Poung) and the smaller neighborhood markets around the area where we lived. Phnom Penh’s markets were lively, colorful, and very interesting. Live fish jumped from buckets of water. Chicken struggled out of their makeshift bamboo cages. Street vendors sold skewers of fresh pineapple, grilled rice pudding snacks, and fresh, chilled coconut juice.
I have to be honest though that going through the food markets of Phnom Penh wasn’t very comfortable. The corridors were wet and slippery. There were no clean restrooms provided. There was a certain smell that permeated the market, probably due to all the carcass of meat and innards of fish on the floor. These were likely to be cleaned up only after the market closes in the late afternoon.
There were no places to sit and eat, as most shoppers were expected to eat their street food as they walked around the market. I didn’t feel safe either. I always held on to my bag and kept my mobile phone stored in it, worried that it might get snatched since theft was rampant in the area. I reflect on these experiences and wonder how much of a food market should be changed, to provide for comfort, safety, and aesthetic appeal. I wonder what the basic conditions to expect or to look for are. I ask whether some of the things I expect are western world impositions, which can actually change the local character of a food market.
PHNOM PENH TRADITIONAL PUBLIC MARKET
VARIOUS STALLS SELLING MEAT, POULTRY, AND SOME PREPARED FOOD ITEMS
The Link Between Physical Design, Number of Visits, and Social Engagement
Why should we look at physical design?
Physical design is an important component for public spaces in general and food halls in particular. Physical design contributes to the ability of a place to be welcoming, to feel safe, to give shelter and comfort, to perform its function, and to provide delight to its users [4, 10, 14, 22, 26, 31, 33].
Given the ability of physical design to deliver on these various elements, it has a direct link to increasing the number of visitors, the length of their stay, and the frequency of their visits to a public space [4, 11, 18, 20, 28]. There is a dynamic relationship between the number of visitors, economic success, and the increased chances for social interaction in a public market [15, 18, 20, 28]. They feed off each other’s success. In addition, the more the physical design can deliver on increasing the variety of the community’s residents who visit a public place, the better the chances for real social integration to occur [18, 20, 26].
In programming a food hall’s physical design to increase the number of visitors, the variety of visitors, and the duration of their visit, the following aspects must be considered: shelter; security; comfort & convenience; function; aesthetic appeal; and sensory delight [10].
Shelter
The shelter provided by a covered hall is a good addition or improvement to an area where there is an open-air farmers market, a variety of street food vendors, or periodic arts & crafts festivals [9, 12, 18, 23, 28, 33]. In the northern hemisphere, a shelter or a covered hall provides protection from the cold weather, and other elements like rain and snow. In the southern hemisphere, the same shelter provides protection from the heat of the sun and from monsoon rain.
Newton Hawker’s Market, Singapore
“Hawker” term comes from the original street hawkers who sold food items along the river, before the Singapore government moved them inside fixed, covered stalls
Shelter shields vendors from the elements, prevents damage to their wares, and allows them some level of permanency and storage for their daily operation. Building a structure providing shelter makes it easier to provide for other vendor needs such as clean water, sewage, and storage. Shelter also encourages the community residents to come more often and to stay longer, whatever the weather condition is [10, 11, 25, 28, 33].
“When Singapore gained independence in 1965, one of the very first things the fledgling government did was to decide on a long-term approach to solving the street hawking problem once and for all. It eventually embarked on a programme to construct hawker centres with proper amenities from 1971 to 1985. All 18,000 street hawkers were progressively re-sited into these newly built hawker centres and the resettlement work was completed by February 1986.”
— Hawker Centres: Levelling the Playing Field with Food [29]
Security
Security is a feeling of safety and freedom from danger. A sense of security makes a place feel welcoming [1, 4, 33]. The perception of security in a public place influences the number of its visitors, the length of their stay, and the frequency of their visits [4, 12, 14, 28, 33]. In large public markets and food halls, management provides security, usually in the form of hired security personnel [8, 12, 28]. In small markets and food halls, the vendors themselves may help enforce security by being familiar with what is happening in the area and being on the look-out for the welfare of their customers [1, 19, 21, 28]. Community residents may also help in ensuring a feeling of security, by looking out for their fellow shoppers and visitors [19, 20].
Comfort & Convenience
Comfort and convenience refers to the ease with which a visitor can move around and navigate the place or stay in one area to rest [1, 4, 14, 25, 31, 33].
Overall, a grid layout for food halls allows for easier comprehension and navigation by visitors [1, 23]. Corridors must be wide enough to allow for a constant stream of visitors and for easy access to the individual vendor stalls [4, 28]. However, corridors must also be narrow enough to create a certain level of intimacy which is not felt in a traditional grocery or food court in a mall setting [1].
IMAGES OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF FOOD HALL CORRIDORS
“This ambiance is engendered at least in part by the physical closeness patrons experience in this space. The aisles are narrow and crowded; the dining tables are close to one another, creating a cafeteria feel, reminiscent of hundreds of high school students packed into a lunchroom. People literally rub elbows, overhear each other’s conversations, and make eye contact despite any attempt at avoidance. Such physical proximity naturally yields a familiarity, an increased comfort level, and often direct engagement among diverse patrons of the market.”
— Reading Terminal Market
The Cosmopolitan Canopy [1], Page 57
Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia
Dining area in the foreground, corridors and food stalls in the background
Seating in the food hall must be scattered in different areas, to accommodate needs for dining, for observation, or merely for resting [2, 7, 8, 24, 28, 33, 34]. Comfort and convenience must be planned for specific segments of the community which have special needs, like the elderly, parents caring for their children, and people with special needs [4, 12, 13, 28, 33]. For example, corridors and entrances must allow for easy navigation for a person in a wheelchair or with a stroller [17]. Reserved table seating must also be provided for people in wheelchairs. Food halls should consider incorporating a small indoor playground where children can play safely, while their parents can watch and eat at the same time. In testing the comfort and convenience of a place, one must observe and ask, does it attract as much of women, children, senior citizens, and other persons with special needs [33]?
Aesthetic Appeal
Minimum requirements for a food hall to have aesthetic appeal include cleanliness and provision for adequate sanitation [4, 28, 32]. Other ways to enhance aesthetic appeal include: (1) rehabilitating and using a historical building or market hall structure [1, 4, 8, 9, 11, 20, 23 16]; (2) enhancing the interior design with lighting [4, 10]; (3) adding some memorable elements which elicit appreciation and encourage photo-taking [8, 33]; and (4) providing guidelines to vendors as to how to make their stalls more attractive [5, 8].
IMAGES OF SPECIAL LIGHTING, SIGNAGES, AND MURALS IN FOOD HALLS
Famous historical structures which have been preserved and converted into market and food halls include: The San Francisco Ferry Terminal Building, the former Sears Roebuck building which is now the Ponce City Market in Atlanta, and the former Anaheim citrus packing facility in California, which is now part of the Anaheim Packing District food hall and entertainment area.
San Francisco Ferry Terminal Building
Renovated and converted into a food and market hall
Some cities have introduced newer market halls with enhanced architectural theming and details, to increase their aesthetic appeal to both locals and visitors. Examples of these include the new Rotterdam Market Hall (designed by Dutch architects MVRDV) and the Aarau Market Hall (designed by Swiss architects Miller & Maranta) [35].
Rotterdam Market Hall
Mixed Use design building with apartments located in the dome structure overlooking the market hall in the interior. Image courtesy of City Guide Rotterdam [27]
Sensory Delight
“By 1:00 pm, the din has turned into a modernly loud hum: small talk, occasional light laughter, and “What a Wonderful World” is played live and sung by a small band of white men dressed in red, white, and blue shirts and straw hats They add to the Terminal’s party-like atmosphere, which is being enjoyed by all sorts of people, but particularly by families with small children. The crowd is quite diverse - black, white, and foreign — and all appear to feel that they are welcome here or even that they belong.”
— Reading Terminal Market
The Cosmopolitan Canopy[1] page 52
Successful food halls, like public markets, provide delight for multiple senses [1, 4, 5, 8, 23, 35]. The stalls provide visual appeal through the variety of cuisine available, the colorful array of fresh produce, the different cuts of meat and types of seafood, the cultural excursion provided by artisan food items, and the spectacle of other food-related items which are offered for sale, like cookbooks, kitchen utensils, and other craft items.
COLORFUL IMAGES OF VARIOUS SEAFOOD OFFERING
FOOD HALLS AROUND THE WORLD
The friendly chatter among vendors and customers in a food hall add a nice background melody to the experience. On special days, buskers and other local musicians can add live music to the celebration of food [1, 2, 28]. The vegetables and fruits in the fresh produce stall invite touching and sniffing [1, 11, 23, 28]. The smell of the different food items being cooked right in the stalls enhance the decision making, helping one choose among the many options available [1, 8].
“The wondrous smells waft through the market, putting people at ease. The presence of food defines the place as a huge tent under which hospitality and satisfaction can be expected”
— Reading Terminal Market
The Cosmopolitan Canopy [1] Page 54
Function
Most important, the physical design must deliver on the functions of a food hall [10]. Vendor stalls must be designed in such a way that the vendors are able to display their ware most effectively, and that they have access to their needs in terms of utilities, delivery, and storage [3, 4, 8, 26]. The stall design must allow vendors good access to their customers, who normally expect to be able to reach out, greet, and ask questions [1].
Granville Market, Vancouver
Stall selling locally produced honey invites shoppers to taste its wares
Or Tor Kor Market, Bangkok
Freshly squeezed local orange juice, which can be picked up directly by the buyers
Newer community-based food halls allocate a kitchen incubator space, which provides current vendors with preparation facilities and prospective vendors with commercial facilities to test out their food products [5, 6, 30].
The physical design must also support the various needs of customers, as it relates to dining, shopping, and hanging out. In maximizing observation and social interaction among its customers, the physical design of a food hall must be as open as possible and must ensure visual connection from different sections. It must provide for a lot of intersections between the different activities [1, 8, 33]. Seating options must be provided for dining out, hanging out, and observing others. For a food hall to be a successful public place, it must welcome members of the community even if they do not come to eat [8, 11, 23, 28, 31, 33].
“In the middle of the market is the large common court-like area surrounded by eateries that serve everything from pork sandwiches to pizzas. Large white Formica tables pushed together encourage strangers to sit and eat together. Between bites they look things over, perhaps staring in the face of a complete stranger or making casual, if accidental eye contact with the next person. Whether they look down or away, an identity emerges to be established or truncated, depending on whether either party interprets the exchange of looks as an invitation to conversation. In this public place people can take up others’ opening gambits or not, as they choose. In this setting strangers engage one another about the personal details of their lives.”
— Reading Terminal Market
The Cosmopolitan Canopy [1] page 60
Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia
Common dining area in the foreground and variety of food stalls in the background
In newer food halls, there is usually a common area, a 2nd floor, or an extension hall provided to accommodate events and activities [5, 8, 30]. From the vendors’ perspective, this activity space increases the number of events and thus the number of visitors which come and visit the food hall. From the customer’s perspective, this activity space provides them other activities to enjoy while at the same time visiting the food hall, e.g., additional shopping in a seasonal arts & crafts fair, cooking demonstrations, community events, special cinema screening, etc. From a community engagement perspective, planning for a community events/activity center beside a food hall increases the opportunities for both visits and encounters, among the community members [28].
Union Market DC,
2nd floor common space used for various events and activities
such as a holiday gift fair with a lot of local artisan stalls
Physical design programming forms an important base in planning a food hall. With good planning and design, minimum requirements for shelter, comfort, and convenience can be achieved. To succeed in other goals such as function, aesthetic appeal, and sensory delight, planners must research on best practices for successful food halls and also reach out to the potential users themselves, e.g., vendors, shoppers, and workers, to secure their input. Given the multiple aspects of physical design, planners should also reach out to experts in the field, like architects, market managers, and merchant associations.
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