Space Essay

Katie Tyo

Professor Klepper

English 114B

March 23, 2012

Space Essay

            The space I chose is the mall in the Santa Clarita Valley. This mall is called the Valencia Town Center. The Valencia Town Center is roughly six city blocks long. Over the years there have been additions and upgrades to the Valencia Town Center. With all of these changes there are a few parts of the Valencia Town Center that do not match the newer portions of the Valencia Town Center. These differences in the mall could be changed so that the Valencia Town Center blends together better and looks better overall. “Spatial enclosure is a balance between opening and closing, between cosmic infinity and the Platonic prison (A waste of space? Towards a critique of the social production of space 22).  The space within the Valencia Town Center has been put to good use because of the versatility of everything within the complex of the Valencia Town Center mall.

            The Valencia Town Center mall has created a space for everyone in the Santa Clarita Valley. There is going to be something going on at the mall that is of interest to everybody whether it is the summer time concerts, the fairs that occur there sometimes or the carnivals that come there during the summer time. There is going to be something to do for everyone especially during the summer and winter times. The Valencia Town Center mall is also directly connected with one of the Santa Clarita Valley’s movie theaters, it is also one of the most popular and nicest, and it is also connected with the nicest hotel the Santa Clarita Valley has to offer. The Valencia Town Center mall plays a major role in the lives of the residents of the Santa Clarita Valley.

            The Valencia Town Center mall is very important to the Santa Clarita Valley. This is where so many of the restaurants are and where a majority of the shopping is located. This is like the heart of the Santa Clarita Valley so much goes on here. Since it is so important to the city to survive it is key in the layout of the city. All the best shopping seems to be directly related to the mall whether it is inside the mall or around the mall.

            The additions to the Valencia Town Center have all been extremely nice.  From the downtown area that leads from the mall all the way to the movie theater complex to the most recent additions of the patio area filled with shops and restaurants. The Valencia Town Center has a variety of services to provide the community.  Also in the mall complex are some office buildings in use by large corporations such as Princess Cruises. The space within the Valencia Town Center has been put to good use.

            The Valencia Town Center mall is the best place to hang-out with friends and just be a teenager in the Santa Clarita Valley. The mall is crawling with teenagers nearly all the time. With all the options of food from the food court to the patio dining options to the restaurants even down by the movie theater there is always somewhere fun and exciting to eat at which is the perfect atmosphere and excuse for teenagers to always hang-out at the mall.

            Architecturally the Valencia Town Center mall has a very modern look to it especially the more recent additions. This gives the whole mall a feel of importance to the Santa Clarita Valley. The versatility of this mall makes it such a unique place as well. I have never been to another mall that has office buildings in the mall so the mall is both modern and versatile.

           

The space itself is a very functional space. With the stores and restaurants all mixed in together very efficiently the flow of the Valencia Town Center is very good. All around the interior of the mall there are comfortable chairs to relax and hang-out at which is a more modern twist on malls. There have been new additions open as recent as earlier this year and there is still work underway to add more to the outdoor patios. The following building is one of the buildings still underway no one knows yet what is going to be in this building but what is known is that it is a beautiful building.

            

            Parts of the original mall match the new paint scheme more than other parts of the older mall. There are two stores that come to mind when this is said. The first one being Macy’s shown here.

            

The second building and the building that needs to change the most would be the Sears building for some reason Sears decided to paint their building the whitest color they could find. It is so white it almost looks like it is just the primer coat but it has been this way for almost a year now. The whiteness of this building does not come even a little close to the color scheme of the rest of the mall. At least the Macy’s building is a little close to the color scheme of the rest of the mall, the Sears building just sticks out like a sore thumb.

           

          

The variety of stores also gives the Valencia Town Center uniqueness. The stores range from high end to affordable, it has multiple department stores and more. There is just such a variety of stores it is unbelievable. No matter who you are or what you like you can find a store that you like somewhere in the Valencia Town Center mall.     

            Besides these two buildings that are unable to blend with the rest of the Valencia Town Center this mall is extremely nice and well blended. If these two buildings were to be painted closer colors to the rest of the mall then the mall would be architecturally perfect in the eyes of the residents of the Santa Clarita Valley. The residents already adore this complex because it is an escape from the Southern California extreme weather and a place for people to hang-out with friends while still getting what they need to get done. It is the best of both worlds for the residents while looking pretty good at the same time.

            Personally all throughout my junior high school, high school and college years this has been at the epicenter of my activities with friends. Its location makes it the perfect place to start out a weekend with my friends. There is always something to do at the Valencia Town Center mall.

Works Cited

"JSTOR." Architecture is Space. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2012. <www.jstor.org.libproxy.csun.edu/stable/1424783>.

"JSTOR." The Occupation and Fragmentation of space: Consequences of  neighboring roots. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2012. <www.jstor.org.libproxy.csun.edu/stable/2389967>.

"JSTOR." A waste of space? Towards a critique of the social production of space . N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2012. <www.jstor.org.libproxy.csun.edu/stable/623315>.