Globalization, Obsolescence, Migration and The
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BORDERLAND APPROPRIATIONS: GLOBALIZATION, OBSOLESCENCE, MIGRATION AND THE AMERICAN SHOPPING MALL A Dissertation by GREGORY N. MARINIC Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Chair of Committee, Sarah Deyong Co-chair of Committee, Peter Lang Committee Members, Koichiro Aitani Cecilia Giusti Head of Department, Robert Warden August 2017 Major Subject: Architecture Copyright 2017 Gregory Marinic ABSTRACT The notion of place embodies a complex intersection of architecture, occupancy, and identity. Tied to geographic and historical conditions, built environments existing between two worlds or within contested territories reveal the underlying political and social forces that have shaped them. Assuming an analogous relationship between consumption and architecture as interconnected systems, this dissertation examines American suburbia in the early twenty-first century to assess convergent flows related to consumption. It engages with the changing nature of retail form, function, and obsolescence to illustrate transnational and technological influences impacting suburban commercial architecture. More specifically, it analyzes occupancies, appropriations, and informal adaptations of retail environments in two distinct regional contexts in North America—the USA-Mexico Borderlands of Texas and the USA-Canada Borderlands of the Eastern Great Lakes region. This research charts the rise, fall, and transformation of the American shopping mall assessed via post-structuralist theories. Proposing that the obsolete mid-twentieth century shopping mall is a metaphor for the multicultural American city, this study employs dialectical—or comparative— practices to examine conditions which forecast increasing diversity in metropolitan futures. To establish a conceptual framework, two primary theoretical precedents were hybridized in this dissertation—the archival analysis of Walter Benjamin’s seminal The Arcades Project (1927-1940) and the theoretical lens of otherness— ii or heterotopias—proposed by Michel Foucault in Of Other Places: Utopias and Heterotopias (1984). Furthermore, the terrain vague territorial critique proposed by Ignasi Solà-Morales and the dérives of Guy Debord’s Situationist International influenced similar documentation techniques for suburban shopping malls characterized by marginal—or borderland—national, metropolitan, and social- economic conditions. Unlike most of the existing literature surrounding so-called dead malls, this research does not lament the demise of suburban drosscape or junkspace, but celebrates its incremental translation into an organic, nuanced, and temporal placeholder for actual urbanism. By means of case studies, this dissertation serves as a documentation device that identifies, theorizes, and archives largely ignored everyday suburban structures—transitional spaces of otherness serving the needs of immigrants and historically disadvantaged communities that are routinely demolished due to contemporary market pressures, planning initiatives, and real estate practices. In short, it draws awareness to informal actions that have transformed mid-century American shopping malls into liminal places threatened by gentrification and permanent erasure. iii DEDICATION To my family: Tito, Xavier, & Giovanni To my parents: Thomas Marinic & Diane Vadavacio Marinic To my paternal grandparents: Edward Marinic & Helen Jansa Marinic To my maternal grandparents: James Vadavacio & Doralisa Riccione Vadavacio To my paternal great grandparents: Ignatz Marinčič & Anna Jarnayčič Marinčič To my paternal great grandparents: Anton Jansa & Rose Baznik Jansa To my maternal great grandparents: Angelo Vadavacio & Domenica Gaetano Vadavacio To my maternal great grandparents: Desiderio Riccione & Mary Carnivale Riccione To the immigrants… iv A life without memory is no life at all… Luis Buñuel v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My years of doctoral study at the Texas A&M College of Architecture have been a transformative experience. I would like to thank my PhD committee chairs Dr. Sarah Deyong and co-chair Dr. Peter Lang, as well as committee members Dr. Koichiro Aitani and Dr. Cecilia Giusti for their guidance and support throughout the course of this research. Dr. Deyong is an exceptional role model, mentor, and tireless advocate for her students. Special appreciation to Dr. Lang who initially welcomed me to the College and the PhD in Architecture program, the history-theory-design track, and Dr. Deyong. I would also like to thank professor emeritus Dr. Frances Downing for her significant advisory role. Dr. Downing helped me to shape my early thoughts into a research focus which subsequently led to several peer reviewed journal publications developed under her guidance. It has been an honor to work with professors Deyong, Aitani, Giusti, Lang, and Downing. I am eternally grateful to them for the privilege of this experience. Beyond my committee members, I have continually benefited from the supportive scholarly environment in the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University. I would like to acknowledge the efforts of my colleagues and the departmental staff for contributing to an excellent experience. Special gratitude to Prof. Craig Babe who shares an interest in suburban obsolescence and suggestion to research the Pacific Mall in Toronto—I greatly benefited from his thoughtful insights, as well as our shared interest in suburban obsolescence and urban design. Cordial vi thanks to Texas A&M University History, Theory, & Design cluster students, Vahid Vahdat and Shima Mohajeri, for their mentorship and collegiality. A very special thank you to my friend and PhD student colleague Maki Iisaka for her ongoing encouragement and thoughtful reflections on my research. Sincere appreciation to Dean Jorge Vanegas, Ward Wells, Jeff Haberl, Robert Warden, Valerian Miranda, and my academic advisors Jill Raupe and Ginger White. The staff of the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies has been extremely supportive—very special thanks to Ashley Schmitt, Debbie Starnes, Jay Brakefield, and Kimberly Widdison in the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies. I also would like to express my appreciation for the honor and financial support of the Norman and Renee Zelman Scholarship during three years of study. Special thanks to Ursula Marx of the Walter Benjamin Archive who was of great assistance during my research visit to Berlin. Special thanks to my colleague and collaborator Dr. Michelangelo Sabatino who introduced me to Dr. Lang and Dr. Deyong and encouraged me to work under their guidance. In consultation with my PhD committee over the course of five years (2012- 2017), the research undertaken in this dissertation was mobilized via several national and international forums. Research was continually vetted through ‘peer’ and ‘blind peer’ reviewed conferences presentations, conference proceedings, scholarly journals, and book chapters. I have significantly benefited from various forms of peer review and publishing supported by scholars including Dr. Sarah Deyong, Dr. Cecilia Giusti, Prof. Marcus Berger, Dr. Tasoulla Hadjiyanni, Prof. Frank Jacobus, Dr. Michael E. Leary- vii Owhin, Dr. John P. McCarthy, Prof. Luca Basso Peressut, Dr. John Turpin, and others. I must also acknowledge the importance of individuals who have influenced my early growth as designer, scholar, and educator. Sincere appreciation to esteemed geographer Dr. Nancy Bain at Ohio University and renowned architectural historian Dr. Isabelle Gournay at the University of Maryland who shaped my interests in architectural history and theory as a graduate student. My professional growth in architecture practice as greatly enhanced by architects and professional mentors Rafael Viñoly, Diana Viñoly, Sandra McKee, Hiroki Yoshihara, Calvin Tsao, Zack McKown, and Barbara Skarbinski, as well as the architecture offices of Rafael Viñoly Architects, Yoshihara McKee Architects, Tsao-McKown Architects, and ABS Architects. It was an honor, pleasure, and privilege to work for and on behalf of them. Most sincere appreciation to my parents—Thomas and Diane Marinic— lifelong advocates who nurtured my earliest interests in architecture, design, culture, geography, and the built environment. To our forebears who came to the United States from Europe—the lives of your descendants in America have been undeniably enriched by your dreams and humanist perspectives on the world. Most importantly, the very highest respect and appreciation to my partner—Tito Mesias—for his extraordinary support of my professional, academic, and scholarly pursuits. He is a continual source of generosity, wisdom, inspiration, and has been my global travelling companion for nearly twenty years. Finally, I must also thank our beloved dogs— Xavier and Giovanni—who sat by my side while I wrote this dissertation. viii CONTRIBUTORS AND FUNDING SOURCES Contributors This research was supported by a dissertation committee consisting of Dr. Sarah Deyong in the Department of Architecture serving as chair, as well as committee members Dr. Koichiro Aitani and Dr. Peter Lang of the Department of Architecture, and Dr. Cecilia Giusti of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning. All work conducted in this dissertation was independently completed by the student. Funding Support Graduate studies in the Texas A&M University College of Architecture were partially supported by the Norman and Renee Zelman Scholarship.