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Reinventing Rogue Valley Mall Architecture student Patrick McKechnie shows drawings from his college thesis, which imagined a redesign of Rogue Valley Mall. [Mail Tribune / Andy Atkinson] Friday Jan 19, 2018 at 4:27 PM Jan 19, 2018 at 4:27 PM John Darling for the Mail Tribune For his master’s thesis, Medford architecture student Patrick McKechnie has re-envisioned Rogue Valley Mall as almost a city unto itself, full of exciting new adventures that invite people to spend the day and evening — shopping, of course, but also accessing an amphitheater, nice restaurants, fitness centers, garden walkways, offices, condos, clinics, a library, park, farmers market, recreation and a central arcade open to the sky. McKechnie, of Oregon Architects in Medford, says malls should evolve out of their shopping-only mission and become more diverse — and more competitive with online shopping. His project and drawings are on display at Ashland Art Center. “The way we are buying is shifting and altering,” he says. “A lot of space isn’t being used. Malls need to be rebranded and redeveloped. Instead of big, blank walls, in the future, we’re seeing interactive walls where you can view and order stuff." The mall is three-fourths parking, he notes, and that could be put to better use and would include better mass transit. “The new image will allow building upward, also downward, making a smaller footprint with less maintenance cost. Pathways will allow 24/7 access. It’s the kind of thing where, theoretically, you’d never have to leave. “This new kind of mall would be more interesting. It would use a lot of stagnant retail space. You allow it to be opened up and exposed to nature, allowing constant evolution on-site. You break it into smaller buildings with walkways.” McKechnie says his new mall vision is a response to challenges in the business, notably online shopping. He points to studies and stats driving the change. Time magazine notes that of 1,100 malls in the U.S., a fourth of them will close by 2022, “victims of changing tastes, a widening wealth gap and the embrace of online shopping … and the blow of the Great Recession.” Rogue Valley Mall has felt the impact of Amazon shopping, says General Manager Jeff Barber, but at 84 percent occupancy, it is not among those immediately threatened. In fact, he adds, 12,000 square feet are now under construction, with 8,000 more slated to start in a few months. Another 52,000 new square feet are under negotiation for the more distant future. In research for his project, McKechnie conferred with Barber, who says many of the architect’s ideas are already being put into play by malls across the nation. “He has some fun ideas and concepts. He’s using what’s going to be part of the future for us, for sure. His premise is that malls will adapt and change. We could see more recreational uses, offices, motels, restaurants, condos. The mall industry is already involved in doing that.” Barber’s umbrella corporation, JLL, has already adopted the ideas of garden walkways and amphitheaters, he says, and walls-as-screens have already happened in some of JLL’s scores of malls. However, the open-to-the-sky central arcade “doesn’t grab me at all.” He adds, “I’m not saying his project is the wave of the future, but elements of it are absolutely going to happen.” McKechnie says costs per square foot indicate such a radical revamping would require an investment of several hundred million dollars. He is a recent graduate of The Boston Architectural College, and is involved in the final steps of getting his license to practice. — John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. Email him at [email protected].