For those of us who grew up in the ‘burbs, shopping malls can symbolize a lot of things: a place where we’d escape from our parents, bad minimum wage jobs, and copious amounts of food court grease — but rarely do we think of them as beautiful spaces. Apparently, that doesn’t have to be the case. In the spirit of the holiday shopping season, we’ve rounded up ten of the world’s most aesthetically-pleasing malls. Think of them and quietly weep as you’re trudging through your city’s undoubtedly less inspiring version.
Centro Vasco da Gama in Lisbon, Portugal. Designed by Jose Quintela and Promontorio
Forum des Halles in Paris, France. Designed by Claude Visconi and Jean Willerval
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in Milan, Italy. Designed by by Giuseppe Mengoni.
Kanyon Shopping Mall in Istanbul, Turkey. Designed by The Jerde Partnership and Tabanlıoğlu Architects
Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Designed by F+A Architects
Médiacité in Liège, Belgium. Designed by Ron Arad. Image via Inhabitat
MyZeil in Frankfurt, Germany. Designed by Massimiliano Fuksas. Photo credit: Paul Clemence. Image via Architizer
Namba Parks in Osaka, Japan. Designed by The Jerde Partnership
Queen Victoria Building in Sydney, Australia. Designed by George McRae
West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada. Designed by Maurice Sunderland Architects