Intern Design Studio Envisions New Life for Vacant Mall Space
Across the country, once-vibrant retail centers are facing a new reality. As shopping habits shift and online commerce continues to grow, many traditional malls and big-box stores now stand underutilized or entirely vacant. While these changes pose challenges for communities, they also present extraordinary opportunities for innovation in design and planning.
Each year at Cushing Terrell, we challenge our interns to think big by hosting a design studio where they work together to come up with solutions to practical problems that exist in the world around them.
The Design Studio Project
For the 2025 summer program, a group of our interns were tasked with planning for a real town, which included redesigning a vacant mall, ideating community gathering points therein, and expanding the variety of offerings for this Midwest municipality. The interns worked together to brainstorm reinventions, not only for the mall area, but also exciting growth opportunities for the town in general. Eight architectural interns participated from seven offices, bringing their expertise and perspectives to examine the project from all angles.
When imagining what would draw local patrons and tourists into the city, the intern team considered elements such as: cultural venues, art, recreation, and increased accessibility. The goal was to develop design concepts that would help transform this vacant retail space into a destination for living, learning, gathering, and creating.
The interns were challenged to push their creativity to the limit — instead of seeing empty storefronts as symbols of decline, to approach them as canvases for possibility. Team leaders encouraged them to come up with completely innovative ideas such as transforming stale corridors into community gathering points and spaces for wellness.
It was important that the ideas presented complemented the town and surrounding areas and didn’t take away from them. The intern team diligently performed community and resident research so that the proposal answered questions and addressed the needs of those who live there to ensure the utmost relevancy and utility of the project. The team thought of this challenge in terms of crafting an interwoven civic ecosystem, one that doesn’t solely rely on commerce, but also engages people with education, entertainment, and cultural programs.
This project was a unique opportunity to explore creative, out-of-the-box design solutions while responding to real client preferences. I appreciated the opportunity to collaborate with interns from a wide range of offices and build professional relationships.
Sloan Russell
Architecture Intern, Seattle
Sloan Russell, Architecture Intern, Seattle
A Solution Shaped by the Five Senses
The team’s design concept was inspired by the five senses: touch, sound, taste, sight, and smell. With a focus on the senses, the output very naturally fulfilled the desire for an experiential destination that would enhance community and connectivity, celebrate local culture, embrace nostalgia, and promote sustainability.
An important component of the project was fulling capitalizing on the spaces and materials through adaptive reuse. The team’s goal was to create spaces that would effectively repurpose underutilized constructions, instead of asking for total demolition and rebuild, which would be wasteful and expensive for the town. For example, unused parking areas or interior courts could be transformed into lush, interactive greenscapes, parks, and activity spaces. The brief considered longevity, resiliency, and future-ready development.
The interns also considered how each of these elements would function and interact with the four seasons to provide year-round experiences. The team was concerned with creating destination spots that would gather citizens 365 days per year, not just on special occasions. And, finally, the team worked on thoughtful, colorful, and interactive wayfinding, design, and signage to enhance the personality and attractiveness of the designed spaces.
Sloan Russell, an architecture intern out of the Seattle office, said, “This project was a unique opportunity to explore creative, out-of-the-box design solutions while responding to real client preferences. I appreciated the opportunity to collaborate with interns from a wide range of offices and build professional relationships.”
She also expressed her thanks and gratitude to the project facilitators for lending their guidance, expertise, and mentorship to her and all the interns involved in the project, “They were a huge help!”
The Presentation
The group presented their big picture ideas directly to an economic development group representing the town with the hope that the city could potentially put the design concepts to future use.
As Cushing Terrell continues to study this challenge, we’re excited by the potential of architecture to not only fill physical voids, but also to reimagine how shared spaces can shape the social and cultural fabric of our towns and cities.
We’re also invigorated by the creativity, deep-thinking, and problem-solving demonstrated by this incredible intern team. Huge kudos to everyone listed below who had a hand in this project.
- Dayton Bay: Missoula
- Sydnee Lovering: Billings
- Jordan Payne: Billings
- Jackie Riel: Austin
- Sloan Russell: Seattle
- Hailey Pilcher: Bozeman
- Victoria Urquia: Boise
- Tyler Williams: Denver
