Empathy in Communal Design

(This is an excerpt from the Summer 2024 Edition of METROPOLIS Magazine which featured our interior designer, Victoria McMillan.)

​For Victoria McMillan, the solution to digitization's exacerbation of social isolation and alteration of society's engagement with brick and mortar is not to reject it but to converge with it. Something like a megablock, her concept of Hello Mall is a roughly 91,000-square-foot, four-story social complex that affords users the opportunity to engage, with increased social activity as visitors move upward from small talk in spaces like markets and stores to communing over a meal in an upper food court. Each floor also address four basic social desires - conviviality, religion, the arts, and politics - with programming distributed in radial patterns forming their own unique palm print. "Connection has never been more imperative as we move into a contactless society," McMillan says. "All spaces are designed to facilitate community, but we need spaces that facilitate connectivity."

​A decline in social interaction and engagement among younger generations inspired McMillan's redesign of the traditional mall, which includes an event space and floating lounges. Read her responses to Metropolis' questions:

Q: What is your impetus for tackling something on community?
A: I saw a decline in socialization - most of our connections are virtual, but what we need are in-person connections. The issue isn't the reluctance to connect, but a matter of affordance. Hello Mall facilitates community and affords opportunity to connect in person.

Q: How do you view design within the context of community?
A: As designers, our work is significant because the spaces we design can influence the success of society. Whether it be affordable housing, recreational centers, or schools, the buildings we design have the power to build up or tear down a community. Therefore, we must design equitably, intentionally, functionally, and user-centered.

Q: How do you hope to apply your skills to community design?
A: I hope to keep designing in a way that positively impacts society by creating spaces that bring us together. Connection has never been more imperative as we move into a contactless society. We need spaces that facilitate connectivity.


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