AN APPRAISAL ON SAFETY MEASURES IN THE DESIGN OF REGIONAL SHOPPING MALLS IN
PORT HARCOURT
1Anucha Douglas, 2Arch. B.P. Uchenna (Mnia)
Department of Architecture,
Rivers state university, Port Harcourt
ABSTRACT
Shopping malls are very large buildings containing a lot of stores and restaurants, members of the general public and shop staff, usually with space outside for parking, These buildings must be planned to be safe and in the event of an emergency, allow for fast and safe evacuation from the building by all its occupants, In the design of the practical issues, safety is prerequisite for any shopping mall design, Violent crime and more specially armed robberies constitute a growing threat to shopping centers in terms of their vulnerability to such criminal acts. These violent crimes are becoming ever more organized and sophisticated. Shopping centers across Nigeria have stylishly become a target for these bandits. Due to the increasing number of armed robberies and violent crimes in the state, it points to a need for improvements to be made to the security measures that are in place at shopping centers. This study explored the risks and vulnerabilities at shopping centers that have led to the need for safety at shopping centers, in Port Harcourt; the study also evaluates the current physical protection systems that are in place at shopping centers across the city in order to assist with the reduction of shopping centre crimes and fires; recommendations were made for the implementation of effective security risk control measures at shopping centre’s across Nigeria and specifically the city of Port Harcourt. Self-administered questionnaire surveys were used to explore the phenomenon from the perspectives of both retail employees and customers. The data collected from the questionnaires, utilizing the non-experimental research design, were quantitatively analyzed. Based on the findings which show that both passive and active safety measures should be employed in shopping mall design from the study recommendations for the improvement of shopping centre security were formulated such as regular routine check of safety elements are paramount, building in compliance with National Building Code (NBC) and providing a simple evacuation plan in each floor of the building as along with recommendations for future research.
Key terms: Safety, security , design, shopping mall; violent crimes; security measures; security risk control measures; retail employee; customer; retail, Building, armed robbery