What's Happening in South Charleston, WV…

Across the US, malls and retailers are trying to keep up with an ever-ranging landscape. In Charleston, a group of college students will be spending the next month examining the ways the Charleston Town Center can update its design and evolve into a property that will be successful for many years.

The students are fifth-year undergraduates and graduate students from the College of Architecture at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. They will be working with a group of architectural firms from in and around South Charleston, such as Silling Architects, on the project.

As part of the study, the students plant on meeting with community leaders, and groups and will make note of the current state of the mall.

Organizations and schools that conduct surveys and studies of community groups can use printing services to organize their research and results.

Jody Driggs, a principal at Silling Architects, told the Gazette-Mail that the purpose of the study is to begin a "re-investigation into the long-term prospects of malls", not just the Town Center.

For example, instead of being a place for retail shops and restaurants, malls could incorporate spaces of healthcare, educational programs, or research. Another option the students might explore is eliminating the mall completely and redeveloping the space for a different use.

Although students will spend the next month working on the study, the entire process will take much longer. During the rest of the semester, their work will undergo a series of critiques and reviews. The project will culminate in a final presentation at the end of November.