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Abril Alvarez
Professor Filbeck
English114B
4/2/14
The Americana at Brand as United
Ideally people want what they cant have, their American dreams consists of falling in
love with places they never been and people theyve never met. Societys Utopian world is a
place where they have more than what they have now whether its spiritually, love, world
dominance or money, people want a place where they are free. In todays society its hard to find
a location where this world actually exists were people can be for the simple satisfaction of
belonging in a better place were pretty buildings and beautiful landscapes make you feel like
your hard work has paid off. However, the Americana proves that we still have hope that these
utopian worlds actually exists. Although a social context is being fulfilled at The Americana the
example it sets with its architecture and imprinted town folks culture gives the right base in
which a utopian world can be constructed on. The Americana is an ideal Utopian world because
it provides what most people want packaged in a 2-acre park, it gives people culture from both
the past and the present and its gives people the feel of really being in the better environment
theyve been working for.
The Americana can serve as a great melting pot it can be manipulated as the public wants
it to be, after all, it was built to belong to its public. It gives society the welcoming feeling to not
only go and shop but to gather around and just have a good time, you arrive and a numerous
amount of options welcome you in with a crowd of people walking towards and with you into a
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different scene. You can see fashion critics of all ages holding hangers with pastel fabrics against
darker colors in an unspoken competition. As you walk deeper into the long entrance you are
welcomed by a beautiful lobby to your left with a classic piano and a stunning chandelier that
introduces an elevator that belongs in Paris. As you are revealed to the open space you see a
beautiful fountain that holds dreams and wishes with dancing lights and a golden naked man
reaching for the galaxies. The black road is shaped as an open U pointing in the opposite
directions at the ends and in the middle of it is a wooden road for the red trolley to go on with
olden street lamps scattered along the sidewalk. Surrounding the fountain you have stores of all
kinds technology, books and clothes are provided for buyers and delicious scent flows in the air
off of various plates. A vintage white kiosk offers a stage for new musicians and an open green
lawn is provided for the audience or families to simply enjoy the day along with a small
playground for all the energetic children. A beautiful scene is imprinted in The Pacifics Theaters
ceiling and a white marveled like hall delivers you to your destination. The Americana provides
a place where people can come together and have a great time in a beautiful scene. A place
where they can be free and finally feel in an environment where more of society is being
provided to them.
How is The Americana better for society?, One may ask, well to begin with, in order for a
great idea to take place it first needs conflict, because in reality no one is going to want to
support any new idea simply because we dont have the predicted guarantee that it would work
and much less when it requires us to first give, we refuse because then we have less. The
Americana has been wagered in the pros and cons and because of the results it has had over time
it is quite obvious that it has surpassed all the predicted obstacles that it was being doomed to.
The Americana illustrates what a utopian world should be like by various reasons first, people
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want to be able to feel like they have improved their living status whether theyve worked hard
to get that salary raise, came to the United States for a better future, or simply because they have
become part of the real working world. People want to be in an environment where their reward
is equal regardless of who has what or who came from where. Having a world where you get a
bit of everything you ever wished for is an ideal utopian world. Society need to know that the
sacrifices they did and are doing are worth the trouble, they want to be able to not only know
they are doing better but see it as well. The architecture of the Americana has a mixture of
luxurious, folks town and modern city in it, it provides you with some green environment, a
beautiful view, a large variety of different food choice from pretzels to hot dogs to a dish from
France. The Americana gives you that architecture that people are drawn to, the kind of America
society is looking for. In an interview with chairman and CEO of the Glimcher Reality Trust,
Michael P. Glimcher, explains the concept in which open malls such as his own and the
Americana is an ideal constructed site for society, he tells the writer of Glimcher gets some
fresh air Michael Fickes when asked what context meant to him regarding his views on open
malls, Context is the environment: the amenities, landscaping, water features, the elements that
bring people to the property even when they don't have a mission. If a group comes to your
property looking for something to do - and not just something to buy - the property has great
context. Sure enough the architecture of the Americana gives the feeling of wanting to belong
and when society gets brought in together for the simple reason of wanting to coexist with one
another in that specific location you know there was something you did correctly when building
that location.
One of the major contradictions the Americana has had is traffic. A reporter for the Los
Angeles Times, Cara Ma DiMassa, points out this argument by saying; Some critics are quick
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to point out that traffic from the Galleria and other shops can already bring Brand Boulevard to a
crawl. Perhaps a structure built in such a crampt location can cause traffic and ruin local
businesses but thats a problem that the Americana does not face. For instance these roads are
specifically designed to soothe its inhabitants Rod Bantjes a professor of sociology and
anthropology studied and was able to confirm that these types of open space architecture work
for the benefit of its society; The street is gently curved, slowing traffic and varying the visual
prospect for drivers and pedestrians alike. If local businesses where to blend in with the
Americanas structure there shouldnt be a problem in who gets the best location or the best
building and the trafficking crawl would only work to encourage people to walk to the lively
hood of the streets instead of using vehicles. Inclusive there is an old newspaper article that is
dated from the 1976 written by Paul Goldberger, who wrote against the Albany buildings when
they were first developed in which he argues that Futuristic doesnt work with the architecture
of new developed spaces:
One realizes that the entire mall complex is not so much a vision of the future as of the
past. The ideas here were dead before they left the drawing board, and every design
decision, from the space allocations to the overall concept, emerges from an outdated
notion of what modern architecture, not to mention modern government, should stand for.
This is quite interesting Paul Goldberg published his article in 1976, giving a more moderate
perspective in which he claims people should have a futuristic taste in order to develop as a
society. But this is where he is wrong when architects design buildings that discard the old
culture then society as a whole start to lose the sense of old culture. We then start building blend
spaces that no longer contains history and uniqueness. Bantjes also had the mentality of wanting
to create better space without losing that uniqueness that is indirectly needed:
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People do not dream of living in such places, nor are they drawn there to walk, jog, roller
blade or to pass the time of day with othersPeople are attracted to places where other
people are present on the streets. Businesses and culture too flourish where human traffic
is concentrated. People come to such places for instrumental reasons, but even if they are
passing through they are drawn to lively streets because these are less boring and
dangerous. (Rob Bantjes)
Indeed Bantjes proves a point when he says this, people want to be where they can see and do
different things. Its better to have society want this kind of environment instead of having a
society thats caught up in having places that represent a futuristic meaning more technology and
indoors.
Although, the architecture of the Americana provides you with the past and the future a
lovely green environment and a large variety of choices for the community, in the ideal utopian
world there would be no social barrier. A social context is being fulfilled in the Americana today
in which only the upper class society is more visually prominent than lower classes and races all
consist of the same three. In the utopian world this would be an exclusion, local stores would
emerge with higher class stores in an open green environment where the physical surrounds all
have the same level of quality. The social context would be a more diverse place, a place where
people would play all kinds of music from salsa to underground rap. Banners of Chinas New
Years would be up along their restaurants patios, jazz cafes would be booming with smokes and
sensual melodies in the air, cheeses of all kinds would be smelled when you walk past the open
delly store and booming drums would be played in the middle of parks with people dancing their
tribe routines and flashing bright festival colors. Streets in the late night evenings would only
bring the noise of different people coming together to have festivals were foods of all kinds will
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be brought to one table, streets of places like the Americana. Rick Caruso, CEO of Caruso
Affiliated, real estate company that developed, owns, and operates the Grove in Los Angeles, the
Americana at Brand in Glendale, and a handful of other mixed-used properties in Southern
California, describes to Shayna Rose Arnold in his interview for Los Angeles Magazine, how as
Angelinos we have yet to learn how to take advantage of what we already have:
Heres the frustration I have with the city of Los Angeles: I think [its] the greatest city in
the world but the greatest city in the world has not figured out how to evolve and
embrace the diversity it has People want to live and socialize and play and work closer
to home. They want more of a sense of communitybut our planning process in the city
doesnt allow or support that. Thats what we need to change. (Rick Caruso)
Indeed Angelinos are privileged to have this kind of diversity because people come here to seek
something better without knowing that the culture they bring from the different places they come
from is a peace of a pillar that can construct an ideal utopian world. Yet we insist on dividing
each other by what we wear or where we live because we focus on the wrong points of view, yet
this is something that can be turned around if we give the same quality and invest the same ideas
worldwide when we built different places. Instead of trying to divide the city into different parts
with buildings or street names we should look for ways to connect different social classes we
should mix races and give the same quantity so that the quality will increase in peoples values,
we have to make people of all class feel worth it. The Americana provides the architecture but it
lacks the social connection it needs in order for different people with different backgrounds to
come together. It lacks the knowledge of knowing what to do with so much difference.
If you have the right constructed architecture, if you give the right surroundings to people
who come here for a better future for them and their off springs, the ideal utopian world can be
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constructed. In order for the society to work you must give them just that, these properties and
public spaces, involve more than just consumption patterns they sustain and support social
identities in a new political situation where society, economic structures and a wider community
as a whole can be a progressed world. We must quite imaginary complexity we create in wanting
to separate different classes by labeling them with its architecture. We must understand that by
staging an open space with the sense of olden culture and modern culture, were race and culture
can be manipulated and implanted, we must act in providing spaces that are like the Americana,
where we can enable an opportunity to various amounts of people. There for giving creating a
utopian world.











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Works Cited
Arnold, Shayna Rose. "Big Shots: Rick Caruso - CityThink - Los Angeles Magazine." LA Mag.
Los Angeles Magazine, 7 Oct. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
Bantjest, Rob. "Rural sustainability and the built environment." ProQuest. Emerald Group
Publishing, Limited, 07 20 2011. Web. 24 Mar 2014.
Goldberger, Paul. "Albany's South Mall (Empire State Plaza) Paul Goldberger Review."
Albany's South Mall (Empire State Plaza) Paul Goldberger Review. N.p., July 1976. Web. 24
Mar. 2014.
DiMassa, Mia Cara. "Americana Taking Shape." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 01
Apr. 2008.
Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
"Glimcher gets some fresh air." ProQuest. Lebhar-Friedman, Inc., 11 22 2013. Web. 24 Mar
2014.