Since I am sharing with you the most outstanding places of architectural interest in my city, I feel that I have become a kind of urban explorer, but not of abandoned places, obviously. I've mentioned before that the city of Maracay is small, so the structures that are attractive to post in this community are not nearly infinite, but every time I dedicate myself to think and investigate what sites I can visit to document them photographically, I always end up finding one, so for now my hometown will continue to be the source of my publications in the Architecture+Design community.
So, what I bring you now in Hyper Jumbo Mall, a mall that in its time occupied the place as the best in the whole city. Although it is not very big compared to the competitor of that time, Las Americas Mall, this one is more modern, with an eye-catching structure and with much more efficient services, so that competition was not determined by which mall was the biggest, but by which one was more comfortable, advanced and attractive.
Both offer basically the same, fast food, clothing stores, supermarkets, movie theaters, among other attractions, but it was always better to go to the Hyper Jumbo Mall even though the access through public transportation is not the most comfortable, if you do not have a car or motorcycle, you must walk a long way. This last thing I mention might be frowned upon by you since who wants to walk, but in spite of that I still prefer to go to the Hyper Jumbo.
As you could see in the previous photos, the main entrance is striking in itself, it has 3 triangular points in which the central one is the largest and is supported by a column, gray panels prevail which provide a very sober look, while the glasses are dark blue, I think the contrast between gray and blue is quite attractive and gives a futuristic look. On both sides of the entrance we can see green areas that, although small, generate a very interesting visual balance.
Both to the right and to the left of the main entrance, there are sectors that become the bulk of the structure and although these are simple as far as construction is concerned, they are in very good condition and complement the essence of the place quite well, I think that beyond the exotic look of the entrance, the rest is quite normal.
Once we enter the mall, we find a large cylindrical glass dome, it provides a significant amount of natural light and generates the feeling that you are outdoors in a large space. Most of the glass is white or transparent, but at the beginning and end of the cylinder there is colored glass that when reflected directly by the sun generates a beautiful effect.
I would say that the rest of the internal areas are quite simple, they are composed of clothing stores, mostly, food court, the cinema and a common area to rest with very nice wooden seats, in the center of these there are small palm trees and bushes that give a quite natural visual aspect.
There is also another dome that is tubular on which rest some letters and the Hyper Jumbo logo, in the central part there are hanging some colorful elements that look pretty good, from below the view quite striking.
This mall is not even the shadow of what it used to be in terms of economic activity, you see very few people and there are also many closed stores, but I guess the economic crisis caused such effects, besides that now the most attractive mall has become the Parque Los Aviadores (the largest in Venezuela) and a couple of blocks away they built another very nice one. So, it was a pleasure to share with you the spaces of this mall that once was the best in the city. A big hug to all of you!
Tools used and credits:
- Photos: Samsung Galaxy A32
- Translator: DeepL Translate
- Location on Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/LNDB3iQCVNdVR1Zi8