Westfield's New Event Space is Custom Tailored for SF

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The mall concept is evolving, and Westfield San Francisco Centre is developing a new tactic to boost foot traffic and, ultimately, sales. It's called Bespoke and it's a collaborative effort between Westfield Corp.'s co-CEO Steven Lowy and Kevin McKenzie, the global chief digital officer in charge of SF-based Westfield Labs. The project launches in Spring 2015, and will convert empty space in the mall into an area for events, a shared workspace, and even a bouldering wall.

"It's natural to think, 'Why wouldn't we fill it with just more stores?'" Kevin tells SFGate. "But culturally, the company has decided to make space to rethink these experiences that we put in our space." And San Francisco can consider itself lucky to be the first to test this new 18,000-square-foot facility that will host fashion shows, pop-up shops, and hackathons. If all goes as planned, Bespoke may successfully change the cultural expectations for a mall. So stay tuned for what Westfield has already dubbed "the mall of the future."
· Westfield San Francisco Centre pioneers new mall concept: Bespoke [SFGate]
· Bespoke [Official Site]
· Hallelujah! Westfield Has Added Phone Charging Stations [Racked SF]