Intro // A Particular Brand of Building

Here I intend to showcase the best and most interesting American commercial architecture with particular emphasis on corporate retail. In many ways this series of posts will be an ode to Venturian postmodern ideologies, but many companies are eschewing the “decorated shed” for a more integrated, design-oriented approach to edificial marketing that constitutes a more thoughtful response to urban conditions than the traditional American strip-mall, fast-food restaurant, etc. The posts about urban spas and garage reuse can be thought of as precursors to this topic.

^^^Target, Atlantic Station, Atlanta, GA. The actual Target logo is tiny, but the architecture is successful in conveying the brand image. Below, some Green features - plantings, trees, outdoor furniture, permeable surfaces.

The iconography of American commerce in a historical sense is tied to our automotive culture. Rather than acting as agents of restraint, bureaucrats, city planners and architects yielded to, and in several instances created, the changes in lifestyle brought about by the car’s popularity. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 established the interstate highway system, replacing the train as the primary means of long-distance ground transportation and connecting major cities to satellite towns called suburbs, which became the new standard of American urbanism. With the expansion of infrastructure, the Modern movement, which had taken hold in Europe decades earlier, began to flourish in American art and architecture.

Circumstance, meanwhile, forced businesses to adapt to these changes. Centers of American commerce shifted from town squares to mega-malls. Brand imagery became increasingly important as companies sought new ways of attracting transient suburban customers. Billboards, marquees, and other forms of signage, whose exaggerated scale and aggressive graphics were necessary persuasive devices, came to represent the physical division between businesses and the fast-moving traveling consumer. Cities that embraced the shift, like Las Vegas, a mere rail stopover before the construction of nearby Hoover Dam in 1935, seemed to emerge overnight and attract immediate attention.

Only recently, though, in conjunction with the new wave of "Green" architecture and the rise of New Urbanism, have companies seemed to realize that buildings themselves can function in appearance, usage, and efficiency as effective marketing tools and urban components. The decorated shed type, which is revered by opponents of the sterility and the imposed morality of early modernism is, among the public, quickly becoming a disrespected anachronism that harkens to our dependence on fossil fuels. [I realize my post a few weeks ago about transforming sterile modernist buildings and mundane urban facades into colorful landmarks is an example of the opposing viewpoint. I believe there's room for both, because sometimes there simply is no opportunity to do anything more to an existing building. Not to mention, and contrary to what the title of this blog might suggest, I don't love all modernist buildings - some are pretty bland. In new commercial construction, however, where budget, material, and existing conditions are less determinant, I endorse the integrated architectural approach.]

Some companies have been extremely successful in integrating architecture into their brand identities. I will profile each as I come across it, and you're welcome to suggest other examples. As always, I pose a question to you: if a store has great architecture, are you more likely to buy the products contained within?