In the Baltimore exurb of Aberdeen, Maryland, a brand-new strip mall sits on a corner at a moderately busy intersection, awaiting a tenant.Aberdeen XChange is not bad looking, as strip malls go. It aligns with contemporary architectural standards for this type of thing: its chief cladding materials consist of tan fake stucco (probably EIFS) and
Amidst the bleak outlook of American retail, the restaurant and hospitality industry has fared pretty well. Sure, in many respects, restaurants are a subcategory within retail, but compared to a clothing boutique or a bookstore, the business model uses different benchmarks for success, a widely different employment structure, and a different means of handling its
Carefully thought-out infrastructure—the type we actually notice because it’s so smartly conceived—is a rarity. But why? Sure, we might hold certain examples in high esteem; the Hoover Dam or Brooklyn Bridge are among the first that come to mind. But hundreds of millions of tons of civic infrastructure get dedicated, upgraded, or repaired every year,
A railing on a sidewalk may seem like a humble installation, in the context of the vast strip mall that surrounds it. And it is. But it does seem odd, almost random, based on the environment. Why does this twelve-foot stretch of sidewalk need two railings when nothing around it has them? A view from
While we’ve all seen “crime watch” or “neighborhood watch” placards upon entering a residential area, I couldn’t help but be a bit alarmed by the sign I saw as I swerved onto a local road in Paulsboro, New Jersey. Needless to say, it’s the upper of these two signs that merits consideration. Not only because
I can comfortably assert that cities are cooler than suburbs without providing any evidence to back it up. In 2018, it’s basically an axiom, so why bother explaining? Isn’t part of the mystique behind “cool” its tendency to evade easy definition? Few suburbanites would ever make any reasonable effort to argue that their municipalities are
I’ve encountered some pretty bleak suburban shopping districts in my day, but Delaware’s Tri-State Mall, just a stone’s throw from the Pennsylvania state line in the Philadelphia suburbs, ranks near the top. Notice I said “near the top”. It’s not number one: I can’t quite place it at the same tier as the Bannister Mall
If we view advertising while wearing our semiotic skullcaps, we’re bound to come up with widely different conclusions than when we espy a brand, passing along in a car, simply for its promotional message. But that’s the point. When it comes to ads, who cares about the explicit—what the ad is actually saying? It’s the
The placement of windows or other apertures in a building—what the wonks generally call fenestration—can and should respond powerfully to the environment. In an urban setting, a well-designed older building on a commercial main street will nearly always have bigger and bolder windows on the first floor, to showcase the retail or merchandise-oriented businesses, especially
I’ve spotted the storefront church numerous times in the past, both in strip malls and in conventional main streets. Rarely (if ever) have I described it with flattering words. It’s not that I harbor any hostility to the exercise of religion, nor do I feel that church plantings need to take place in conventional ecclesiastical
In the Baltimore exurb of Aberdeen, Maryland, a brand-new strip mall sits on a corner at a moderately busy intersection, awaiting a tenant.Aberdeen XChange is not bad looking, as strip malls go. It
Amidst the bleak outlook of American retail, the restaurant and hospitality industry has fared pretty well. Sure, in many respects, restaurants are a subcategory within retail, but compared to a clothing boutique or
Carefully thought-out infrastructure—the type we actually notice because it’s so smartly conceived—is a rarity. But why? Sure, we might hold certain examples in high esteem; the Hoover Dam or Brooklyn Bridge are among
A railing on a sidewalk may seem like a humble installation, in the context of the vast strip mall that surrounds it. And it is. But it does seem odd, almost random, based
While we’ve all seen “crime watch” or “neighborhood watch” placards upon entering a residential area, I couldn’t help but be a bit alarmed by the sign I saw as I swerved onto a
I can comfortably assert that cities are cooler than suburbs without providing any evidence to back it up. In 2018, it’s basically an axiom, so why bother explaining? Isn’t part of the mystique
I’ve encountered some pretty bleak suburban shopping districts in my day, but Delaware’s Tri-State Mall, just a stone’s throw from the Pennsylvania state line in the Philadelphia suburbs, ranks near the top. Notice
If we view advertising while wearing our semiotic skullcaps, we’re bound to come up with widely different conclusions than when we espy a brand, passing along in a car, simply for its promotional
The placement of windows or other apertures in a building—what the wonks generally call fenestration—can and should respond powerfully to the environment. In an urban setting, a well-designed older building on a commercial
I’ve spotted the storefront church numerous times in the past, both in strip malls and in conventional main streets. Rarely (if ever) have I described it with flattering words. It’s not that I