Burnett Plaza: where human-centered architecture almost gets the shaft.
Poking out over the squat, one-story barbecue joint in the photo above is a relentlessly iterative office building, with not a single variation in its fenestration across all thirty-nine of its upper floors. Windows look the exact same, row after row after row. The only exception is the far left and far right of this
Brand refresh: Barnes & Noble goes on a tear. No books destroyed in the process.
A quick look at the photo above and it should be obvious that something’s afoot at this particular location of Barnes and Noble. Incidentally, I only heavily scrutinized a Barnes and Noble once before, also in Maryland, when I noticed a repositioning of merchandise within the interior just a few months ago. This time, the
Castle on a cul-de-sac: homes like this will always exist. But that doesn’t mean they’ll survive.
It’s rare that I feature two back-to-back articles on the same subject, and even rarer that the subject includes massive, opulent houses. But these houses—each one a castle, or what we would contemporaneously (and pejoratively) call “McMansions”—are the backdrop for what ultimately is an entirely different focal point. Over on Geist Reservoir, in the northeastern
Man cave goes luxurious…and literal.
When it comes to residential real estate, amenities can fall in and out of saliency in a matter of months. By 2023 standards, it’s hard to believe that galley kitchens or intimate parlor rooms might have been popular at one time. Those of us of a certain age can recall an era when full-length mirrors
Bel Air and phantom storefronts: hiding the vacancy with little gems.
First-time visitors to the town of Bel Air, Maryland aren’t likely to be surprised by what they see—at this point, a well-kept small-town main street isn’t exactly a rarity—but chances are it’ll still charm them. After all, Bel Air is a distant suburb of Baltimore – Charm City. It’s the seat of government for Harford
Al fresco platforms: expanding café dining to…former parking spaces? Permanently?
It’s been a mere two weeks since I explored the sacrifice of on-street parking spaces for transportation enhancements in a Washington DC neighborhood. And here I go at it again. Why should I delve into the subject so soon? Well, this time around, it’s not quite identical: instead of bike lanes, the enhancement is more
Chestnut Hill switching station: a subtle shield for an ugly use, or a waste of space?
Public utilities are a tough nut to crack, especially in urban settings, where the population density is greater—and so, consequently, is the demand for electricity, gas, water, wastewater, fiber optics, and so forth. With higher density comes greater intricacy of the conduit; there’s more of it, and it must be more economical with its use
Lock box: the security safeguard in a low-trust era.
The photo below captures an item so banal that I don’t think it has yet entered popular conversation, and I’m not sure it ever will. It isn’t controversial to my knowledge, and it’s hardly conspicuous enough to arouse ire for visual blight. Yet. Virtually everyone understands why they exist, or if they don’t understand, it
Protected bike lanes: a plush solution for a pedestrian problem.
Never afraid to rouse the ire of urban activists by challenging their orthodoxy, I’m going to give it a try in what will remain my current stomping grounds at least a little while longer: Washington DC. Yes, even amidst all the eggheads around these parts, and despite a generally commendable urban fabric (most of DC
King of Jeans revisited: South Philly’s goofiest sign becomes its most durable meme.
I’m running out of days in this month, and the last few posts took more time than I expected, so I’ll conclude May with a brief hat-tip to one of the greatest unintentional memes that the City of Brotherly Love has to offer, and it gave it to the world long before the concept of
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Burnett Plaza: where human-centered architecture almost gets the shaft.
Poking out over the squat, one-story barbecue joint in the photo above is a relentlessly iterative office building, with not a single variation in its fenestration across all thirty-nine of its upper floors.
Brand refresh: Barnes & Noble goes on a tear. No books destroyed in the process.
A quick look at the photo above and it should be obvious that something’s afoot at this particular location of Barnes and Noble. Incidentally, I only heavily scrutinized a Barnes and Noble once
Castle on a cul-de-sac: homes like this will always exist. But that doesn’t mean they’ll survive.
It’s rare that I feature two back-to-back articles on the same subject, and even rarer that the subject includes massive, opulent houses. But these houses—each one a castle, or what we would contemporaneously
Man cave goes luxurious…and literal.
When it comes to residential real estate, amenities can fall in and out of saliency in a matter of months. By 2023 standards, it’s hard to believe that galley kitchens or intimate parlor
Bel Air and phantom storefronts: hiding the vacancy with little gems.
First-time visitors to the town of Bel Air, Maryland aren’t likely to be surprised by what they see—at this point, a well-kept small-town main street isn’t exactly a rarity—but chances are it’ll still
Al fresco platforms: expanding café dining to…former parking spaces? Permanently?
It’s been a mere two weeks since I explored the sacrifice of on-street parking spaces for transportation enhancements in a Washington DC neighborhood. And here I go at it again. Why should I
Chestnut Hill switching station: a subtle shield for an ugly use, or a waste of space?
Public utilities are a tough nut to crack, especially in urban settings, where the population density is greater—and so, consequently, is the demand for electricity, gas, water, wastewater, fiber optics, and so forth.
Lock box: the security safeguard in a low-trust era.
The photo below captures an item so banal that I don’t think it has yet entered popular conversation, and I’m not sure it ever will. It isn’t controversial to my knowledge, and it’s
Protected bike lanes: a plush solution for a pedestrian problem.
Never afraid to rouse the ire of urban activists by challenging their orthodoxy, I’m going to give it a try in what will remain my current stomping grounds at least a little while
King of Jeans revisited: South Philly’s goofiest sign becomes its most durable meme.
I’m running out of days in this month, and the last few posts took more time than I expected, so I’ll conclude May with a brief hat-tip to one of the greatest unintentional
Recent Comments
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- on Architectural forensics in Takoma Park: what was the original use of that cool little corner building?: “That part of the building was a bank where I had my first savings account, and kept the money I…” Sep 22, 18:53
- on Drive-thru pharmacy: a tactic to prevent merchandise shrinkage…by shrinking?: “yes sad day in the hood 😂” Sep 17, 23:10
- on Drive-thru pharmacy: a tactic to prevent merchandise shrinkage…by shrinking?: “Good question. There’s a Dollar Tree, Dollar General, and Family Dollar all at the same general interchange. All within a…” Sep 16, 08:30
- on North Fillmore in Arlington: a street whose traffic flow changes mid-block.: “Yeah, I’d say you’re often right. This is definitely an area where drivers need to use extra caution. There are…” Sep 16, 08:17
- on North Fillmore in Arlington: a street whose traffic flow changes mid-block.: “Personally I’m a big fan of “unpredictability” in urban street design .. provide a natural cue for drivers to slow…” Sep 15, 16:31
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