At the intersection of architecture and pop culture there is an interesting observation about color. More specifically… where did it all disappear to? From office space to retail locations, vibrant colors that once celebrated uniqueness have been dulled down to flat tones of gray and beige. Auto dealer’s lots are full of black, white, and gray vehicles – hardly a red or a blue in sight. If you look around, you’ll see how colors have faded from public view.
Fast food restaurants are one of the more prominent examples. They used to stand out with unique architecture and vibrant color schemes. Today you could pass right by not noticing it was a restaurant, let alone one that used to stand out from the others. Gone are the vibrant playgrounds and the sunny atriums. In their place are ordering screens awaiting your credit card.
They always say, “follow the money.” In this case it’s the lack of funding that’s making so many commercial spaces bland boxy structures. From a construction standpoint, these bland boxes are much cheaper to build, and the zoning & permit process is much simpler. When you remove non-standard elements there are fewer community approval issues.
From owners to builders, everyone wants to save money. They used to say, “you have to spend money to make money.” Maybe not so much in today’s economy.
How many times have you seen a former Friendly’s location repurposed for another business? You recognize the original immediately. Same was true for Howard Johnson’s orange roofs that began to house other tenants after their decline. Until recently, there were remnants of former A&P grocery stores on the Cape.
Part of the new bland boxy model caters to resale value. When your architectural; style is associated with a specific brand or business, it’s harder to sell such properties when the time comes.
We’ve reached an era in which companies extract every dollar from the daily operations and their patrons. They’re even creating architecture that cuts costs.
Every time I see a house painted in a bright vibrant pink or blue – I smile. It reminds me of a time when being unique was iconic. These days many people feel that corporate cost-cutting is not leading to better products, services, or experiences. At the same time these corporations are making record profits. Let’s bring back some of that color!
By CapeCod.com staff
