Driving in a rented car from Los Angeles International Airport to the hotel in Pasadena. Luckily, nature delights the visitor with a wonderful evening atmosphere. And there’s the after-hours commuter traffic, stop and go.
Stopping at the traffic lights next to this snack bar. What would a design theorist see in this picture? Further proof of the (only half) ironic hypothethis by Venturi, Scott Brown and Izenour from their study Learning from Las Vegas. Namely, the famous image with the huge caption “I am a monument.” The commercial product that has become a monument. And the decorated shed that, in terms of size, bears no relation to it. The location and the orientation of the structure chosen with regard to the passing road traffic – hoping for people to stop, at least for a coffee break. Even smarter: choosing the location where the traffic stops anyway, at the traffic lights. Learning from Los Angeles, 2019.
