A Side of Modern With That Burger?

Next time you get a burger in Chicago it will probably come with a side of Modern architecture. The style is emerging as the default choice for national burger chains ranging from McDonald’s, to Wendy’s, to M Burger and beyond. Other fast food chains like Panda Express and Dunkin’ Donuts are jumping on the Modernist bandwagon as well. What is it about Modernism that makes it the new go-to architectural style for selling fast food?

To answer this question we might begin with Modernism’s maturation through a cycle of thesis, antithesis and synthesis to become what may amount to today’s default, retail architectural style. Arriving in the first half of the 20th century as a rejection of neo-classicism, Modern architecture grew in dominance to become, by the 1960’s, the choice in commercial architecture, and was manifest in residential construction and furnishing with Mid-Century Modern. However, by the 1980’s the antithesis of Modernism, Post-Modernism, muscled its way onto the scene as a rejection of all things Modern. Receding as quickly as it peaked, Post-Modernism gave way to a new, re-energized Modernist architecture, a mature synthesis of both design and technical execution. Through this synthesis, Modernism has once again become a dominant force, ready and able to sell anything and everything.

Another factor in the choice of Modernism to sell burgers is a consumer base well trained in the Modern style by a long list of home furnishing retailers. A list that began, at least for me, with Design Research on Brattle Street in Cambridge Massachusetts during the 1960’s and 70’s, and was followed over the last four decades by chains such as Crate and Barrel, Design Within Reach and the style hammer that is Ikea. For consumers, Modernism has become the common vernacular, a well-understood, accessible aesthetic. Add to this an emerging consumer base for whom design is an important attribute in all phases of their purchasing experience, and you have a vast pool of potential customers who are attracted to this Modernist style, and who like to find their fast food in a Modernist box.

An argument may also be made that the philosophical underpinnings of Modernism are useful signifiers for chains seeking to differentiate themselves through the quality and selection of their food. While the form these newly built/renovated outlets exhibit may not hew exactly to the “form follows function”, “less is more” and “truth in materials” ideals espoused by the pioneers of Modernism, the overall simplicity of form and minimalism of decoration employed do imply a Modernist devotion. As restaurants seek to move the focus to the quality of their food in order to appeal to a more discerning clientele, Modernism is the perfect style to communicate that. It is free of extraneous elements and décor, possessing a simplicity that focuses with clarity on what is important, in this case the quality and importance of the burgers for sale. Frequently this simplicity of form even extends to menus with relatively limited sets of offerings, but not always. While I am not the first to note the difference between McDonald’s menu and that of chains such as M Burger, the contrast is striking indeed.

A somewhat more cynical, but perhaps not altogether inaccurate argument, is that Modernist style structures are relatively inexpensive to construct. At a basic level, it is cheaper to build a rectangle than a circle.  More right angles and less crappy décor screwed to the walls can save some money on the construction bill.

So does all of this explain why your next fast food trip might take place in a Modernist temple to the burger? Is it possible to sell more burgers to a design-enabled consumer with an architectural style that uses simplicity of form as a signifier of higher quality food? Or are we just seeing the emergence of a new, inexpensive, default architectural retail style that will look as dated and stale in ten years as an old Playland does today?