Page 100 - David Bermant Foundation

MCDONALD’S WITH A DIFFERENCE BY SITEDouglas DavisDouglas Davis, architectural critic for Newsweek, in an article with the above heading in the December 24, 1984, issue, asked: “What happens when the hamburger giant puts itself in the hands of the most audacious architects alive?”“Radical reversal is precisely what SITE has done to McDonald’s standard design. While all the familiar parts are still there, they are dramatically altered. From afar, the new emporium seems poised for flight.Floating McDonald’s SITEThe roof floats weightlessly above the rest of the building. Parts of the façade are raised above the ground on unobtrusive steel piers; the resulting gaps are paneled with glass, exposing the feet and legs of customers inside to passers-by.“Dubbed the ‘Floating McDonald’s,’ the razzle- dazzle structure is attracting gapers and tourists. For the first time, McDonald’s is a magnet for devotees of architecture as well as of hamburgers.”“We refused to allow McDonald’s to put a store in our center unless they agreed to use one of our artist architects. Finally, after a great deal of negotiation they agreed to use the SITE organization.” —DWB99