Now Hiring: McArchitect

摘要

McDonald's seeks an architect director to steer building standards and site planning for its vast empire, which spans more than 100 countries and 34,000 locations. Don't laugh! Mickey D's has a more distinguished architectural pedigree than you'd imagine. Cooper Union professor Grahame Shane, for example, traces the history of pop-up architecture back to the wood-framed buildings that housed the first McDonald's restaurants. Those were situated in commercial strips that abutted industrial production-line housing tracts. Just like public opinion on the McRib, the McDonald's typology evolves over time: from industrial satellites located near airports and factories and their attendant housing tracts to suburban staples such as drive-thru stores and strip-mall outlets.