FINDING IDENTITY

摘要

Visitors to San Jose, Costa Rica, will be surprised to discover that its streets, by and large, have no names. This characteristic―more associated with a budding, informal city than a bustling, congested capital―means that the city must be navigated via landmarks, mostly buildings. Typical directions might sound something like: "Two streets south of the theater, head toward the hospital, and make a left at the gas station." Given their added responsibility of serving as wayfinders, one might expect San Jose buildings to be especially distinctive. Instead, they are disappointingly dull and nondescript―low-rise, low-effort boxes that make desultory references to the country's colonial past, agrarian roots, and tropical setting.