We drive to neighborhoods to find businesses, public buildings, and homes. It’s not something we think much about. We go to websites to find information or buy products, or both. We may like the look of a particular neighborhood, shopping center, house, or website, but we usually don’t ask ourselves why.
Nor do we ask what these structures are telling us. They’re telling us something, and that message is usually by design. The message may not be obvious, and you may not know you’ve received it, but at some level you have. Either you liked the message and keep coming back, or you didn’t like it and don’t, or else return only when you must.
What’s the building in the photo above telling us? It appears to lean forward. Could that be a message to visitors?
Welcoming and Asserting Presence
In fact, it is. I think leaning forward can be seen as a welcoming gesture, although that was not architect I.M. Pei’s intent. He made the lower stories of Dallas City Hall smaller to make them easier to navigate, Galinsky.com reports. The fewer number of offices on lower stories make offices easier for visitors to find. (That’s welcoming in my book.)
Galinsky.com says that Pei designed the bulky upper stories to “[allow] the relatively low-rise building to ‘assert’ its presence with respect to the cluster of high-rise office towers.” That’s not exactly welcoming, but it could give visitors a sense of the building’s importance and the trustworthiness of city business conducted within. The implied message? You are welcome here, and you can trust us in our business dealings with you.
A Larger Message
Pei had another larger message in mind. He said:
“When you do a city hall, it has to convey an image of the people, and this had to represent the people of Dallas… The people I met – rich and poor, powerful and not so powerful – were all very proud of their city. They felt that Dallas was the greatest city there was, and I could not disappoint them.”
I would not have guessed or understood this message without the help of Wikipedia, which reports that Pei designed the building to meet City of Dallas requirements to change its image after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in November 1963. Dallas was then known as the “City of Hate.” It’s now proudly known as “The Big ‘D’.” Did Pei’s design change perception? I would say yes.
More Examples to Come, Please Comment
I’ve more examples to show you and will do so in future posts. For now, consider the message of this website, which presenter Jared Spool shared in his presentation at the Big (D)esign Conference, May 28-20, 2010, in Dallas.
What is “Yvette’s” telling us? Please use Comments to express your opinion. I look forward to hearing from you!
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