When the fast food chains began to be established in the United States after the Second World War, the focus was clear: to attract drivers who came riding on the roads. They therefore made sure to stand out, with strong colors and playful expressions.
It was before you could market yourself on television or social media, so architecture played a key role in branding.
“The buildings needed to be visually strong and bold. That included neon signs and the shape of the building,” says the architectural critic and historian Alan Hess to CNN.
That explains the change at McDonald’s
But since then a lot has happened.
Not only is clean and minimalist architecture more trendy – but most fast food restaurants today are also built to be space efficient and cheap to operate.
In the US, more and more people are also buying their food in drive-thru or through home delivery apps, instead of eating on site.
The playgrounds and party rooms that were developed to attract the attention of families in the 80s and 90s are therefore no longer needed to the same extent.