McArchitecture's New Facade

"For better and for worse â€" mostly worse â€" McDonald's has had a profound effect on the American landscape. Its golden (actually yellow) arches, it's said, are a brand icon more recognized than the Christian cross. Its cookie-cutter buildings have turned vast stretches of suburbia into seas of asphalt. Its very name has become synonymous with garish design, which is why we call those bloated houses that cram far too much square footage onto tiny suburban lots 'McMansions.'"

"And now McDonald's is playing a controversial, high-stakes game of architectural catch-up, transforming its harsh, plastic-heavy interiors into soft, earth-toned places where you might linger with your laptop in an upholstered chair beneath a stylish pendant light."

"While the changes in the company's makeover vary widely in quality, they nonetheless speak volumes about a broader cultural shift: It is no longer acceptable, at least in many places, to dumb down design."