7transformations

Brake Stop, on San Mateo, Albuquerque.

Circle K, on Yale, Albuquerque.

T here was once a string of Circle K stores across the southwestern states. It wasn’t very long ago— maybe the 60s. The buildings themselves were simple boxes with a cantile- vered roof canopy; the canopy alone defining the icon. At some point the chain downsized, and the buildings, banished members of a Borg- like structure, have found new uses over the years. The strip is all about economy. In times of eco- nomic failure, there is no way that a building that could be reused would be torn down and replaced. In the occasional case, these buildings are still fulfilling their original function. For the most part, the buildings were abandoned by the chain, which then built larger stores located further apart from one another. The presence of these original Circle K build- ings provides telling bits of information about the relatively recent history of ex-urban loca- tions. It is true that the history of the strip is more a history of economy than one of archi- tecture. But economy shapes cities and ulti- mately shapes the lives of all of us. The re-use of a chain of commercial multiples allows some- thing that was once repetitive and ubiquitous to become local and specific. 

Motor Mart, on Cerrillos, Santa Fe.

CWA Headquarters, on Truman, Albuquerque.

Deirdre Harris works in Santa Fe at SOBA Design.

Hi-Lo-Ma Chinese Restaurant, on Menaul, Albuquerque.

Karate School, on Morris, Albuquerque.

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