Did Dairy Queen Pay Amazon for Its Product Placement?

I’m using images from the DesignBoom article since Amazon must have forgotten to send them to me. That must have been it… I’m a Prime member, what more do you want from me?

Recently I have been reading old Ada Louise Huxtable articles compiled in Goodbye History, Hello Hamburger and in the eponymous article she ends it with the reimagining of the lyrics to “America the Beautiful”.

America the beautiful,

Let me sing of thee;

Burger King and Dairy Queen

From sea to shining sea. 

While this was in response to demolishing of historic buildings to replace them with fast food restaurants, I think it works on so many levels here. Amazon is quintessential to American culture these days and NBBJ designed a building that is closer to a soft serve ice cream cone than any design I’ve ever seen. The nearby Pentagon and slightly further US Capitol are some of the most historic buildings in the entire United States. Is there any level that this quote doesn’t work on?

Even though I have critiqued an NBBJ design before, I am a bit shocked at this design. I like a lot of NBBJ projects. The Columbus Metropolitan North Library Branch (except for that super thicc column with the three elegant diagonal columns which surround it. It’s like watching three ballerinas dancing around a body builder) is a pleasure to explore. The Amazon Headquarters in Seattle is a flourishing experiment in form and nature. What on Earth is this design doing in Washington DC?

The form is… well… it’s not good. It’s like the client came and asked for the Jimmy Neutron haircut.

I don’t think the absurd renderings with it peaking over the shoulder of every other building is helpful, either. Why are we always being watched? This is something I already associate with Amazon (Alexa, stop listening).

If you ignore the corkscrew, the strip of nature that runs down the facade is inspired. NBBJ has stated that this slope would be covered with flora found in the Blue Ridge mountains, giving 360 degree views of nature without ever having to leave your desk. If the glazing stays as transparent and non-reflective as the renderings indicate, it might feel less like Amazon is watching you and you are watching Amazon. This has been attempted before by Norman Foster at the German Parliament building, but I remain skeptical that it functions as conceptually intended (looking at politicians through an oculus does little to show you their intentions).

NBBJ has also stated “This isn’t just about work. It’s about how you interact with your community,” according to WaPo, but given Amazon’s history with its workers…

It remains to be seen whether they actually interact with the community, or totally displace it. There have been some measures to secure low income housing in the area, but prices have still skyrocketed since the project was announced.

The buildings not shaped like poop emojis, are well designed crystalline forms with subtle variations in materiality and texture. Given that the area is named “Crystal City,” I appreciate this bit of poetic gymnastics.

Further critique will have to wait until it is built and I see it for myself. Only then will we see whether the design is executed as NBBJ and Amazon have conceived or the experience is served soft.