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The decorative shed, or architectural ‘duck’ is a phenomenon in architecture that has slowly disappeared from modern western development. The term originated from Learning From Las Vegas, done by Venturi, Izenour and Brown. Part of the study looked into the difference in signage of buildings. In their findings they determined that commercial street signage fundamentally came in two fashions: buildings with separate, large signage, and the decorative shed, where the building acts as the signage.

In my humble opinion, I love the architectural duck. I think it adds character to stagnant materials that we work with. By themselves, materials like concrete, brick and plaster are cold and hard, but it is the architect and the maker that breathes life into them. Obviously, not every building wants to be some type of bird. I do wonder what American interstates would look like if instead of having 30 fluorescent signs, there was a giant taco, a crown, and an actual house made from waffles. American streetscapes would have some interesting character…