I wanted to pull stick n move's post about "garbage suburban office space" over here to this thread, because I have a confession to make: I love the '80s/'90s light PoMo office park aesthetic. Absolutely adore it. When I was growing up, these were the places I kind of aspired to work in, especially since so many computer/tech companies of the era had these exact types of buildings. Apple's Infinite Loop. Microsoft's old Redmond campus. Adobe's HQ. I know that inside they were largely banal cube farms, but something about the exteriors made me think of the future.
Almost my entire career has been spent in offices in decrepit 1940s/50s hospital buildings, so anytime I get to go to a 1990s office park it still somehow feels like a massive upgrade. My wife works at MathWorks, and while their Apple Hill campus has more recent buildings, every time I visit I feel like I'm stepping into Triumph of the Nerds.
Specifically to the Panera building above - I know the little adornment over the door is minor, but it also feels like the architects understood that this was a pretty boring place to be, so let's do something to make it more interesting and welcoming. And that's where PoMo's influence succeeds. Something to make it feel a little bit more like a place you actually want to be in.
