🎵Ba da ba ba bah! It’s Brave New World.🎵
We used to have the only McDonald’s (that I know of) that was in a building designed by Eiffel.
They “modernised” it last year.
Corpo interior designers should be hunted, and theblicenses should fund repairing damage they die.
Wow, which piece of shit did they bribe for that? They completely destroyed the interior of the building. Isn’t there any heritage protection?
AFAIK it was part of a larger restoration of the whole building complex (this is the Budapest Nyugati railway station), and the global redesign of McDonalds. They justified it by saying that the architecture is closer to the original - the lower level only became part of it when they built the McDonalds in 1990, before that it was a separate diner for the poors in third class. The furniture is default McDonalds.
The overall restoration on the building at large is not bad per se, but they basically destroyed a symbol of the Hungarian 90s - 00s. This was the place where if you lived in Budapest and got wasted, you could get some nutrition in the city center, and it wasn’t full of tourists because they didn’t think that the railway station buffet was so good.
BTW the local franchisee is trying to cater more to a “fast casual” crowd rather than the bare minimum, so a McDonalds in Hungary has a menu three times as long as one in the Netherlands for example. All I’m saying is that it was a nice place considering. Sic transit gloria mundi I guess.
Thank you for the interesting context!
The place was a part of my early youth, I was sad to see it go.
Can I have my fries tho you were holding them those last three paragraphs no keep talking tho this is interesting
Some of that is from white balance making the top picture look warmer, but even accounting for that, it’s a tragedy.
From beautiful 19th century architecture to boring modern office lounge. Not everything needs to be updated for current trends.
My college did this. It might have been due to bedbugs. They swapped the cozy built in furniture with this weird vinyl stuff. Bugs can’t get into the seams.
Instead of McCafe, it should be “McSoylent”.
Excellent suggestion. Here you go:
Would you like a 64 oz McEnergy with your McSoylent?
“I’ve exhausted my monthly ration allowance for McEnergy, so I’ll have to pass today.”
deleted by creator
Wouldn’t be allowed here. 30 minute limit on the dinibg rooms. With purchase.
Inside the top one, you can hear screams regularly going like this:
No, please no, I don’t wanna fucking die! No! Please no, you fucking fucking bastards! AAAAAH, IT HURTS, IT FUCKING HURTS! AAAAAAAAAHHH, MY ARMS, MY FUCKING ARMS, YOU FUCKING BASTARDS!
I shudder to think what the 1908s and 1970s McDs looked like in the US.
needs to change the sign and logo to be more brutalist as well
You’re entirely right, but you might be writing cheques my 5-year-old phone can’t cash.
Ah yes. Because we all know that dystopia is when dull burger.
For me, it was just a silly metaphor, but you might be onto something:
“Fasting is eating. Refusing is ordering. Salad is burger.” ~ George Orwell
“I have very vivid dreams and nightmares, and my biggest fear is of some kind of dystopian future where we’re advanced in every way except in our burgers.” ~ Bryce Dallas Howard
“Dystopian novels help people process their fears about what the future burger might look like; further, they usually show that there is always hope, even in the bleakest future burger.” ~ Lauren Oliver
“Who controls the past controls the burger. Who controls the present controls the past.” ~ George Orwell
McDonalds: Fuck you I’m eating! / Home of the Extra Bigass Fries
I was so sure that movie was hyperbole.
McNormandy opens June 2026
Don’t give them any more ideas.
Brutalist fast food restaurants? Don’t threaten me with a good time. Fuckin love me some brutalism
If it were borne out of a progressive, socialist democracy, I’d be on board. Auth-right brutalist fast food would be a horror show.
Upton Sinclair has entered the chat
Upton Sinclair has left the chat in frustration.
“I warned you, but did you listen?!”
It’s going to suck to be forced to eat there. But what can you do, the ziabatsu commands it.
Yeah, we’re nearly back there. I didn’t have revisiting feudalism on my bingo card.
I’m actually going to say that I think designing a restaurant for disastrously unhealthy fast food in a way that makes it look and feel like a playground shouldn’t be legal, and I’m happy to see them look as dull and unappealing as possible to young children.
The ongoing health crisis is so severe in no small part because of things like that 1990s picture getting kids addicted to trash. This post feels like a boomer from the 1960s yearning for the days of Joe Camel.
it’s not about mc d’s. almost every business is doing this. Everything fun, colorful, expressive and artistic MUST go. All must be replaced with homogeneous minimalism.
mc d’s is used as the example because they led the way with this shit.
Fair point! I entirely agree with that perspective in other areas. If we’re using this as an example, then I understand why, but I actually think this is one example where the change is a tangibly good thing.
That’s what makes using mc d’s as the example is a bad choice, but nobody consulted me about it.
I also read that cars turned less colorful since 1970s.
And a colleague told me that he read that skirts got longer on average since 1970, but idk about that one.
Also i noticed that most pop music these days are break-up songs.
Really shows you the mood of society.
I recently watched a (german) video about the exact development of McDonalds depicted in the meme and it made me realize how much of the experience had been catered towards children and how I felt when I went there more often (or at all) when I was younger.
Interesting take. Maybe they should be designed like an art gallery of various medical office styles. Kids would hate that.
Good thing they dont target children like in the past anymore tbh. The flag pole is dystopian af though
It should have been replaced by a 20mm turret.
Respectfully, I must disagree. I feel like children need a place where they can be free to unwind after their 16-hour factory shifts and maybe grab a beer.
Dystopian? The flag that waved over this?
A new McDonald’s commercial has a burger stolen and the character shouts “it’s the hamburger thief”
Cultural erasure
Hold on there’s a McDonalds I remember going to, and I’m trying to think if it was in Scotland or England, but we stopped off there and the fucking place looked near enough like a villain’s lair.
I have to know where this is. What resources do you require to find it?
idk and I’m raking my brains to find out where it is. All I remember is that it was in a service area/retail park somwhere in Scotland/Northwestern England, could literally be anywhere between Inverness and Lancaster.
UPDATE
I found it, I found it! It’s this one right here. It looked more menacing in my memory for some reason. We must’ve been going to Foyers (Loch Ness) at the time!
Still, that’s really cool! There’s something particularly funny about a McDonald’s in Scotland. It feels like a Taco Bell in Spain.
I mean, McDonald is a Scottish name, but McDonald’s doesn’t sell Scottish Food.
