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Space and Culture
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"The Best Surprise Is No Surprise"

Architecture, Imagery, and Omnitopia Among American Mom-and-Pop Motels

Andrew Wood

San José State University, wooda{at}email.sjsu.edu

This essay explores the critical role of motels as markers of transition between idiosyncratic locales and homogenized chains. Toward that end, the essay expands on a newly proposed concept of omnitopia—an intersection of architectural design and human practice through which distinct places become nodes of a perpetual continuum—by focusing on the construction of "place" in roadside motels. From the analysis of omnitopia found in early-20th-century motels, three practices emerge: dislocation through vernacular architecture, fragmentation through iconic signage, and mutability through roadside simulacra.

Key Words: architecture • gaze • motel • omnitopia • simulacra • theming • tourism • vernacular

Space and Culture, Vol. 8, No. 4, 399-415 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1206331205279356
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