Mercado, ASU Campus

Mercado, ASU Campus, Phoenix, Arizona ⇑

Like fine “Corinthian” leather in Chrysler K Car upholstery (remember that?) the Mercado exudes vague hints of architectural influences (is it Mayan, Castilian, Mission . . .) in a shopping mall form. The Mercado is actually a failed shopping mall converted into college campus. Nevertheless, I like it! There is not much daring architecture in downtown Phoenix outside of some nice work for ASU (Arizona State University). In fact, Phoenix is the most generic looking city I have seen in the US. So the Mercado is cutting edge architecture when compared to most of Phoenix’s commercial structures. Anyhow, it looks great when mated with a bluer-than-blue Phoenix sky and a trio of palm trees on a hot summer day.

Click on photo for larger view. Photo by Donald Peterson.