On this day in 1931, the Big Duck opened.
This funky kiosk was the brainchild of duck farmer Martin Maurer, who thought a giant reinforced concrete building shaped like a duck was just the thing to advertise and sell his ducks and duck eggs, which was at the time a big thing for roadside retail.
What you’re about to read might feel like a scattered treasure hunt of ideas, but stick with me. By the end, we just might unearth a solid premise and tie it all back to the world of residential architecture.
During my studies, I came across this whimsical architectural style referred to as Anatidaeopomorphic. However, I suspect this term was invented as a playful counterpart to Anthropomorphic architecture, which involves attributing human-like characteristics to buildings, structures, and their elements.
Whatever it's called, she might have been just one more novelty act along with giant donuts and coffee pots, the famous Brown Derby, and the infamous Longaberger headquarters (two of them I've experienced in person), if it wasn't for Robert Venturi.
His groundbreaking book, Learning from Las Vegas (1977), famously categorized architecture into "ducks" (buildings that scream "LOOK AT ME, I'M A SYMBOL!") and "decorated sheds" (plain boxes with fancy signs).
It seems that Venturi loved poking fun at these over-the-top designs while celebrating the simpler aspects, such as the Flamingo Casino in Las Vegas.
The terms “Duck” and “Decorated Shed” were developed as a critique of Modernist architecture and as a means to analyze how buildings convey meaning and function.
Duck
- In a Duck, “the architectural systems of space, structure, and program are submerged and distorted by an overall symbolic form”.
- Examples include sculptural or expressive buildings where the architecture itself acts as a sign, such as the TWA Terminal at JFK Airport or the Statue of Liberty.
- Ducks are often unique, monumental, and sometimes whimsical, with their meaning embedded in their shape rather than applied decoration.
Decorated Shed
- The “Decorated Shed” is a building where the structure is straightforward and functional, and meaning is conveyed through applied ornamentation, signage, or decoration rather than the building’s form.
- These buildings are typically simple, utilitarian boxes that gain their identity and communicate their purpose through external elements, such as signs, graphics, or facades.
- Venturi and Scott Brown argued that most commercial architecture—such as the buildings along the Las Vegas Strip—are decorated sheds, where the function is clear only because of the signage, not the shape of the building itself.
- This approach allows for flexibility, as the sign or decoration can be updated as the building’s use changes.
So, here's what I'm thinking.
Misguided it may be, but this prompts me to think about the shed in my backyard (metaphorically, my HOA doesn't allow sheds), and how it has become the Decorated Shed, literally.
During the pandemic, a Facebook group popped up, and thanks to some friends I have in the UK, I was invited to join the Garden Shed Pubs & Nightclubs UK group.
Locked down from their typical social life, Brits began converting their sheds into pubs and posting pictures on Facebook.
The movement has shifted from conversions to new construction designed to replicate the look of conversions.
It's not only happening in the UK, but also in the US, where backyard sheds are being transformed into ADUs, man caves, she sheds, or perhaps just more aesthetically pleasing sheds.
Last Fall, This Old House published 7 Shed Designs You'll Love. Each was designed using LP Outdoor Building Solutions (not a sponsor, but they are discussing attending the D+B Asheville Conference). Each has different uses than being a "shed."
This research has prompted me to reconsider the design of a new pool house I'm working on for a home I originally designed in 2018. Am I going against the grain by wanting it to feel like a natural extension of the original house?
I also feel like...
...all this is causing me to view our "typical" home styles as "Ducks."
Prominent entryways, steeply pitched roofs, especially those front-facing garage doors, all scream "THIS IS A HOUSE."
Did Mies van der Rohe get it right, according to Venturi, with his Farnsworth House? Is it a home or an office building? Only the furniture on the deck (i.e, the decoration) tells me it's a house.
All of The New American Homes of the past decade would fit this mold. Looking at the rear elevation of the 2026 TNAH, is it a restaurant, a nightclub, or someone's home? In truth, it will serve as a dedicated private event venue.
I warned you!
Yes, I'm all over the road with this, wondering how today's Duck-iversary applies to day-to-day residential architecture. 🤔
My mind keeps gravitating back to a quote from one of our most recently inducted Fellows.
There are two types of home designs, the kind you win awards for, and the kind you make money on." ~ Allen Beaumont, FAIBD.
With that in mind, I almost hope that my two 2025 ARDA entries don't win. Using Allen's logic, they might go on to be hugely successful stock-plan sellers. 💰💰💰
Wouldn't it be great if they were both?
We will all know on August 2nd when the 2025 winners are announced at the D+B Asheville Conference.
There's still plenty of room. The hotel room block is about 60% full
However, time is running out; the discounted room rate will close on June 30, 2025.
Until then, go forth and design boldly,
Steve Mickley, Executive Director
Email: steve.mickley@AIBD.org
Let's chat: AIBD.org/meetsteve
PS - Also on this day, in 1988, our Communications Director was born. Send Garrett an email in celebration.
PPS - There was one more thought I had on this subject, so I shared it with my AI rendering assistant Hauska.io (you can find the link to it in your AIBD member account).
