Inorganic chemistry

Metal "trees" at Williams New Seasons. (SOOC, one crop)

(Thanks to Fritz for the metal tree inspiration. I like New Zealand's version better.)

BRITTLE: DDW August 29 challenge

My first visit to this long awaited store, which opened yesterday with great fanfare, made my brain brittle!
These metal sculptures are just one example.

Fremont & Vancouver is a busy corner in inner NE Portland, with one-way north-south streets on either side, bounded by a major east-west street a block from the Fremont Bridge. Wouldn't it be a lovely place to plant some street trees? Something to brighten the vision of tired commuters and refresh the air? Wouldn't live trees be an especially appropriate choice for a store that purports to favor "natural" products?

These "trees" (palms? pineapples? philodendron? carrots?? your guess is as good as mine) are not only barren-looking, but they provide a brittle welcome to an impossible-to-navigate parking lot.

Design decisions like these, made once, affect the lives of thousands of customers and commuters every day. Inside the store, things were as advertised on the outside. Too big, too chilly, too full of things in boxes.

Brittle.

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Once again, I'm having trouble keeping up with my to-do list.
If you don't hear from me, that's why.
I so admire the courage of peopletwitcher in keeping comments off!
For now, I'm resisting that act of absolute surrender.