The default approach to the articulation of buildings at the current moment is the SHIFTED ELEVATION, where the transparent bays of a curtain wall or apertures in a solid wall jump left or right, change proportion, group and ungroup. This shifting seeks to obscure the structural grid that organizes buildings into rational and efficient bays. The SHIFTED ELEVATION seeks to generate texture and complexity through a superficial treatment.

The systems of shifting are not all equal, with some subtly playing with a readable module. Others seems more random and chaotic. The SHIFTED ELEVATION is a further sign of the continued diminishing of architectural order and its integration with space, structure, and tectonic articulation. Instead the SHIFTED ELEVATION reinforces the primacy of the decorated shed, with its gratuitous complexity and focus on the marketing gimmick. The overly frenzied and unsettled spirit of this current architecture unfortunately reflects our current moment more than we would wish.