Of course, there are other reasons for this utilitarianism. Joe Boehning of FMSM Architects of Albuquerque elucidates. Shopping malls and retail spaces are all designed to be re-negotiated. They have to be flexible. Tenants come and go.
Rental space is all important.
Roger Basarich, AIA Albuquerque chapter president, further points out that historically, New Mexico hasn't had clients with large budgets to commission large corporate buildings-a factor that Marc Schiff of DCSW Architects in Albuquerque expands upon. New Mexico is a secondary market. We don't have world corporate headquarters here. The companies that come here build a storage unit or a branch. Obviously, multinationals don't put the same kind of money and imagination into a branch as they do into their flagship offices.