Ng, AmelynFinley, DawnGeiser, Reto2022-11-102022-11-102021-052021-01-26May 2021Oetzel, Alexandra. "counter-franchise^tm." (2021) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/113896">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/113896</a>.https://hdl.handle.net/1911/113896This thesis counters the existing model of fast-food franchising by addressing private property, real estate speculation, and the myth of trickle-down economics through a subversion of an existing architectural typology. The intent is to create something that is both local and global as a result of a typological change in spatial product which, at even the smallest scale, holds a significant impact on the character of the franchising system as a whole. It is through an implementation of a worker's cooperative business model that this typological shift is supported. By collapsing the physical, logistical, and bureaucratic distance between corporate ownership and individual stores/employees, the counter-franchise^tm becomes an equitable, self-determined, intergenerational system of food, work, and land. It is only with this systemic change that the suite of architectural products is able to respond and serve specific constituents and spaces, unencumbered by the top-down management of saleable product. An entirely new burgerscape, comprised of this diverse suite of products, will be imagined as a network for collective, co-operative action across vast physical space, unworking the legacy of franchises, empires, and other colonial practices.application/pdfengCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.fast foodfranchiseworker's co-operativearchitecturespatial productThesis2022-11-10