The over 50,000 self-storage facilities in the United States equal more than all the Starbucks, Burger King, and McDonald's franchises in the nation combined. These photographs focus on the standardized aesthetic of these structures and how they integrate into the fabric of the urban landscape. In his essay "Towards a New Monumentality," architecture critic Sigfried Gideon posits the need for a new conception of what makes a building a monument, saying it should have a "clear and easily comprehensible form that expresses its underlying structure and function." These self-storage structures embody that dictum with their universally recognizable color palettes, corrugated, windowless metal walls, and gaping loading docks. Even the office spaces and factories repurposed into storage facilities with their painted facades and permanently obscured windows all share the design language. Giedion says that Monumentality "derives from the eternal need of people to own symbols to reveal their inner life and social conceptions." What better embodiment of the new Monumentality and its function as a symbol of our modern society than these buildings, functional temples for our flat-screen TVs and exercise bikes? By capturing the outsized presence of self-storage facilities in our neighborhoods and communities, this series documents the changing landscape of cities and the ways in which our built environment both reflects and shapes our culture.