inconvenient conveniences

I started off thinking of this space I want to explore exclusively as a kind of hidden/small/private world. However after reading a number of text (some of which are listed below) this idea of non-space has been expanded. I have become interested in places that we have to use as part of everyday life And the Systems we have to go through in theses ‘non places’.
The ' inconvenient conveniences' that we come across everyday… like motorway service station/bus stops/ huge department stores (ikea!?)

All these non place sites: supermarkets, chain hotels, airports, motorways, bustops, phone booth are associated with the tedium of everyday life but they all have there own unique histories,/technologies and landscapes.
In ‘reading the everyday’ by Joe Moran he describes one of these non-place environment, motorway service stations as ‘terrains vagues’ were strange liaisons can occur. Different rules apply.
The squat concrete building, harsh neon lighting, the cramped shops filled with things nobody really wants. You buy postcards in the shops to the towns that are being bypassed. All has poetry of it own.

Once glamorous environments. They were filled with young people who would drive to them taking full advantage of the 24hour opening times. They had extravagant Bridge restaurants (peculiar form of sightseeing watching speeding traffic) and other amusements.
But this change, the service station, as we know it is far from being a destination in its own right. But something we visit only more convenience.
Motorway stops have become no-frills services, they had a heavy use and wipe clean appearance. Tables and chairs bolted to the floor, plastic knifes and forks, lino floors and hardwearing carpet. This place in not trying to impress.
Alain de Botton says
‘They are lonely, but in a nice way. They are ugly but in a fun, interesting way. There is a special quality about them’.

Part of what is interesting about these places is the sense of relief; you are invited to surrender to the environment. Signs tell you were everything it, sometimes-even arrows on the floor direct you from beginning to end. There is no need to even thing about which direction you should be travelling. In airports you are even relieved of your identity as you check in. Then Sent off in to the departure lounge were you can wonder around the isles and counters of food/drink/perfume/toys/brightly and cleanly set out for you viewing pleasure.

A feeling of loneliness may be felt but it’s a communal experience. You can just walk aimlessly around and this in completely accepted.
Auges suggests this is a positive aspect of these Non-places. Because although we are in the company of others they make no demands of us.
He talks about these places having ‘faceless,contractual obligations replace human interactions’ like ‘get in lane’ / ‘queue this side’ /key in your personal number’