An amazing if somewhat shocking graphic spotted on A Daily Dose of Architecture, “The above is from Jesse LeCavalier’s essay “All Those Numbers” at Places: Design Observer. In it, the architect investigates “the design possibilities latent not only in Walmart’s building types but also in the organizational practices — especially its unparalleled expertise in logistics.” LeCavalier’s essay is recommended for clearly explaining how Walmart works, its number-centric approach that makes it so BIG but also so fiercely loathed by supporters of the local, especially in cities.”

Two words: holy crap.

:: image via Archidose

This brings to mind a quote I read just last night from a fantastic book I’m currently engrossed in – ‘Hungry City: How Food Shapes Our Lives’ by Carolyn Steel – (review upcoming) – on page 95:

“Reading statistics about Wal-Mart is rather like reading about outer space: the numbers are so huge they don’t really sink in. In 2000, The UN reckoned that the company’s sales were bigger than the gross domestic product of three quarters of the world’s economies. Six years later, those figures had all but doubled.”