Someone clipped it into it's Christmas tree shape since that's not a normal growth pattern for variegated boxwood. It will put out new growth and, suddenly, it won't look formal - so plant it where you like.

Pyramidal or not, you may try using it to mark a change or transition in the garden. For instance, if you have a shade garden in one area that connects to a sunny area, or sitting area, or whatever, incorporate it into the planting at a point that signals a change.

It's not the shape that's formal, it's how you use it. Two would look more formal than one, especially if you use them in a mirror-image arrangement. If you want to use a plant with a strong shape, planting several together in a group, instead of just one, sort of dilutes the uniqueness of the shape.

Hmm, I like that transition idea, I'll have to think about that. Alas, we've lived here for 6 years now and that boxwood's kept its pyramidal shape, though I've done nothing to it but pinch it in the spring (no pruning or clipping). Now we've grown kind of attached to the shape, since it's the only thing in the yard we can put white lights on at Christmas!