The White House - By: Jacob McCants

The White House

                 This building first struck me as being really awesome on my middle school field trip to Washington D.C. I love the simple yet classy nature of the architecture for the building. Its crazy to think that it has stood the test of time. Its a building that every american can instantaneously recognize. I have not been back since a very young age but hope to one day return so I can enjoy everything about D.C. as an adult. I think as a child I was not able to fully comprehend everything I was seeing and experiencing. 

By:  Jacob McCants

Gateway Arch St. Louis - Zach Brinlee

The St. Louis Arch is something that most people are familiar with.  The fact that this was built in the early 60's is amazing.  It has become one of the most recognizable works in the world.  It is not a solid structure, but a hollow structure that has elevators running up each leg to a top view area.  The view is amazing and you can see everything in St. Louis from that point. This is the first building I looked at and said wow I want to build something like that.  This sparked my passion to become a structural engineer, so this is a special place to me.

J. Colton Hill - PricewaterhouseCoopers London Building

PricewaterhouseCoopers London Office Building

This is the London headquarters building for PricewaterhouseCoopers management consultancy.  It is one of the top 20 most eco-friendly buildings in the world.  It is also the most eco-friendly building in London.  

"At least, that's according to the Breeam sustainability assessors. Rigorously assessing against a bewildering array of criteria, Breeam (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) is the Michelin star system for eco-friendly buildings." 

- London Evening Standard

I had the fortune of seeing this building when I visited London in 2012.  It is a beautiful glass building that uses the heat from the sun to store energy for use throughout its offices.  This building was one of the prettiest buildings I have ever seen, and it expresses creativity and efficiency in the same package.  

Old Red - Arin Little

Anyone who grew up in the Dallas can probably recognize this glorious landmark. It has been around since 1892, and it initially served as the Dallas courthouse. Now it houses many of the city's most valuable historical artifacts. Seeing this castle-like building reminds me of all the happy memories driving around exploring Dallas with my mother when I was younger. It will always bring back fond memories of my childhood.

Rock Town OKC - Zach Brinlee

This is downtown OKC, and is an old grain silo.  It is now been transformed into a rock climbing gym.   The building itself is not what impresses me, it is the fact that the inside houses some of the highest man-made climbing routes in the world.  I also like how they have used the outside of the building as canvas to paint murals of Oklahoma.  It is currently in the process of being painted.  Most building you see, you can only experience the height of the building from the ground floor looking up or looking out a window.  Here you can experience it from the "C" in celebrate will a rope and some climbing.  I believe it is one of the best views in Oklahoma City.  

New San Francisco Bay Bridge - Zach Brinlee

This is the new suspension bridge in San Francisco Bay area.  This bridge is one that I have not seen in person, but is one that I think is the most impressive feat of architecture and engineer out there.  Almost ever other suspension bridge and especially ones of this mass are anchored into the ground with tons and tons of concrete.  This is a self-anchored bridge, which means it relies on its own weight and tension to stay standing.  The defined common engineering procedures and is possible because the single off center tower.  This makes the bridge want to fall to the heavy side which is then held up by the tension in the cables that want to pull down the lighter side.

Outlet mall -Cody Duke

This is a corridor of the outlet shops mall just a little outside west okc. This is a very interesting place to me because it is a very interesting design having the retail fronts facing each other and being open in the middle with a tent like covering over the corridors. All of the different shops in there are interesting as well because there are so many places that sell shoes that you wouldn't think they make any money, but they seem to be doing pretty well.