Kevin Price - Week 3 - Dallas Cowboys Stadium

 I have attended two games thus far in the Dallas Cowboys stadium thus far, but neither to watch the Cowboys play. This first game I attended was the 2010 Big XII Championship game. I was a member of the pride and I just remember how massive the stadium appears on the outside yet when you walk inside it feels even larger than it looked. There is a massive HD Screen hanging over the field that is nearly as big as the field itself. The first game was a great one it was close all the way until the final whistle OU beat Nebraska. My second experience was not as great, this was the 2013 Cotton Bowl Classic. OU ended up loosing 13 to 41 against Texas A&M. The biggest memory I have is that the entire stadium seemed to fill with A&M fans.

#3 – (9/04) Mercedes Garcia – Mansueto Library

The Mansueto Library is the most recent addition to the University of Chicago campus. It is positioned next to the older (and very dissimilar looking) Regenstein Library. When I was a student here, I would walk past the construction for this building nearly every day and for most of this time the site was simply a large pit. Although there is a visible exterior above ground, there is an extensive repository many feet deep which is mostly inaccessible (this space is reserved for robotic hand cranes that retrieve books from the underground stacks). I remember feeling very anxious for this building to be finished after having seen the plans for it for so long. Ultimately, it was underwhelming. The only space that could be used for studying is packed into the first floor and although there are carrels that separate each person, there is so little room inside them that it feels very cramped. And while I was personally impressed with Mansueto’s architecture, its open windows on its only habitable floor were not very viable as a study space.

#2 – (8/28) Mercedes Garcia – Thorncrown Chapel

I’m honestly not too familiar with the history of Thorncrown Chapel but I visited this building less than a year ago and it made an impression on me. Even though there are signs for it on the road, Thorncrown itself seems like it is trying to be illusive. It is very firmly in the forest and it is much smaller than the picture suggests, meaning that if there wasn’t a road leading right up to it you could miss it altogether. The architect of the building must have had the seclusion of the forest in mind while designing this chapel because the thick air of quiet outside is doubly reinforced on the inside. While this space is open to rent (mostly for wedding ceremonies), there are no real services given here. Rather, they are open for private worship. This made being inside the chapel very stifling. There is a lady posted at the door here who is there only to ask you to be quiet (both as you enter and once you inevitably break her one rule). This clashed so much with the feeling of excitement that I felt at having stumbled across this building. Nonetheless, I enjoyed seeing it and this off-putting somberness of the space was probably intended.

#1 – (8/21) Mercedes Garcia – Price Tower

 

 

The Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1956. It was one of the first buildings I remember seeing that led me to think of architecture as a form of art. Though it is not the most physically compelling piece (namely, it is very short for a skyscraper), some of its finer points are in the details. For instance, the visible green on this skyscraper is actually copper. Wright knew that the copper he chose for the long, vertical (and functional) louvers and accents would eventually age into this green so they were washed prior to construction. On the inside there is a heavy emphasis on triangular shapes, so much so that it can be very disorienting. I was lucky enough to spend a night in the Price Tower now that it has been reconstituted as a hotel and it was like no space I had ever experienced. The Price Tower was a great motivator for my interest in studying architecture.

Blog # 2 Perspolis Tahereh Dinpajooh

This Images belong to Persepolis ( city of Persia) in Shiraz and it has ancient history. Evidence by archaeologist has shown that the city of Persepolis was constructed  in 515 BCE by the Dariush I,the new member of royal, and it was burned and ruined by Alexander the great in 330 BCE.I visited Persepolis with my family four years ago and it had a huge influence on me by looking at every part of it. When I saw this place I was a amazed by the way it was built with rocks and metals without any equipment. I think every part of the Persepolis structures tell you the history of the past and how ancient people lived. By visiting this place I became more interested on ancient history.

more training, Fred Lee wk2

This is the Shoot House.  Soldiers that were deployed overseas spent many hours training in houses just like this one to prepare themselves for different types of urban assault and defense.  The interior sign reads: “A pint of sweat on the training grounds saves a drop of blood on the battlefield”, General George Patton.

Theatre from Summer Camp, Alexandra Bradford wk 2

At Inspiration Point, a camp grounds in Eureka Springs, there is a building like a theatre. However, it is open on its sides, supported by unfinished wood pillars, and the whole structure is built on a downslope so that the highest row in the audience is at the top of the hill. For five summers I went to camp here and performed on this stage in the middle of the spectacular Ozarks mountains and forests. In the audience, you would hear the sounds of the woods in between performances. I thought this building was so cool, and I loved to be outside on the warm summer nights and listen to the least weathered piano they had and the stringed instrumental pieces. It was somewhat secluded and was a beautiful, truly inspiring place.