Week One Obsevations

    I will preface this by saying that this class in its first two days has probably been the most interesting CHP class I’ve taken so far.

    The walk on the 20th began with a tour of the south quad and an examination of the structure and arrangement of the campus as a whole.  The stock pavilion, the focal point of the agricultural quad, served as a place of gathering for livestock shows and similar events.  As somewhat of a “Foellinger of the south quad,” it lies on the primary axis of the campus, in line with the bell tower, Foellinger Auditorium and the Student Union of the main quad, and Grainger Library of the engineering quad.

    The idea of the axes and the formation and organization of the school’s various quadrangles was perhaps the most interesting takeaway from this first tour.  It was not that I had never noticed the organization, as in its lowest form it is relatively straightforward, but it was intriguing to realize that architecture encompasses not only the buildings themselves, but how they exist in space relative to one another.  The placement of the most dominant or unifying buildings on the primary axis, as well as the placement of the bell tower at the crossing of the military axis and the primary axis formed the skeleton of the campus and laid the groundwork for further development.

    In addition to the alignment of the axes, there was a dialogue across the south quadrangle between Mumford Hall and David Kinley hall, as each building’s design mimicked the other to tie the space together.  It would have been interesting to see the tall elms referenced on this tour, as I can imagine they gave impressive and comfortable feel to the now awkwardly open south quad.  The newer trees certainly help to bridge the gap between both sides of the quad, but they still leave much to be desired.

    To close out the tour, it was interesting to learn of the history of the military axis and what became of the ROTC parade grounds.  It seems to me that student housing is an uneventful and unbecoming terminus of the “military,” axis, but with the political motivations it seemed to be most wise at the time of the decision.  It is strange to imagine the campus without the six pack, though.

    Our tour on the 22nd began inside, where our discussion focused on architectural concepts in addition to the architecture itself.  Walking through TBH, I learned that this one building was in fact three separate “buildings” joined together by the curving atrium at the center.  This design afforded each subdivision of architecture its own space while uniting them under a common roof.  The atrium and catwalks at each level provided “bridges” between faculty and students and the various disciplines within architecture, demonstrating the symbolism that went into the design of the building.  I found it to be rather fitting for the home of the architectural department.

    Continuing through Temple Hoyne Buell Hall, we discussed the concept of figure-ground, made popular by the “vase/face” photograph, wherein the viewer can see either two faces staring at one another or a goblet formed by the silhouettes of those faces.  It was rather incredible to see this concept employed throughout the building, namely through the use of the screen covering the stairs and later on in the facade of the architecture building.  The idea that multiple figures can exist in the same space and in such close proximity while maintaining their individual identities was fascinating and gave me a deeper appreciation for the foresight that goes into design.

    As we went into the Architecture building, we looked into the use of symmetrical entrances and hallways, and discussed how various features of the building were used to draw visitors into the structure.  The gradual procession through hedges and trees, columns and arches, and large, inviting doorways bridged the gap between the outside world and the interior of the building.  Proceeding through the large metal doors, the more pillars greeted us, as they were used to frame the corridors ahead.  Once again, the building employed a symmetrical shape and wide open hallways to provide a welcoming feeling before leading to the various halls and classrooms.