Oklahoma City Community College

I chose OCCC as one of my buildings because I  learned so much in my college career here and I met the most amazing people. I come from a small town called Pauls valley where I lived my whole life. I was always very shy and never really pushed myself academically or socially. At OCCC, I decided to pursue an associate in chemistry and it showed me what hard work is and how much it pays off.  I learned to be a better student and learned to study more efficiently to which I can proudly say I am using those skills in pursuing my bachelor’s.

I also met the most amazing people in my life here including many friends who to this day we take classes together and I wouldn’t know what I would do without them. I also met people who have taught me to be more patient and have taught me that it’s okay that I am not everyone’s cup of tea.  I met my best friend here, I recently was the maid of honor of her wedding and I am so grateful that I was put in the same class with her that summer. I got the opportunity to have professors who cared, pushed, and showed me I have potential that I didn’t see in myself.

This building also holds some hard memories as well. One summer I was enrolled in a physics 2 class and I wasn’t able to visit my aunt who was very ill in Arkansas. My aunt was someone who was a second mother to me and who I lived with for a year when I was about six. I didn’t have the strength to visit her because it was so heartbreaking to see her like that. I went a couple of times but towards the end, I couldn’t stand to see her in the state she was and how she begged for my siblings and me to stay. I regret this so much to this day because of my selfishness, I lost more time with her. This building reminds me of her because I remember my mom calling me to tell me of her passing when I was there for that summer. I was in a hallway of the building that was semi-secluded and I sat down and just cried. Every time I pass that section of the building it always reminds me of my aunt. It taught me to value the time with your loved ones even if it’s hard, I could have done more for her.

Overall, my experience at OCCC taught me so many things and gave me the opportunity to grow as a person and student. I won’t forget my time there and the people I had the privilege of meeting!

The Rogers Arena in Vancouver B.C. was designed by Brook and Beynon Brisbon.  When I visit new cities, I usually try and find tickets to visit their local arena because although most of them are generally the same on the inside, their ambiance is all unique. The Rogers arena is one of my favorites because of how close it is to a body of water. Before the concert, I had poutine by the bay and was found the placing of the arena really cool. The vast amount of entrances made it kind of confusing at times but that is how all arenas are.

The distinguishing feature of the Rogers Arena which I fell in love with is the retractable roof. While watching a game, I could see a lot of the buildings through the rooftop which was something different. Vancouver is an incredible city that mixes man-made items with the landscape. Instead of feeling trapped, being in the open area was a different experience because of how fresh it felt. When I returned for a Harry Styles concert, it was shut and set up differently which made it feel like an entirely different building. I really like where it is placed within the city but also that every event feels like the arena was built specifically for that rather than it’s actual multipurpose intention.

Being an MIS major most of my classes are in the Price College of Business. It’s a love/hate relationship with this building just because school is school. Overall, I haven’t really had a bad time in this building. I am also thankful that I am earning an education and this building plays a large part in that.

The Perot Museum in Dallas, Texas is one of my favorite buildings because of its unique texture. It was designed by Laureate Thom Mayne. I remember being very excited as I’d drive by on I-30 because there was a lot of conversation about how cool it was going to look and that the exhibits were going to be even better. After it was finished being built, our school joined a queue in order to get tickets for a field trip. On the drive there everyone in the bus was buzzing with excitement and once it came into view, everyone collectively gasped because the building looked like it was floating. We later came to realize it was because the first floor is composed of glass walls but I was still in awe of the garden area before one enters.

A feature that to this day still amazes me is the escalator that gives you an amazing view of Dallas. I think making it enclosed in glass was a great idea and I thought it was even cooler that it appeared as its own entity from the rest of the building. The first time I attended the Perot I remember the escalator being full and that there was about a person on every step. Now of course the hype has gone down and it’s an overall better experience because you can go at your own pace and observe everything in great detail.

When I was visiting Casa Batlló, I was in awe of how the building stood out on the already busy street. The mob of people waiting to enter made me even more excited to see it myself. I had just come from the Sagrada Familia was amazed to have connected the dots about Antoni Gaudi being the brilliant architect behind both projects. Our tour guide had mentioned that this building originally belonged to his Architecture professor, Emilio Sala Cortes. He incorporated modernism into the building which made it an overall remarkable house.

The meaning of the Redeemer Chapel is simple, to bring people closer to God. This is an amazing building that is both beautiful on the inside and outside. On the inside, the stained glass portrays images of the miracles Jesus performed as well as a few Old Testament stories. In the picture, you can see the windows show the stunning mountains in the background. The placement of the chapel is also of note. It is separated from the rest of the camp which adds to its special and holy feeling and atmosphere. As you can see, the lights also have cross designs on them. Also, the acoustics of the building are so good as there are no speakers so they need to be good, and thankfully they are :).

Redeemer Chapel means a great deal to me. This past summer, I worked as an Activities Team Leader at this camp, and throughout the summer this was a place where I would go to worship and learn on Sundays. During the week, it would be a place I often went to for rest, peace, encouragement, and to connect with God through His word. Feelings were often very positive while I was in this building. However, several times I was feeling discouraged, doubtful, and just unconfident in myself, but I would always leave feeling hopeful. Lastly, initial impressions were extremely positive. Coming to a camp to serve in a job as fun as activities team with other amazing college students in the stunning Colorado mountains was so exciting. Likewise, starting our journey in the chapel was just perfect.

My old high school, Cascia Hall, always made a positive impact on me when walking in. It was always interesting to see the campus change from season to season especially in the middle court yard with its ginkgo tree. It was always cool being in a building that was built in 1926 and still looked amazing. People I have never met before from Tulsa always seem to recognize the building saying it looks like Hogwarts. Its style is called French Norman. The bricks they used to build it are called clinker bricks and used to be cheap throwaway bricks. Now, any new addition is very expensive because these bricks are now rare.

The Space Needle in Seattle is a large observation tower in Seattle, Washington. The building was opened in 1962 and has served as an emblem of innovation for the American Northwest. Upon more research, I found out that the Needle is as durable as it is innovative; it’s able to withstand forces of nature such as Category 5 hurricanes and 9.0 magnitude earthquakes. Considering how massive and relatively thin the building is, this is a shocking feat to me. It makes me realize just how much architects must work closely with people like engineers and physicists to make sure a building does not falter due to poor design, because the consequences could be deadly. 

Upon seeing this building in real life, I really wondered how tall you could construct a sustainable building. I visited this building during the summer of 2015. Up until that point in my life, I had never gotten the opportunity to visit a truly giant building. This was the first building that made me realize why things like observation decks are so popular (and expensive). The building looked like something out of a science fiction novel to me, which I feel was intentional by the futuristic architectural style. Given the chance, I would definitely love to revisit this building and bring my friends there to experience the same feelings that I did on the top of the Space Needle’s skydeck. It is truly a surreal experience.

The Denver International Airport, being one of the 20 busiest airports in the nation, hosts the Internal Garden in its C terminal. Spanning multiple floors the Internal Garden is an enormous open space lush with vegetation and is enclosed by sculpted walls. Surrounded by various restaurants and waiting areas, this garden is the center of the C terminal and is a great place to relax while waiting for a flight.  As I often have connecting flights in Denver, the Internal Garden is always a refreshing sight to see after having been cramped in an airplane for hours.  

The Interactive Learning Center (ILC) at Boise State University (BSU) is centered at the heart of the BSU campus. Completed in 2007, the ILC held a variety of classrooms, computer labs, restaurants, and community spaces. As a high school student taking concurrent credit at BSU, I spent much of my time in this building as It had everything a student would need in a single building. With the exterior of the building made almost entirely of glass, the immense natural lighting always created a positive atmosphere.