The Urban Architect’s held an international art museum competition that was held in Budapest.  As you can see from the picture above, the park is built next to water.  The water is meant to counter the environment of the park.  Its purpose is to take away the stress of the city for its visitors.  It is a buffer to bring together the city and the architecture.  It has a similar style to my first blog post discussing the science museum by Mari Ito.

There are two “wings” on either side; one of the pond side and the other on the park side.  People can move and walk on top of the “wings” from either side of the park.  They are also semi-transparent so they do not take away from landscape.  There are entrances that lead you inside of the “wings,” where people can eat, read, or relax while enjoying the forest and nature surrounding you.

The underground portion has a controlled environment including, temperature, humidity, and light.  In the basement, there is an “underground forest” that connects the visitors both physically and visually to the park.

The Nasushiobara City Library is located in the Kuroiso district of Nasushiobara in Tochigi, Japan.  This building is still under construction.  A competition was held to design a multipurpose facility that also consisted of a library and local government offices.

The first floor will be used mainly by the public, where the visitors can expand their knowledge or spend time with friends or family.  The second floor will be used to house the library services.

There are also different areas on the land of the city library.  There is the main area (Activity area) where you learn and expand your knowledge, “Magazine Street” where community members go through on a daily basis and allows them to visit the library easily, “Calmness” which is a quiet area where visitors can relax, “Forest Pocket” which allows visitors to be surrounded by nature, and finally the “Station Square” which is an open area where visitors can walk around.  This library provides a centralized location where people can feel as if they are in different locations and can enjoy the many different aspects of the area.  This is why the Nasushiobara City Library is known as “a library in the heart of a community.”

The HYH House in Ota-ku, Tokyo in a quiet residential area that was designed by Urban Architects (UAo).  This house has a total floor area of 161.35 square-meters and is an open-concept building.  Similarly to the Frank Lloyd Wright House, the HYH House’s windows were carefully placed for the viewer to observe the outside landscape, while at the same time preventing outsiders from viewing the inside of the house.

Another thing that is interesting about this house is that noise travels far within this house.  It was designed to reflect the natural environment using acoustics.  The building was designed to house a family, where you could hear anyone from anywhere inside the house.

In Komatsu, Japan, Mari Ito designed this 6,063 square-meter science museum in 2013.  The museum is created using curved concrete covered in grass to get the illusion of four rolling hills.  Visitor’s are even able to roam and explore these man-made grass hills.  Ito’s plan was to integrate landscape and architecture into one central location.  It even serves as a public park to the city of Komatsu.

The reinforced concrete provides support for the building and was left exposed internally and externally.  This image below shows the underside of one of the rolling hills.  Because of the grass on the rooftop, there is additional insulation that is provided throughout the building. The elements of the building allow for natural light, shade, protection from the elements, and proper drainage.  As Ito said while designing the building, “the rooftop curve serves as a sweeping canopy controlling light and also drains rain water into a reservoir for planting irrigation.”  This allows the building to be more efficient and use less resources than most; making it an environmentally-friendly building.

Dulles International Airport is located in Loudoun County, Virginia.  Dulles was built in 1962 by architect Eero Saarinen.  He wanted to make something that was whimsical because at that time, flying was enjoyable and luxurious.  There is a swooping concrete ceiling held up by columns, which symbolizes the other architecture that can be found in Washington D.C.

This is one of the airports that I fly out of when I am headed back to the University of Oklahoma.  Because of this, I usually have negative feelings about being there because it means that I am leaving home for awhile.  The security is also very cramped and hard to navigate.  This is because the airport was built before TSA existed.  This is also a very large airport with many different terminals.  To get around to the different terminals, you have to use either the people-movers or the tram.

When I have gone through the airport, it usually makes me stressed because it is so large and I am navigating it alone.  Even though I would fly the same airline, I usually have to go to a different terminal each time… so I make sure to always follow the signs!  As I stated above, it is difficult to go through security because it is so cramped.  Once I get to my gate, it is usually very hard to find seating unless you get there really early.  Even though I am grateful that this airport allows me to get where I need to go… I like flying into Dulles more than flying out of it.

Will Rogers World Airport is located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  This airport is the main airport in the state.  For me, I am always excited to see this building since it means that I am able to go home to Virginia for a little bit.

This airport is on the smaller side; however, I personally appreciate that.  I usually fly out of Reagan or Dulles and they are fairly large compared to Will Rogers.  It is a really easy building to navigate since there aren’t any terminals and everything is centralized and connected in one building.  The set up is also very nice.  The traffic flow is simple, yet effective and allows for an easy drop-off or pick-up of people.  When you go in, the check-in counter is accessible and easy to find.  After check-in, you go through security and then your gate can be found quickly.   There is also a variety of stores and restaurants throughout the airport.

The airport itself is very open and easy to move around, especially when there are hundreds or even thousands of people trying to doing the same.  There is also plenty of light that shines through the building because of the windows of the side of the building as well as on the top, near the ceiling.  Right now, they are under construction in some parts of the building.  Will Rogers is working on building a terminal expansion to help relief congestion and allow the baggage claim area to be easier to navigate.  I look forward to seeing the finished construction in the future.

This is the National Weather Center (NWC) and National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL).  I was first introduced to this building in 2014 when I attended the Oklahoma Mesonet Meteorology Camp. Even back then I knew that my passion was meteorology, specifically severe weather phenomenon.  I fell in love with this building!  Fast-forward four years and I am back in Oklahoma studying meteorology at the building that is known all over the world and is the epicenter of weather.

This is a beautiful building houses the National Severe Storms Laboratory, National Weather Service, Oklahoma Mesonet, Storm Prediction Center, as well as classrooms for the University of Oklahoma’s School of Meteorology students. One of the classrooms is even on the roof of the NWC!  This allows students to experience the weather phenomenon that we study in the real world.

My outlook on this building has shifted slightly.  I used to see it as this magical place that I could see myself potentially work in one day.  Even though I still believe that, it has a more serious feeling now that I am a student and take classes in this building.  However, every time I enter this building, I think back to 2014 and cannot believe that I get the privilege to study meteorology at the National Weather Center as a student at the University of Oklahoma.

This building is the Physical Science Center on the University of Oklahoma’s campus; however it is also known as, “the blender.”  As you can see, the tall tower and style makes it look like an actual blender.  This building holds a multitude of different classes at OU ranging from English to math.  The faculty offices are in the tower and the classrooms can be found on floors 1 to 4.  Personally, I have spent hundreds of hours in this building, mostly for my math classes.

When I first came into this building during my freshman year, I was excited because I knew that many of my classes would be in this building and I would be spending a lot of time here throughout my collegiate career to earn my degree.  However, I feel as if my experience and thoughts of this building have changed since I have been here. The building itself is very closed off and does not have any windows where the students learn.  The classrooms are also incredibly hard to find, especially on the first day of class, so you usually have to get there early.  However, I do appreciate that this building does allow me to learn the necessary information that I need for my degree.