The Marina City in Chicago were two of the most interesting pieces of architecture that I have ever seen. The first time I went to Chicago I went on a riverboat architecture tour and I was amazed by so many different buildings, whether it was because of the shear size or the style of the building, yet the Marina City buildings seem to catch my eyes the most.  I was kind of shocked by the architecture itself because I have never seen a building that looked like a beehive before. One of the coolest parts of the building is the fact that the cars in the parking lot look like they are going to fall out yet they seem to not.

This building comes straight out of the Wizard of Oz. It’s situated in Epic’s Storybook Campus in Verona, Wisconsin. All of the buildings on this campus are based on fairy tales, including an Alice in Wonderland themed building, a Willy Wonka themed building, and this Wizard of Oz themed building. It has a yellow brick road leading to it (of course). I have followed it a few times, although the ‘road’ gets a bit jumbled in the interior.

I find this building to be a bit ugly, personally. Although I don’t remember much about buildings in the Wizard of Oz, I remember the Emerald City being a huge city with tall skyscrapers. This building has a relatively small footprint, and it only includes about four stories (two of which are below ground). It does not have the grandiose height or futuristic nature that I associate with the Emerald City.

To make matters worse, the interior continues the extensive use of green. I get what they were trying to go for, but this building seems just too small. It needs something else to really make it shine. I like the idea, but I think the execution is lacking.

I am doing this blog over Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. This is the home of the Kansas City Chiefs which is a professional football team on the Kansas/Missouri border. This exemplary stadium hosts the chiefs when they play their football games but also hosts other sporting events or concerts. This stadium has a bowl shape that allows fans to be able to see at any seat in the stadium which is really cool for the fans. The stadium is also known for its modern sight lines and single-purpose design which catches the eyes of all the visitors. I thought of this stadium because of its unique and sleek design. I am actually from Kansas so I have been to this stadium many times to cheer on the chiefs and have admired the stadium design each and every time I have went.

This is another building on Epic’s campus: Fortress. As you can see, it is modeled after a castle. The first time I saw this building, I was very surprised. Castles are very uncommon in the United States, and here is one in the middle of a software company’s campus. It looks pretty out of place, but in a whimsical way, which is what they were going for. Inside, the building is decorated in a medieval way. It looks straight out of Harry Potter, complete with a giant time turner in the middle of the feature staircase. The view from the top (see the staircase on the left) shows off the entire campus very well. All in all, this is a strange building, but a fun one. It sparks creativity in the workers.

Raymond James  Stadium is my favorite football stadium.   you can see the pirate ship in the photo which is a full-size ship in the middle of the stadium and as a kid, I thought it was the coolest thing ever.   The first football game I ever remember was in this stadium.  I got to watch the Eagles play the Tampa Bay buccaneers when I was eight.  The Bucs were down by 2 with 3 seconds to go and I will never forget  Matt Bryant kicked a 62-yard field goal to win the game.   we would go to one or two games there every year and I still remember the smell of the stadium.  my uncle was the defensive coordinator there when they had one of the best defenses ever.  He had his birthday party at the stadium last weekend and the Bucs surprised everyone by announcing that he would be placed into the ring of honor at the stadium.  I love this place because of all the great memories I have there and now my uncle will have his name on the stadium forever.

Gaylord Memorial Stadium a.k.a. “The Palace” is located in Norman, Oklahoma and it is where our beloved Sooner football team plays. After the renovations done on the South side of the stadium, it became arguably one of the best college football stadiums in the entire nation. I have been coming to this place year after year my entire life watching the best players come and go. There will never be another place like this one and I cannot wait for the many years I come back here and reminisce about my days in College and even when I was a child. It will always remind me of the fond memories I have had there and the more I am going to make in the future.

Located in Oklahoma City stands the tallest building in the state, Devon Tower. Growing up in OKC, I always saw the chase building (located to the right of the Devon Tower) as the tallest building. When you are young, you look at it and think no building could be taller than that right? Well as time passed and I became aware of the taller buildings located around the U.S., I still hadn’t seen one that just towered over everyone. It was always the Chase building or on occasion we visited Dallas and got to see the city. After the Devon Tower was completed I actually visited there and ate at the top of it. It’s actually insane how far you can see from the building and crazier at how far away you can be to see it. Take a look for yourself next time you’re on the rooftop of Volare on Campus Corner.

Headington Hall is a pretty nice place compared to the towers I spent my freshman year in. As an RA in Headington, I’ve gotten the opportunity to make it my home and gain a few thousand more steps from the immense amount of walking I do to get to the edge of campus where Headington is located. The building though is appealing to look at and live in. The exterior looks like it’ll age much nicer than the towers, but I could be wrong. The interior is classy as hell. Complete with a lobby fireplace that is always on and a statue designed by a master class artist. Everywhere you go in the building, you’ll find high ceilings that give the building a spacious feel. The theatre and game rooms are a little too nice for how little people use them, but tour groups love to look at them. The rooms are spacious and complete with large windows that let in plenty of sunlight and wide views. Basically, if you live in Headington first, you’ll never want to go back to the towers.

Broken Arrow High School…GO B-A! (or something like that). My Sophomore year at BAHS was the first year they had completed all the new additions and renovations to Oklahoma’s largest high school, as you can see from the picture. It was a bit unnecessary, to be honest, and I’ll explain why but, nevertheless, it sure does stand out and look pretty cool! Anyway, the big addition to the front of the school really catches your attention from the outside but on the inside, it was mostly useless space. Long hallways and high ceilings are what millions of dollars paid for, not to mention a varsity shop to buy overpriced clothing and a coffee shop to buy overpriced coffee. Don’t get me wrong, I love BA and I loved my high school years but lately, I feel like BA is spending more money on flash than on substance and the students are the ones paying for it (not literally but figuratively) what do we get out of the renovations? We park in the back, so we don’t even get to see the front of the building most days and those big long hallways are perfect for bowling in between classes. But Let’s take it back though, if we are looking solely from an architectural standpoint, it’s a very cool addition that takes you far away from the old contemporary prison cell looking High School design and I thank the architects for making high school almost look like a glimmer of hope.

The new-ish Tulsa City Hall building is probably one of the nicest in Downtown Tulsa. That’s from the perspective of my architecturally untrained eye. Nonetheless, it has a very modern look that stands out from the buildings around it like the Williams Tower there in the background that was built, what looks like, a few centuries before I was born (no graceful design to it at all). I got the opportunity to take a look at the inside of City Hall when I was invited to the Mayor’s Fourth of July party on the top floor. The elegant design and modern touch of the exterior carries on through the interior as you realize that every part of the building has a great view (except for the side facing the Williams Tower). The layout was a bit confusing but I’m sure it was no more confusing than Price College of Business was the first few times I walked through there. Tulsa has come a long way and I love to see buildings like the new and improved City Hall taking on a newly updated look.