I visited Dubai in 2007 while on deployment.  The city was one of the most amazing sights I had ever seen.  We pulled in three times in as many months and, I swear, you could literally track the cities growth with each trip.  Whereas you drive around in an city in the United States and you will see one or two construction cranes here or there, in Dubai, you would drive along the highway leading in to the city and pass 10 or more buildings under construction on ONE side.  When I visited, the Burj Khalifa had not been built, was only 3 years in to that project, and Palm Jumeirah island was just being formed, so the “big deal” building was the hotel the Burj Al Arab, off Jumeirah Beach.

The Burj Al Arab is still one of the tallest hotels in the world. It is designed to resemble the sail of a ship with a tall straight edge as the mast and a sweeping curved edge resembling a sail catching the wind.  I was never able to enter it; the story amongst us sailors was that you had to have a suit and tie (men) just to enter the lobby because it was such an elite luxury destination.  And, in my mind, the exterior of the building alone was enough to give credence to that fact.  At the time, and even still today, I am not overly acquainted with the most astounding architectural feats, but this one struck me as purely amazing.  If its purpose is to convey a sense of exclusivity and unattainability, it succeed.  I still hold this hotel as one of my dream, when I win the lottery, destinations.  Almost to add to its inaccessibility, all the personal pictures that I had of it, with or without me in the shot, were destroyed by a computer virus; it’s too good for me to even keep an image of.

For my first personal building blog, I chose to write about a building that had a major effect on my life even though I was only there for a short time.  I am talking about the barracks buildings from my Navy bootcamp experience.  They called them ships, which I found very ridiculous because they didn’t resemble ships in any way, not like some of the examples we’ve seen in class where they try to give a feeling of the object they are portraying.  This was simply to indoctrinate us in to the ways of the navy.  The buildings were so drab and utilitarian that I almost forgot what the actual edifice itself looked like.  What I have in my memory is a combination of all the experiences that went along with these buildings.  They were three each three stories tall, and older than dirt.  Each one had a central hub of sorts, off which, on either side shot two legs which were the living units.  Each sides legs were connected at the other end forming a center courtyard.  I have no idea what was inside the courtyards; we weren’t allowed in.   Each level of each living unit housed 80 people in one long bay with windows down the length of both sides; the windows didn’t always function, which was terrible in the freezing Great Lakes winter.  In these bays was where we slept, received some instructional training, spent down time, and endured extra training in the form of extreme exercise; think 100, 4-count push-ups.

Needless to say, this was not the happiest of experiences.  The point of bootcamp is to break you, mentally, not to aesthetically please your senses.  I didn’t necessarily give it any thought at the time, but I am sure that the stark utilitarianism of the buildings was, whether or not by design, another tool to break you down.  I did not, and do not like these buildings, although I believe none of them exist any more.  We were told that they had been torn down shortly after my time there because they were so dilapidated; replaced with comparatively nice and comfortable buildings.  Even though I think these buildings were terrible, I can’t help but hold a grudge against all who have come after and haven’t had to experience them.  They can’t be as tough as I am since they didn’t have to endure these buildings.

Europe has a long, convoluted, and often violent history fraught with war and mischief. Today, however, it is quite stable, and has a lot of interesting historical sites to see, more specifically in southern Bavaria, Germany. The site I am referring to is Castle Neuschwanstein. It was an initiative started and commissioned by King Ludwig II, with the intention of the castle being a retreat for the king and in honor of the composer Richard Wagner. The building is inspired by the architectural style of castle romanticism, as Ludwig II was fond of the stories and tales of old German knights in their castles. So, as a result he set out to build a structure themed around his interest of music and romantic notion of a knight .Unfortunately, the good king was only able to live in his vacation home for slightly less than half a year before his death.

Today, Castle Neuschwanstein is a tourist hotspot. I first visited the structure in January 2000, with the fortunate outcome of seeing it with a snow-draped background along with the scenery to the south. Leaves had fallen from deciduous trees, so the landscape looking south into the nearby town of Hohenschwangau near the Germany/Austria border was clear and incredibly beautiful. And then there was the castle itself, certainly more enthralling with its gothic architecture with the added theme of castle-romanticism inspired by Ludwig. However, not being allowed to take pictures (security reasons) inside the building was a bummer, knowing that the throne hall and study were the 2 most stunning rooms in the building. Another fascinating addition to the tour group was a piece of bread. Yes, a 100+ year old piece of bread was kept in a sealed glass box, partially evacuated of air, so that people could see the kind of bread used to eat back when it was made in the early 20th century. Overall, I strongly recommend seeing the castle and the nearby local towns. It was a humbling experience knowing more about the way people used to live, even though the residents of Castle Neuschwanstein only represented a minute section of the population.

The Church of Life is a building that was designed by Tadao Ando. In this building it combines light and concrete. The church was built in 1989 and is located outside of Osaka, Japan. It is a perfect example of the power of simplicity.

The geometry is just six walls and a roof. A minimalist end point that requires a thoughtful process in order to eliminate everything that is irrelevant. This church is a prime example of the phrase, “less is more”.

When someone looks at the exterior, they are able to appreciate the simplicity and authenticity of the material. The reinforced concrete does not have any of the unnecessary materials that are not part of the construction process. The joints are built together with care and precision in order to create a smooth surface.

Many people feel an overwhelming sense of enlightenment when they walk into an ancient basilica or cathedral. While this church is not ancient nor huge, it can have the same impact. It is only about 100 square meters, but it can still have the same impact as a large church. This is due to the use of light and void, that it makes it feel linked to a great entity. The concrete also adds to this feeling by adding to the darkness of the church and creating more of a humble place of worship.

The first time I went to Europe, I was 12 and we did typical tourist stuff. This meant we were obviously going to go to Rome and see the Colosseum. While I didn’t realize what kind of impact this would have back then, I sure do appreciate it now. While I had heard a little about Roman architecture  before, it was such a different experience to see it in real life. The second I saw it, I knew my life was changed forever. Previously I had wanted to be a doctor or something in the medical field, but at this moment I wanted to be something to due with architecture.

While I don’t think the builders and architects thought that they would be creating a building that changed someone’s life almost 2000 year later, they did it. The original purpose of the colosseum was to create a permanent arena in the center of Rome for various forms of entertainment for Romans. The purpose now is just as a tourist attraction, so it has changed slightly.

Multiple attractions exist in and around Las Vegas: the Hoover Dam, casinos, the basin of the Mojave desert, multiple concerts and shows, and of course, hotels. More to the point, the Luxor hotel, named after the city of Luxor (ancient Thebes) in Egypt, is an Egyptian-themed hotel in the heart of the city. Opened in 1993, it is, especially for a hotel, an immense building. With more than 4,000 guest rooms, the Luxor also has the world’s largest atrium- 20,000 square feet of convention space. Multiple swimming pools and whirlpools, as well as spas, salons, and retail outlets exist inside as well. In addition to that, the hotel boasts elevators that move along the perimeter of the building at an incline. Quite a beast when first approached!

When I first saw it in March 2005 and set foot in it, my first questions were quickly directed towards the amount of natural resources, technical specifications, and logistics of this hotel. The answers were stunning, and motivated me to learn more about the mathematics of pyramids. Overall, however, I felt that placing another hotel in a desert surrounded by other hotels a bit frivolous, and wasteful.

Other than the Luxor hotel being a shiny, seamless, postmodern replica of the Great Pyramids, the building holds another great aesthetic feature – its nocturnal light, dubbed the ‘Luxor Sky Beam.’ The beam, when fully used, is the strongest beam of light in the world at around 42 billion candela in magnitude, bright enough to be seen by aircraft at cruising altitude. When I visited at the time, technicians responsible for the light told me the chamber that houses the mirrors and lamps averages around 300 degrees Fahrenheit. I believed the light to be visually appealing, but ultimately, a bit silly and a waste or energy. The thought of gross wastefulness was a recurring one throughout a weeklong stay in Las Vegas – one that motivated me not to come back, despite the amenities the city had to offer.

The Price College of Business was original formed in 1917 and called the OU School of Public and Private Business. In 1928 the name was changed to Adams Hall, after the college’s first dean, and renovations were made to the building until 1936. After this change, again in 1997 the building was renamed to Michael F. Price College of Business and Price Hall was added.
My first time entering Price I was on a tour the summer before my first semester of college. The first thing I saw were the tour guides and they were all dressed in business professional clothing. Between my nerves and being surrounded by people older than me, the building seemed to be in a better condition than reality.
Although that was my first encounter with the building, I consider my first experience as the first time I went to a class in Price. On my way to the class I got lost in the building and construct was going on on the second floor which made me get even more lost. By the time I found my class I was already ready to leave the building and never come back, but my teacher had other plans. Instead of going over the syllabus on the first day, we went on a scavenger hunt too find rooms within Price. This exercise made me feel more comfortable navigating my way around the building I will be having classes in for the next 4 years.

The Price College of Business is where I have taken most of my classes since I began my college education almost 4 years ago.  Adams Hall is the original business college building that was finished in 1936. It was renovated in 1964 and other renovations have happened since then, including one going on right now on the 3rd floor. Price Hall was finished in 2005.

Price Hall is one of the newer classroom buildings on campus, and you can tell with the architecture and look of the building. The building incorporates natural light and many windows and a courtyard with seating to promote learning. The architects made the building into a place of learning with big common areas on the lower floors and next to each stairwell. Overall, it is a simplistic style and nothing too advanced, but it serves the purpose of learning and gives a sense of community as an ideal college should.