All Things Must Come to an End

This, I believe, is my final post after going through a new and very interesting adventure. I call this all of this time that I have been blogging and adventure because it is something I would have never thought of doing on my own. In my bucket-list, blogging was definitely in the same section as 'swimming with a shark' or 'riding an elephant'. It was one of those things that I certainly wanted to try out eventually, but wasn't really looking forward to it in a near future. Nevertheless here I am. Over a dozen posts later trying to think what my real thoughts on blogging are. And to be honest, it was a surprisingly good experience. I believe that I have learned a whole lot researching and reading other bloggers. I have found valuable information that normal research would have not allowed me to find, such as being able to personally interact with architects who periodically blog.

With this said, I do not think that I will be blogging in the near future. I  have learned that blogging takes time. Time which I do not have plenty of. In my case, college combined with work, plus extracurricular activities did not leave me with a sufficient amount of time to do an extensive amount of research and write fully edited posts. I will, however, reconsider the idea of blogging later on in the future. After college, and possibly after my career is stable. It will be until then that I will resume my blogging career, but for now I must say good bye.

One World Trade Center: Revised

There have been numerous events in U.S. history that have become unforgettable. The most recent, and one of the most known, are the attacks of September 11, 2001. Almost 13 years have passed by and this event still seems as it happened yesterday, but this does not mean that the country as a whole has not began to move forward. The greatest example of how we as a country are overcoming this tragic event can be seen through the reconstruction of the World Trade Center in New York. This major project is not just an architectural marvel throughout its 7 different buildings and the 9/11 memorial, but, it is also a symbol of strength and revival to the entire country.

Out of these 7 buildings, the main building is known as the One World Trade Center which I will focus on today. 

The One World Trade Center, previously known as The Freedom Tower, is the center point of the World Trade Center renovation project. The tower was designed to measure 1,776 feet from the ground up to its highest point, the spire, as an allusion to the year in which the Declaration of Independence was signed. This makes it the tallest tower in the country, overtaking the Empire State Building by 526 feet, and the existing Twin Towers by 408 feet. The One World Trade Center also has 104 stories, all covered with over 2,000 pieces of glass. The building also has an unique design compared to the rest of the buildings in New York, allowing it to stand out as a beautiful new addition to the view of the city. The head architect, David Childs, designed two buildings in the World Trade Center project; the 1WTC along with the 7 WTC, which opened back in 2006. His design included the square base of the building, which then divides in to a hexagon-like shape as the structure goes up with slanted glass walls.
This design, although beautiful at sight, has been criticized and has shown certain flaws. On Wednesday, February 19, after one of the very common snow storms in the Northeastern part of the United States in 2013, large amounts of ice began sliding off the building, potentially harming pedestrians. This obviously frightening incident could have been caused by the irregular shape of the building. A reporter from the website Popular Mechanics points out something very interesting in one of his posts. In it he says that architects and engineers could design buildings in a way that would prevent ice from forming at the top of buildings, which then break off and fall dangerously to the ground. Other places where snow is much more common have solved this dilemma with designs that that prevent the break and fall of ice, one example is Russia and its onion shaped roofs. This is a very typical architectural trait from Russia and be seen in many important buildings from that country, but is purpose is not just to look good. The rounded shape prevents ice from forming on top it, any snow or water that falls on top of the roof would simply slide down before being able to freeze in to large chunks. Designers of modern skyscrapers have opted to not include the onion shape roofs, but use a either a type of snow guard that keeps the snow from falling from the sides or inward slanted roofs that contain the snow or ice. Unfortunately, the One World Trade Center does not seem to incorporate any of these additions to it's design. Perhaps the architects and engineers missed a small, little details.

In any case, the building is yet to be completed, but expected to be completed this year. Apart from being a beautiful sight to look at, once it is completed it will encourage many who are still devastated from the attacks of 9/11 on to overcoming such horrible events, and move forward. 

Top Most Beautiful College Campuses, according to Forbes

There are thousands of colleges and universities throughout the United States. As college-bound students, we tend to pick one from this long list of choices based on four main key points; career in mind, academic excellence of the university, price, and the look of the campus. They are all very important, but in this post I would like to focus on the architectural part, the look of the campus. 

Forbes, one of the most known US magazines, created an article in which it gave a list of 'America's most Beautiful College Campuses'. The list contains 15 different campuses from all around the United States. I picked my two top campuses which I would love to be part of, or at least visit. 

1. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA-

     This is certainly one of the most beautiful campuses in my opinion. The main attraction and the center point of UVA is certainly the Rotunda, which was designed by none other then Thomas Jefferson in the early 1800's. His design was influenced by the Pantheon in Rome, which was a symbol of power and wealth to the Romans. 

2. Florida Southern College, Lakeland, Fla-

    I personally like this campus a lot due to the fact that it was designed by one of the greatest architects of all times, Frank Lloyd Wright. In fact, The American Institute of Architects awarded him the title of 'The greatest American Architect of All Time' in 1991. One of the buildings that he designed in this campus was the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel. This is a one of a kind chapel completed in 1941 with a completely irregular design that is strange and incredible even by today's standards. 

Apple's Future Headquarter

The vast majority of people, whether they are constantly involved in technology or just a modest smartphone user, are familiar with the brand of Apple. It is quite simply one of the best tech companies in the world, which has created revolutionary products one after the other. From the MacBooks, to iPods, to the iPhone, it has constantly set a high standard of quality and performance that rival companies model themselves after. But, I do not intend to advertise these products, since first of all I am an android user and second this is not a tech blog. What I do wish to highlight is the incredible new headquarters that the company is proposing on building that, similarly to their tech products, redefines design. 


I must point out this building has not even began the initial construction phase, but the plans has all been approved the council of Cupertino, where Apple's headquarter is currently at, and all the necessary paperwork has been filled out. What sets this building apart from any other is the design. It is more then just futuristic; it is out of this world. The entire structure rounded with a large open space in the middle for trees and plants to grow. Many sites refer to it as the 'spaceship' or the 'mothership' due to its almost alien like appearance. The design proposed was a collaboration of many people, but most notably by the former CEO of Apple Steve Jobs. In one of the many interviews that he had he described the design through these simple words "It's a pretty amazing building, It's a little like a spaceship landed. It's got this gorgeous courtyard in the middle. It's a circle". The fact that this building is a circle means that there is a great deal of work for architects and engineers. Since most buildings are squares or rectangles, most materials are designed for square or rectangles. Building a rounded structure means that everything must be redesign from the ground up in order for every piece to fit perfectly together in a circle. 


At the present time there is not much known about this building, and considering that construction will not be finished until 2016, but there is a great deal of speculation pertaining to it. Nonetheless, once finished it will be one of the most incredible structures ever made, and perhaps revolutionary design. 

Discover: Manassas Park Elementary School

One of the main oppositions that architects must face in each project they work comes due to conflict with the environment. The building of a new structure almost always means that one way or another the environment will be affected. Sometimes hundreds of square miles of trees and plants must be cut down to make way for a new construction. Many people strongly oppose such actions arguing that the deforestation caused by large constructions affect the environment, eventually bringing long term problems such as global warming. Statements as such, in my opinion, can not be held as false or inaccurate since it is quite evident that large constructions affect the environment one way or another, whether it is by cutting down trees to create open spaces for buildings or to provide the large amounts of wood needed for the construction. But, here is where architects can merge creativity with environmental friendly designs. In my opinion, the construction of new buildings is inevitable due to the rapid growth that the country is experiencing as a whole, especially in Northern Virginia, but new designs and ideas will help maintain a balance between construction and the environment. One great example is the Manassas Park Elementary School, in Manassas Park, Virginia.

In 2009, the City of Manassas Park expanded an existing elementary known as Cougar Elementary School to accommodate the growing number of students that attend Manassas Park City Schools. The expansion, although, brought a small obstacle with it; was a small forest located behind the existing school. In order to build the two proposed buildings, the small forest, known as Camp Carondelet, had to be removed. But, the architects of the project decided to merge both the buildings and the camp to create an environmentally friendly building with a nature theme.

The buildings feature large open spaces outside where kids can not only enjoy an relax but also take part in nature by plating trees. The proximity to the forest also creates a rich environment that changes of color based on the seasons. This change of scenery is brought inside the building by the use of large window walls that allows the natural light to come and allows the people inside to have an almost-outside feeling. The large windows also helps stay illuminated with out the need of electrical lighting. The also helps educate the students, grade k-5, on how to help the environment. In each rooms there are indicators that tell the students when they can open the windows in order to allow natural ventilation. When these windows are opened, the mechanical system in the room is turned off and natural convection currents circulate fresh throughout the room.

There are many other features that this building has incorporated that truly shows how new ideas and designs are being developed to help aid the negative effects of new constructions. This shows that innovation and progression in architecture is the key to a better future both for the urban world and the environment.

Sources:
http://www.vmdo.com/docs/Manassas_Park_case_study_1.pdf

Walt Disney Concert Hall

Over any building, and work of architecture there is one particular type of building that grabs my attention the most. These buildings not only bring out of me great interest in design and modeling but also my love and passion for music. These are also the types of buildings that I hope to be able to focus on in my career; concert halls and auditoriums. I have been a musician for almost nine years. I play various instruments but above all I consider myself a pianist. Over the years, I have learned to truly appreciate music for its musical and artistic value. I feel that the combination of both my musical and architectural sides could push me towards a more specific field called architectural acoustics.
Any person who attends a concert, whether it is of classical, rock, or pop music, can testify of a certain feeling of euphoria that took over them while listening to the musicians playing live. This, of course, is primarily due the ability of the musicians, but, even a great musician playing in a poorly built auditorium or concert hall will sound as an amateur. This is why architectural acoustics is a very important part of architecture.
One perfect example of great architectural acoustics can be seen in the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. This acoustical work of art was opened in October, 2003. The project began as a request from Walt Disney's wife to build a new concert hall that would honor her late husband. She donated $50 million for the project as a way to reflect how Disney's love for music through out his entire life and career. The head architect, Frank Henry, "envisioned a place in which people would come together and feel comfortable" and in many ways he certainly did achieve this. The incredible outside view definitely grabs the attention of any body who happens to glance at the building. Its look is composed of various irregularly shaped steel boxes. These boxes have the resemblance of silver sails, which look more like a extravagant memorial then a concert hall. But, as incredible as the outside is, its the inside that makes this building unique. Architect Frank Henry along with a group of acoustics engineers and music directors worked hard to design an almost acoustically perfect room. The 2,265 seats that the concert hall has are arranged in what the Walt Disney Concert Hall website calls a "Vineyard Style". This way of arranging the seats consist of steeply raked seats that surround the stage. The level of steepness allows even the farthest listener to be much closer to the main stage then a regular seating arrangement. This, of course, allows the listener to enjoy a much better and refined sound.
This is simply one example of great architectural acoustics, there are many more that range from school auditoriums, to churches, to national concert halls. I just wish to someday be part of the team designing such marvels.

Source:
Walt Disney Concert Hall Main Website
http://www.laphil.com/wdch10/index.html

Best Schools for Architecture

Each year a website that greatly in architecture and is very influential in the field releases a list of the top best schools for architecture. This website, named DesignedIntelligence, gathers a massive amount of date from all over the country in order to categorize and list the top schools in the country. Of course, the list may not be one hundred percent accurate due to the vast amount of opinions that exist, but, it gives students a good idea of what to expect from a school and how the architecture community is evolving.

The list is based on the opinions gathered from hundreds of design educators and professionals who participated in the 2014. The idea was to find out which schools better equipped students with the tools and knowledge that architecture firms want. The results showed that 4 main areas were essential for a school a school to cover:

• Design Quality: The survey showed that 48.5% of the firms value this as their primary concern

Followed by:

• Integrated Design
• Sustainability/climate change
• Technological Change

Based on these areas the following schools came out on top: 

Best Undergraduate Schools: 

1. Calif. Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
2. Cornell University
3. Rice University
4. University of Texas at Austin
5. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Best Graduate Schools:

1. Harvard University
2. Yale University
3. Columbia University
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
5. Cornell University/Rice University

Sources:

http://www.di.net/articles/america-s-best-architecture-schools-2014/