4/21/15 Week 13 Day 1

Today my group presented our much larger scale idea for our hanging edible city, Octavia.

4/16/15 Week 12 Day 2

Today my group presented a sketched plan for our edible city, Octavia.

4/14/15 Week 12 Day 1

Today we visited the Education Building.

 Its design is based on symmetry.

Two walkways lead up to either side of the front to two entrances.

The center of the building's front is a pane of glass looking in on an area with tables and chairs, forcing people to enter through one of the doors to either side.

The floor directly in front of the entry is made of sturdier material than the surrounding floor due to higher foot traffic.

The building has hallways running down either side, one which actually exists and one which is implied.

This type of material allows the wall to hide things such as vents and even doors from easy viewing.

The landscaping at the back of the building coexists with it and creates a space for students to relax or for outdoor class to be held.

After the Education Building, we visited the Krannert Art Museum at the request of the class.

The railings inside the museum are designed to look like the building facing itself.

We entered through a a door that allowed us to store our backpacks while observing the art.

The museum connects to the Art and Design Building.

4/9/15 Week 11 Day 2

Today we discussed our upcoming "edible city" project.

4/7/15 Week 11 Day 1

 Today we visited the Main Library, the Foreign Languages Building, the Music Building, and the genomics building.

 Areas of the Main Library meant for studying often have large windows placed high on the walls to allow light to come easily into the building. There are also large lights hanging from the ceiling. Illumination is important both from a functional stand point and for the symbolic significance of becoming "enlightened."
 










 We visited the main stacks in the library. The space has maximized efficiency for storing books and has shelves that move automatically. Some of the shelves are made of strong metal and also function as a support system for the stacks.

The Foreign Languages Building could be interpreted as having been built as an upside down version of the Tower of Babel. Instead of being built up to try to reach a deity, it is built to invite one in.

 To enter The Music building, one must climb up to the entryway, and once inside one can enter a large theater or go to either side. The building is designed on symmetry.

This piece of art is in the first room people enter when coming into the genomics building and serves as the face to welcome people in. Outside there is more art, which is directly in front of the entrance to another genomics building.

4/2/15 Week 10 Day 2

 This Thursday we visited a construction site for a new veteran's building on campus.

 We were first shown around the maintenance part of the building. The pipes and the wires that will keep it running, keep it functional and inhabitable must all be positioned carefully in order to fit in everything necessary.

Then we were taken to the room that will be used as the face of building. This is the first thing that people will see when the walk in. In order to give the veterans a view of everything around them and therefore give them a sense of security, the room has large windows on every wall.

In every room where the veterans can live there will be track installed in the ceiling in case the veteran needs assistance moving. Caretakers will also be on hand around the clock.

One of the machines workers use.

The floor where veterans will be housed is nearly finished and had already been painted when we were given the tour.

Even with years of planning, things can still go wrong when building. There are several sections of the ceiling in this bathroom the need to be accessed, so what was originally going to be a permanent ceiling with a single access door must now be either a paneled ceiling or must have several access doors.

3/31/15 Week 10 Day 1

This Tuesday, being graced with nice weather, we took a tour of of the Mt. Hope Cemetery on campus. It is home to a large field of graves as well as a mausoleum. Family mausoleums, where generation after generation could be interred next to their bloodline, have fallen out of practice. However, people still have the option to be laid to rest indoors, and it is possible to reserve spaces next to loved ones. If desired, one can also be cremated and placed in a creative container to be housed within the mausoleum. 

An example of a family mausoleum

The photo to the left depicts a potter's field, where there are bodies buried but no grave markers were ever placed.
The photo to the right shows a grave marker displaced by a tree that has grown since the marker was placed.

 Obelisks often symbolize that a Freemason is buried in that plot.

 Metal and marble (left and lower left) do not hold up as well against the elements as a headstone crafted from granite (right).

 Huff was buried directly aligned with the fifty yard line of the football stadium.
 Other less-known or less-important members of football staff are buried to either side or farther away from the stadium.

 There is a special section of the cemetery for veterans; a memorial is placed nearby. There used to be large plants at all four corners of the area in order to create the sense the space is separated from the rest of the cemetery, but now only one corner remains (lower left).

There is also a special area of the cemetery for those who practice Judaism. It is a custom to leave stones on top of the grave marker, and this area is filled with headstones topped with colorful rocks of all shapes and sizes.

The trees chosen for a cemetery are usually ones that are hardy and long-lasting.

Several head stones have fallen in the cemetery and have yet to be righted.