Shedd Aquarium Chicago IL

When I was growing up I visited this aquarium almost once a year, so much so that it started to seem common.  The front facade is roman and matches the nearby Field Museum.  The columns are a few stories tall and the building is on the Lake Michigan shore.

The entrance is very grand with ceilings that are several stories high.  This room is very memorable, almost more interesting than the exotic fish inside the tanks.












Much of the rest of the aquarium is what I assume most aquariums are like, though I have not visited very many.  The amphitheater that they have shows with some of the larger animals has a row of windows that overlooks Lake Michigan.  I think that this is a classic version of what an aquarium looks like.

360 Bridge Austin TX

This bridge, officially named the Pennybacker Bridge after the designer, spans Lake Austin through Loop 360.  Coming from the south there are limestone cliffs that the road cuts through, then it opens to a view of the surrounding hills and lake with the bridge.

The bridge is constructed of steel that has a rusted finish with
out support beams that touch the water.  In the Texas hill country there are a good number of bridges, but most have supports that go down to the water.  This bridge has lines that reach down from the steel arch to support the road.

I think that it complements the surrounding area very well, the bank of the lake along one side is a golf course so its always green.  It's a beautiful piece of architecture for the public.

OSU CononcoPhillips Alumni Center Stillwater OK

We talked in class about how the architecture at OU was diverse throughout the campus, but Oklahoma State's campus was fairly uniform to a certain style.  I attended OSU during my freshman year and living on campus I spent time in several buildings.  This building I actually mostly just walked or drove past, but I went to some sort of event there during my first visit to OSU.  My dad attended OSU during graduate school, though I grew up knowing little about the school. When I was applying to schools during high school he mentioned that I should apply just to see if I got any scholarship offers.  I applied and got an offer, but I had never visited Stillwater.  They were having something for alumni so my parents and I visited the campus.  There really was not much to do in Stillwater, so this event somewhat sticks out.

The outside of the building does not seem to match the surrounding buildings due to the outer walkway.  Unless seen from above it sticks out somewhat on that campus.  I often used the walkway because I had a few classes nearby and it always seemed to be raining in Stillwater that year.

The inside has a large ballroom for these alumni gatherings, with windows along one wall which was nice.  Outside of the ballroom there is a huge living rooms with a massive fireplace.  There is kind of a alumni museum down a large hallway.

The fireplace is the almost the height of a one-story house, with a staircase behind it that goes to an upper loft floor.