Crystal bridges was designed by Moshe Safdie and serves as Art museum funded by the Walton family in Arkansas. I had seen this place online and in pictures but it was not until I saw it in person that I was truly blown away. Even though this building was designed to hold art the building itself is art. Crystal Bridges is one of those buildings that feels like it almost grew out of the ground so fit the preexisting environment. I have always had a great appreciation for an architect that has the ability to blur the lines where the building meets the ground, and Safdie did just that. even when you walk in to the building you feel like the outside is invited in not cut off at the threshold. However, my favorite thing was by far how the natural lighting was manipulated. The museum is full of clever lighting solutions that direct and soften light to best present the art in the building.

The Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Dallas is a building that always sparks memories of good times with friends every time I see it. The first time I saw this building was freshman year on the Friday of OU TX. It filled me with anticipation and excitement. I didn’t know what to expect of the weekend. It was one of my first times being in downtown Dallas and this building became a kind of home to me over the course of the weekend and following years. This building even now makes me smile when I see it.

By: Blayne Nichols

This massive cathedral is located in Barcelona, Spain. This was the very first building I visited on my first trip out of The United States of America. What a great way to kick off the trip. The cathedral is still under construction, but in the middle of Barcelona it towers over everything in the city. The inside is so big, with tall vaulted ceilings and wonderful pillars. The architecture on the outside is very impressive, but on the inside it is so breathtaking that it is over whelming. I could not count how many times I got dizzy from walking around looking upwards. It is by far one of the favorite place I have been.

I had the opportunity to visit Barcelona, Spain in March 2019. Arguably the most popular tourist attraction of Barcelona is the Sagrada Familia. The Sagrada Familia has been under construction since 1882 and has had a variety of famous architects on the project over the years, most notable has been Antoni Gaudi who designed it. When I was planning my visit, I didn’t know what to expect, but what I saw amazed me. The outside of the building is extremely detailed and is meant to tell biblical stories on every side. The interior is designed to look like a forest with columns meant to look like trees of a forest and stain glass windows representing light shining through the “trees”. I felt like I was walking into a fairy tale story; I felt like I was being transported to another world. The beautiful open space really made me feel like I was in a forest and there were going to be little forest animals all around me. If you ever have a chance to go to Barcelona, the Sagrada Familia would be my top recommendation.

The residence halls at the University of Oklahoma are often seen as one of the worst times in some student’s lives after moving out of the dormitories. I look back on my time in the dorms as one of the most fun times I had on campus. My roommate and I were both the same major so we had a lot of classes together which made studying and homework much easier. Everyone on our floor all became friends to the point that no one locked their doors and every night was a social event between the entire floor. From studying to going out to the restaurants around Norman there was never a time that people were alone. I would love to go back and have one more week of everyone on the floor living together again and getting to do all the crazy things we did in the dorms freshman year. I will always remember Walker 740W and hope that there are others like me who actually made the best of an old run down building.

This is the house/apartment I have lived in since sophomore year of college so it is now my third year living in it. I thought it was a very interesting design and kind of reminded me of small beach houses. All the buildings are similar but they all have different colored siding just like at the beach. What I thought was really interesting is all the houses are backwards in the complex. The houses face each other with a sidewalk in-between the rows. All of the parking is at the back of the houses which means you are always at the back and enter through the back door. However, the front of the house is very appealing and I love the front porch and the balcony. The house gives me a comforting feeling because I know it is home and it is what I am familiar with. Even though there are exact same models of my home, I don’t feel the same way when I enter other peoples houses. I have grown accustom to the smell and decorations of my house. I have a very weird feeling when I think about having to move out at the end of the school year.

By: Blayne Nichols

I have family that lives in Puerto Rico and every time we visit we have to take a trip to this castle. This castle is on a peninsula at the inlet of the Bay of San Juan . There are not many restrictions at the castle so you can go almost anywhere in it. The yard in front is massive as a result there are always people and vendors congregated there. Being on a peninsula there is always high winds, so it is the best spot to fly kites in PR, hundreds of kites are flown daily. It has a great view of the ocean and a great atmosphere. If you are ever in Puerto Rico, I would recommend checking it out, and its admission fee is cheap.

The AT&T Center is a Stadium complex located in San Antonio, Texas. It is most well known for being the home of the San Antonio Spurs basketball team, as well as the San Antonio Rampage hockey team. The center also hosts many public events including concerts, political rallies, and school graduations. I have many fond memories from here including many Spurs games and my high school graduation. My favorite memories were going to Rampage games with my dad, unfortunately the Ramage are moving next year so I will no longer be able to see them play. The AT&T Center is a place that builds lasting memories and is a great place to visit.

The Cotton Bowl Stadium will forever hold a special place in my heart. I will never forget the first time I saw the Cotton Bowl stadium freshman year. Walking up to the stadium with all of my friends around me was magical, it was like there was something in the air. Excitement filled my body as we walked through the gates and saw the stadium packed to the brim with fans on both sides. The sound of all of the fans screaming bouncing around the stadium is forever ingrained in me.