St. Anns Church is the church that I went to growing up as a kid. The reason St. Anns Church has such a special place in my heart is because of what I’ve learned there. Along with that the architecture of St. Anns is amazing. While you can’t see in the photo but on the inside, the entire upper part of each wall in the main building is stained glass. It reminded me of the gothic and romanesque buildings we learned about earlier this year. I would always love going to church and looking at the different sculptures within the building along with the attention to detail on the creation of the building as well.

By: Brandon Point

The Gateway Arch is an iconic monument located in St. Louis, Missouri. The Arch was designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen (who won a design contest). Construction of the monument started in 1963 and was complete in 1965. It stands at 630 feet high making it the tallest monument in the U.S.

When I was younger, we used to go to St. Louis about once a year because two of my aunts lived there. We would always drive by the Arch on our way in and out of town. After begging for years to stop and look, finally one day we did. We took the tram to the top which is really cool and somewhat terrifying at the same time. No one warned me that it sways a little back and forth which is a little disconcerting, but apparently is designed that way. To me, the Gateway Arch is a very unique and awesome monument and I never get tired of seeing it when I drive through St. Louis.

https://www.gatewayarch.com/experience/about/#our-visitors-have-been-seeing-differently-from-the-very-beginning

While most people try as hard as possible to forget middle school, I have had no choice but to remember. My mother was a teacher at this school. I grew up spending nights and weekends in her classroom, watching her grade papers, and prepare lesson plans.

The first time I came into this building was my first day of 6th grade. Most of the feelings I had around this building at that time were fear and nervousness. Over the years, those feelings would turn into comfort and sense-of-place. Because my mom worked there (and still does), I have formed many personal relationships with the faculty and staff.

Some may only see the as a school building, but to me, it is much more. This building holds a lot of memories and nostalgia from my childhood.

This cathedral in Barcelona, Spain was designed by Antoni Gaudi. Aside from the cathedral, I’ve also seen his other work around Barcelona, such as his house and Park Güell. This cathedral was massive. I remember trying to take a picture with it, but my parents could not fit the entire cathedral in the picture. The fine detail was what made this cathedral one of the most impressive structures I’ve ever seen. When I visited, there was an enormous amount of construction going on, which limited the inside visiting capacity. However, I hope to be able to see the inside of it someday.

Kinkaku-ji is a Buddhist temple located in Kyoto, Japan. When I visited this temple, I was astounded by not only the temple, but its surroundings as well. There is a small lake surrounding the temple along with many trees on the banks of the lake. It creates a very soothing environment for when people come to visit. The top two layers of the temple is entirely made up of gold. It is not a big temple relative to other temples in Japan. However, the amount of gold used to make this temple greatly exceeds the amount used to make any of the other temples.

This building is the China Central Television Headquarters in Beijing, China. I’ve seen this building many times in my life and am astounded by it each time I visit Beijing. I have yet to figure out the physics behind this building, but I love how its shaped. My mom told me that the nickname for this building is “da kucha,” which means big underwear in English. She said that the nickname came to be because the building looks like a big pair of pants/underpants. Aside from the shape, this building is actually massive. I hope to be able to see the inside at some point in my life.

The Marina Bay Sands is a hotel building in Singapore. I’ve actually had the opportunity to stay one night in this hotel. The first thing I noticed about the structure was its height. The three towers are very tall, and they each curve upwards. When I walked inside, I noticed how the walls were almost entirely made up of windows. This allowed the sunlight to act as the main source of light for the towers. The top portion, which connects each of the three towers, houses an infinity pool, which overlooks the Singapore’s skyline. It also features a bunch of greenery and a mini garden. My favorite part of the entire building would have to be the view. One side of the hotel overlooks the rest of the city while the other side overlooks the ocean and the gardens by the bay. It was an incredible experience staying here and one of my all time favorite buildings.

The Perot Museum is one of my favorite architectures in Dallas. I have been here a few time for field trips but also for fun. The outside of the building has a very unique modern architecture. The glass piece on the side of the building is actually an elevator. Inside the building is has very modern and large areas with large windows but also has rooms that are darker all depending on what part of the museum you are in based on the different historical parts of nature and science within it.

We all know about the iconic Empire State Building. The building is truly a household name. However, I never realized how massive this building really is until last summer when me and two friends took a day trip to New York City. We had been walking around the city all day and I was exhausted, and then we finally made it to the foot of the Empire State Building. It was so tall that I could not even see the building in its entirety from the bottom. I was breaking my neck trying to see the very top. Unfortunately, we were not able to go to the top of the building because frankly, it was too expensive. But despite not being able to make it to the top, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience with this building.