With this being the tallest building in Oklahoma City, it is a sight that is hard to miss. Since its being built in 2012, I have had the chance to go in and explore this building multiple times. With its elaborate diamond shaped build, made of glass, this is one of the many things that draws attention downtown.

The Devon Tower holds meaning to me because, my father would take me and my brother here to lunch once or twice a month each month. This became our routine and I would look forward to it each time. One of the many things I like about the tower is how during the holidays, the decorations that are used inside and the way it lights up at night.

Two summers ago, I traveled to Britain for a week around my birthday. During my time there, what I did more than anything else was visit museums. A number of London museums as well as the Louvre on a day visit to Paris. Most Impressive and depressing at the same time was The British Museum.

Architecturally, its beautiful, and the interior is open and bright. However, its façade is a preface for the thievery inside.

While in The British Museum, I wandered through countless halls of precious artifacts from around the world, awed by the things which were from my own heritage and things which were from far off lands which I may never visit. Inundated by treasures, I often could only think about how so many things are stolen. Pieces of the Parthenon, Egyptian relics from the tombs of kings, African bronzes, etc. Compared to the Louvre, the British Portrait Museum, and the London Natural History Museum, this one rubbed me the wrong way.

La Sagrada Familia is what immediately came to mind when thinking of posts for this blog. I saw the basilica in the summer of 2018 and it was by far one of the most breathtaking buildings I have ever seen. The best way I think I can describe it is imagine a sandcastle built by the gods. Although construction of the building began under a different architect, Antoni Gaudi is credited for overseeing almost all of the project and giving it his signature flowing style. It has taken well over a hundred years to build the basilica due to various political and financial difficulties, but also due to the sheer size and complexity of the building itself. Standing at 560ft, it very quickly overwhelms you at the sheer level of detail on such a massive scale. I managed to get some really good pictures of it from across the park, where many people like to photograph the basilica over the water. Pictures really don’t do it justice however. For me, the basilica is a reminder at the beauty that human beings are capable of when we all contribute toward a single goal.

Sarkeys Energy Center is to the Physical Science Center as Yang is to Yin. They have a similar monolith structure, but Sarkeys, at least to me, has a much more pleasing image. The building manages to maintain the common theme of the university while also being built like a sprawling castle, with moats, towers, and a giant keep. Its labyrinthine interior contains some of the coolest displays on campus.

I have had many classes in Sarkeys during my time at OU, and so I’ve spent a lot of time inside. As the geology building, It has underground labs, sawing at rock and producing horrible noise, while also having many beautiful rocks and fossils to look at as you wander, lost due to its horrible classroom organization scheme. some of the worst and best classes I’ve taken were there, and overall, I’d say Sarkeys has had a positive effect on me. This semester especially, you can appreciate the architecture more when there are so few people around.

Probably THE most iconic building in all of Spain is the Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) created by Antoni Gaudi. I visited this building back in 2012 (130 years after the building broke ground). The building then, as is now, nearly complete, save for the center spire (and several smaller ones) which is to be completed in 2026. From the outside, the church is a sight to behold – the extremely intricate detail and color depicting the nativity. The interior is much like that of the outside: insanely ornate, complex, and stunning. Words cannot really describe the emotions and magnitude of the greatness of this work of art. What is interesting about this church is that the backside is completely different from the front in terms of detail.

From the number of doors, 7 (for the Sacraments) to the number of spires, 16 (for Jesus, Mary, the 12, and the 4 Evangelists), the church is filled with theological symbolism.

It is also worth noting the amount of space in the center part of the church. The extremely tall columns seem nearly everlasting, and the entire wall space is covered in stained glass that illuminates the church.

One of the things I remember most about my visit to this church (and all touristy churches in Europe, especially the Vatican) is the dress code. The dress code is strict (rightfully so) especially for women. There seems to be lots of concern over which areas of the body can and cannot be exposed, even during hot summers.

All-in-all, Sagrada Familia is stunning. I would love to visit it again to more fully gaze upon its beauty and theological symbols.

The second building that tugged at me to attend OU was St. Thomas More. Now, at the time, this building (in the picture) was just beginning to break ground. However, at the beginning of the Spring semester of this year (2020), I was able to step foot into this church for the first time. The artwork is absolutely fantastic – from faux tapestries to statues to paintings. The interior of the building really centralizes oneself to the altar – the centerpiece of Catholic worship. Every time I walk in, I am in awe of the beauty that I get to experience. Additionally, like my parish back at home, the experience of community is something that is irreplaceable. The building itself is a testament to the generosity of the people of Norman – costing $8 million and the parish only being $425k in debt today (~10 months after it opened).

Most people wouldn’t think to look at ships for architecture, but with the size of Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, one can begin to see how it could apply. It’s large enough to be a floating city at 1188 feet long (nearly a quarter mile!) and 228,000 gross tons. For my high school graduation, my grandparents took my cousin and I on a Mediterranean cruise out of Barcelona, and this is the boat that we took.

From the outside, it just looks like an oversized cruise ship. The real architecture is on the inside.

The middle of the ship is open to the sky, and there’s a boardwalk with restaurants and shops. The space is so large that they have small trees and bushes planted along the boardwalk. The stateroom balconies lining the boardwalk made me feel like I was standing in a dense and modern city.

What’s even crazier than having an open air street in the middle of a cruise ship is having another interior street right below it, filled with even more restaurants, shops, and even an art gallery. The glass skylights that partition the top street illuminate the bottom one, making it feel like I was walking between two skyscrapers. There were several nights where they used the lower street to have dance parties or parades, and others where they used the upper street for some more relaxing performances. Towards one end of the street was a massive formal dining room, and on the other was an indoor theater. If one theater wasn’t enough, there was a second open air theater on the rear of the ship!

To top it all off, on the top deck there were multiple pools, a mini-golf course, a rock climbing wall, 2 wave surfers, and a kid’s water park. I was on board for 2 weeks and didn’t have time to try everything.

I thought it was quite impressive how the designers created an artistic combination of urban style and verdant nature on something that would sail in the middle of the ocean. Its style and variety of activities make the Symphony of the Seas a floating city, with architecture that rivals some of its land based cousins.

Old Town was the very first neighborhood to develop in Albuquerque, so you can imagine the rich culture and history that is still present in the landmark. The very center of Old Town is where the plaza is located. There is a mixture of both traditional tourist activities and authentic cultural experiences. My favorite aspect about the plaza is the Indian trading post. The local Native Americans lineup under one of the covered sidewalks in the plaza and sell their hand-made jewelry, pottery, paintings, etc. Each piece has a story behind it, and they are always very welcoming and friendly. It is really cool to see all of the traditional adobe style buildings. One of the most stunning, in my opinion, is the San Felipe de Neri Church. This church still has the same adobe construction but, unlike those surrounding it, it has a pitched roof instead of a traditional flat roof. This church is the oldest church in Albuquerque and holds so many stories that can be learned by reading various plaques that explain some of the building’s aspects. Exploring the plaza and old town is one of the best ways to experience New Mexico.

Unlike the other two churches I am posting about, this building makes it because of its sentimental value, not its art and architecture. I do like brick buildings, but the interior of this church doesn’t quite look like a church. It is bland, not colorful, and certainly not like most Roman Catholic Churches. However, as I mentioned, this church holds sentimental value – it is where I got baptized, received the Eucharist, learned about God, met my friends, got confirmed, and began to teach others about the faith. It is where I learned how to be an altar server, something I still do to this day. And the people and environment of this place is what has made me so interested in the Catholic Church. I don’t really remember my initial encounter with this building, but these are the positive memories and emotions it brings.

When I came to visit the University of Oklahoma, I really enjoyed it. I knew it had one of the best meteorology programs in the nation. What sealed the deal – made Oklahoma my #1 college choice – was the National Weather Center. The sheer size of the building is awesome (see image, below). It has a built-in storm shelter, Science on a Sphere, the beloved O-deck, and live weather information on nearly every wall. It houses multiple mobile radars, the Storm Prediction Center, and Dorothy from the movie Twister. This building is the epitome of any weather enthusiast. The building doesn’t just mean a lot to me, it means a lot to this University and the U.S. Government. The joint venture is what makes the NWC such a meaningful location on campus. It also makes me feel cool whenever I walk past the security desk.