Cesar Pelli was one of the most prolific and inspiring designers of skyscrapers around the world. Pelli designed some of the most grandiose and gargantuan skyscrapers of the world while experimenting with new glass facades. Among the numerous building which Cesar designed, one of the most beloved examples of his modernist design and curved glass experimentation is found in the World Financial Center (now known as Brookfield Place) in Battery Park City, New York City. The picture depicts the most famous aspect of the building; the glass-roofed Winter Garden at its center. The building has a long history as a shopping center and office-building complex located across West Street from the World Trade Center. Since its finalized construction in 1988, the building has been a major cultural and symbolic facet for New Yorkers. It was damaged during the September 11th, 2001 attack and was not reopened until a year later on September 11th, 2002 to ceremoniously honor the perseverance of America.

The Giant’s Causeway is unique and therefore needs a unique visitor center to prepare people for its beauty. The Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre has two main folds. One of the folds angles upwards to reveal the building, and the second fold angles down to approach the road and the costal path. Between the two folds there is a ramp that leads to the site. Inside the building mirrors the landmark itself. It contains a series of stepping floor plates which are linked by ramps. The floor plates allow for different activities. The café also looks over the long coastline where you can see the causeway. I think The Giant’s Causeway is very cool, so I feel the visitor center should give off a similar feeling. I think this building does a great job at being just as unique as the landmark itself.

The architect John Picard designed the headquarters for E-tank in Massillon Ohio. I have noticed a theme with this particular architect, such as he works very closely with energy corporations. Picard is known for his efficiency and sustainability of his architecture, which is true for this particular building. I really enjoy the way this building looks as far as its very modern aspects. It makes this workplace look very innovative and would inspire me to be creative while I work. Yet again, I like this building that Picard created as well as his creative twist on making the building interesting and pleasing to the eye.

This is Fay Jones’s Thorncrown Chapel and it is truly a work of beauty. The openness of the structure provides a sense of welcoming and also gives it a feeling of being outdoors among the forest. The scaffolding (I hope I’m using that correctly) perform a functional beauty. This is definitely my favorite of Fay Jones buildings I found.

The Garden Pavilion in London was designed by the architect Adriana Natcheva and is supposed to be a house designed around nature and open in a way that makes everyone inside feel like they are walking through a garden. The building itself is very minimalistic and the focus is on the outside of the house, almost the whole building is surrounded by green areas of flowers and gardens, so no matter where you are in the house you’re always looking at nature. It provides an amazing source of natural light through the house with all of the windows and its materials are designed to make it all feel very modern as well. I would enjoy living in a place like this if it was larger, it is very gorgeous inside and out but I would prefer a little more room and less of a focus on the outside of the house. 

The architect John Picard designed one of the most impressive towers in OKC. I really love the modern take that he took on this impressive tower. This was built relatively recently in the year 2009. Without this skyscraper, OKC would not be very impressive. This skyscraper adds some diversity to the buildings around as well as a great purpose. This tower is a 50 story corporate skyscraper that is dear to many Oklahoma residents. It is also the sixty-second tallest building in the United States and Pickard is well-known for this building. Picard is well-known for his building efficiency and sustainability, which is demonstrated in this building.

The Centre Pompidou-Metz is located in the city of Metz, France. It is an art museum, and the architect Shigeru Ban was involved in its modern and complex design. From looking at pictures of this piece of architecture, I first noticed the complex and wavy shape of the roof. From afar, I feel that the flowing roof lines almost create a dynamic feeling to the entire structure, which contrasts the straight and fixed lines seen on typical buildings. The structure of the roof is created from wooden beams, arranged in a hexagonal pattern that was influenced by a woven Chinese hat. The curving pattern formed from this design is quite intriguing to look at, especially from underneath the roof. Another thing that I noticed about the Centre Pompidou-Metz is the level of connectedness between the interior and exterior due to a lack of extended walls, which provides a welcoming feeling (gate closed in picture). To me, the structure’s overall design is well balanced; it’s gracefully elegant yet not overly extravagant or flashy, making it appealing to look at.

Photo & info source: https://www.archdaily.com/490141/centre-pompidou-metz-shigeru-ban-architects

This structure is named Funeraria Tangassi. Tatiana Bilbao was the architect for this structure. The area is 2160 m². It is located in Mexico. This structure is considered a memorial center. The design of the memorial center is very simple and sleek. I bet it’s hard to design this kind of structure. You have to portray a certain feeling that people want to feel when they walk in. They want it to be calm and peaceful. I think she designed it perfectly. It has very warm tones and the colors are calming. It is very modern and calm. It seems like the perfect structure.

Another interesting work done by Erik Gunnar Asplund is the Skandia Theatern. Once again he had an opportunity to display his interest in interior design as well. It featured special lamps that dropped down to look like stars. The theater apparently had a rocky time many years after its opening, being renamed, named back again, opening and closing (McBain, n.d.). Nevertheless, it is still regarded as a piece of history showcasing one of his Nordic Classic works.