All posts by ColeWalker

Los Terrenos

This small 480 m^2 home located in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Mexico, was designed by Tatiana Bilboa in 2016. Even though it is not a big building, this building is one of my favorites of those designed by Bilboa. The mirrored glass walls blend the building amazingly with the trees and nature surrounding it. The green trees reflecting off the building not only make it blend perfectly with nature but also grant the building a very relaxing vibe. Additionally, when in the interior of a building, one would think they were outside among the trees due to the glass walls and roof. In my opinion, Los Terrenos is one of the best projects completed by Tatiana Bilboa due to its amazing integration of nature into its design.

Observatory House

The Observatory House, designed by Gabriel Orozco and Tatiana Bilbao, sits on large promontory overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Roca Blanca, Mexico. The building was built in 2008 and was inspired by the Jantar Mantar Astronomical Observatory which was built in Delhi in 1724. I really like the Observatory House mostly because of its location. I guarantee the view must be absolutely incredible. The design of the building is a bit too random for my liking, and I am not the biggest fan of the white color, however, I really like the addition of the pool on top of the building.

Jinhua Architecture Park Exhibition Pavilion

This pavilion designed by Tatiana Bilboa and located in Jinhua, China was designed in 2002 as a part of the series of 17 pavilions that make up Jinhua Architecture Park. The building is designed in such a way that each of the viewpoints only shows an isolated section of the scenery. The user must journey the halls of the pavilion in search of different viewpoints to collect the whole picture of the scenery. I really like the architectural style presented here due to its large striking figures. I find it really awesome how the design of the pavilion causes the user to have to journey from point to point to understand the whole picture.

Bioinnova

Designed by Tatiana Bilboa, this multiuse biotechnology facility located in Culiacan Rosales, Mexico, was completed in 2012. The building was designed for the Monterrey Institute of Technology. Bilboa’s design was inspired by a mix of geometry and nature (a tree to be exact). The building consists of 4 blocks made of glass and steel stacked on top of one another with every other block being rotated 90 degrees to create large overhangs and patios. The resulting tree structure creates a very visually unique building. I think this building is quite interesting and eyecatching. The use of the glass exterior makes the building look inviting and open.

I also think it is interested to look at some of the different structural systems used in the construction of this building as seen in the above picture. For example, one can see the piles that were driven into the foundation of the building for structural support.

Cinderblock Family Home

In 2013, I had the pleasure of going on a mission trip to Guatemala. In Guatemala, I along with a few others were tasked with constructing very small cinderblock homes for a few different homeless families. If the idea of hope could come in the form or a building, this would be it. These homes we constructed for families ranging from 4-6 people and were about 12ft by 10ft or about the size of a small college dormitory room. They had no bathroom, no water, and no lights. Yet, these families were so joyful that they now had a roof over their heads albeit a small one. This experience made me truly understand how many things that people living in the United States take for granted when we should be thankful for everything we have. I will always remember the joyful and hopeful gazes of the families as they looked upon their new homes that I had helped construct.

The Gateway Arch

The Gateway Arch located in St. Louis, Missouri is a 630 foot monument designed by architect Eero Saarinen. Construction for the monument began in 1963 and was finished in 1965. It is the worlds tallest arch, and the tallest monument in the western hemisphere. I was born in St. Louis and while my parents moved away when I was very young, one of my only memories of the city was the Gateway Arch. My dad had to lift me up to see out of the windows. I would really enjoy to go back to St. Louis to go look out the arch again, but I have never been back to the city since my parents and I moved away when I was young. The “Gateway to the West” truly is a sight to behold and I hope to cross paths with it again one day.

Fears Structural Engineering Laboratory

While this building is no visual spectacle, I have grown very fond of it during the past couple of years. Fears Lab is located just north of the research campus or just east of the Lloyd Noble Center on the University of Oklahoma’s Norman campus. While the inside does not look much better than the outside, I have learned more practical engineering knowledge between those four walls than anywhere else. A constant smell of concrete fills the air due to the constant concrete pouring and testing conducted in the lab. Later this year, the building is actually supposed to be receiving an extension to its existing high bay which will be absolutely incredible as right now it is very crowded. I plan to continue working in research at Fears Lab for the remainder of my college career. The projects I have been apart of at Fears Lab have instilled a love for research in me as research allows you to potentially be the first person to solve or discover something completely new and possibly groundbreaking. In addition to the surplus of practical knowledge I have gained within this building, many of my colleagues that work with me have become some of my closest friends. I think this building is a perfect representation of the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover.”

Grand Fiesta Americana

At this particular Grand Fiesta Americana Resort located in Boca del Rio, Veracruz, Mexico, the most important event of my life took place. On June 29th, 2019, I was married in the presidential suite of this resort. This resort sits right along the coastline, and the beach could be seen as we spoke our vows. Our following reception party took place in one of the large meeting rooms where we had a multitude of tables, a dancefloor, a D.J., and a surplus of food. After the reception party ended, my new wife and I were gifted a free night in the junior suite of the hotel where we spent our wedding night together. I’ll always remember walking into the suite and seeing the surplus of rose petals the hotel staff had littered the floor with. While there was nothing particularly special about this hotel when compared with other fancy resorts, it will always hold a special place in my heart.