This building is the movie theater in my hometown of Orinda, California. The outside of the building has a missive, classic movie theater facade. The facade has bright neon lights that you can see from the freeway and really is the face of the town. Anyone driving by going to the city almost forced to see it, especially at night when the lights are really bright. I really like this as it almost gives the town spirit.

The inside of the building is completley different than atleast I would have expected. Instead of the modern theater, it gives off more of a god/goddess vibe. The walls are painted with old paintings of people, however the ceiling is more futuristic with the neon lights. For me this building is very nostalgic and will always hold a special place in my heart.

The creative piece by MRVDV was an instant attention grabber to me. When I first looked at the piece I immediately thought it looked like a flying carpet. My instincts were right as the architect meant it to look like a carpet. I found this to be a very intriguing design, odd in fact and that is what makes me like it even more. The architecture really speaks “modern art” to me and almost doesn’t even feel like a building which another interesting concept to me.

To top the intriguing architecture, the usage of the space is just as amazing. You can actually walk all over the top of the building, in fact its actually a park. Beneath its carpet park top layer resides a music and arts center below. The center has a music/cinema complex, a conference center, and a museum for the arts where they hold events. You can reach the carpet top from the rooftop terrace above the venue as well.

The Tianjin Binhai Library is another fascinating design by the MVRDV in accompany with the Tiajin urban planning group. This library is one of a kind in many ways. For one the massive globe in the center of the building is the stand out it all. With a sky roof beaming down light at the globe, it illuminates the room and creates an amazing centerpiece. The rounded architecture of the structure seems to be molded around the ball almost as if you were standing in the middle of a gyroscope.

To me this building is a representation of future of architecture. I feel this way about a lot of non american architecture recently as I think there is more progressing overseas. The buildings put out by MVRDV often fit this new age criteria, or futuristic style as I like to call it. This sort of futuristic style, gives me hope for our future as a world. That we can progress as a society rather than stagnating in our ways. Would love to visit this building sometime in the future.

The Jut lecture hall was built in Taipei in 2017, to represent a greener landscape inside the building. This is something quite different to the normal paint job, where the whole room is actually lined in a variety of textiles which took over a year to complete. The hyper urban environment of Taipei needs more rooms like this throughout their buildings. It gives of a naturalistic vibe without actually using real nature.

I would personally prefer if there were a few changes made to this room however. I believe their should be a better use of natural light, It would bring a good aspect to the space and make you feel more outdoors. I also think their could have been more distinct images within the textiles. It would give it more of an oomph to have an accent wall or structural piece.

I do love that they allowed an artist to create the space, instead of normal painting. If more spaces allowed for artists to put their spin on different spaces through buildings then we would come up with objectively more diverse spaces, that represent the local community around them better.

The building is on the property normally home to many 17th century estates. In order to fit in with the scene of the area the building was designed to look similar to the old country estates with a new modern flare. I really enjoyed what the company came up with when designing this project, there’s just enough old mixed with new.

I particularly enjoyed the use of multiple types of stone, with the large amounts of glass. It looks like someone blew up the building and filled the missing pieces with the glass. Inside the building is just as interesting, with a full wall library and steps that look carved out of the stone. For every type of rock is a new cube on the inside forming a new space. These different cubes represent different types of buildings in the region which is just another way to connect the old country estate with the new.

For this article I am doing a piece of architecture that is near and dear to my heart, the clock tower known by many as “Big Ben”. Many people do not know that Big Ben is really the name of the bell inside of the clock tower, and the tower itself is really the “Elizabeth tower” named after Queen Elizabeth. I was born in London and this is one of its most iconic architectural pieces.

One reason I enjoy this piece so much is what it brings to the London Skyline. When looking at the city from a distance, you can pick out the magnificent clock tower. Even when walking around parts of the city you can see the tower peaking out among the others.

Although the tower doesn’t look complicated from a distance the closer you are the more you can see its intricacies. The building is made up of all sorts of carvings and sculpted parts that become more apparent the closer you get, especially on the peaks of the building where it is most ornate. I also think that because this building is so iconic its almost a symbol of England itself, surviving the bombings through world wars, and other events through out history. The tower is also connected to another famous building, the parliament building , which also has survived its own share of events throughout history.

When traveling through Italy with my rugby team in high school we visited the Trevi Fountain while exploring Rome. I particularity enjoyed this piece of architecture while in the city due to the sculpting and extravagance of it. I like the concept of bringing aspects of nature into architecture , and I believe fountains are a great way of doing that. I also enjoy the interactivity of the piece, people throwing coins into the fountain for wishes.

The piece, like many other amazing pieces of architecture had all sorts of people there to see it. The wide variety of ages, ethnicity, and languages was fascinating honestly. This architecture obviously spoke to a wide range of people and for that reason it attracted me to it even more. Art is meant to be appreciated be all, including the art of architecture. Architecture that can bring people together makes it that much more important to me. It also gives back to the people in another way, they collect the money that’s thrown in during the day every night and donate to charities.

When I first encountered this building It felt like home. Growing up in the UK it reminded me a lot of the churches I would see as a child . When I moved to the US in elementary school I saw less of this sort of architecture, so was excited to see the change. I encountered the building as a young kid when my parents were showing me around our new home, San Francisco. Technically I first encountered it as a baby when I was baptized there early in my life but have no memory of it. This also holds a special place in my mind because it is also the church where my parents were married.

What I like about the building is the ornate decoration throughout the exterior. The usage of columns and arches, gives off a sort of ancient, angelic vibe. I especially like the entrance which is arches layered on top of each other, feels like I am walking into another dimension. I believe the building is in the Romanesque and Gothic style that was very popular in older religious times. This building however was built in 1924 post World War 1, in one of my favorite parts of SF, Italian town.