The Tower of Ring in Tianjin, China was completed in 2012 and is one of the most complex towers in the world. Everyday, the visibility of the tower will change as it was designed to change based upon the motion of the atmosphere in addition to the wind patterns and light. This tower is located in the center of the city with a very large square surrounding it making it one of the most important parts of the city. The tower symbolizes that there is nothing within or on top of the tower to represent the possibilities of meeting new people and finding something new for anyone in the square. There is no fee to visit and there is essentially no point to the tower besides being a representation of how little there is impeding people in the modern era to interact and find beauty and enjoyment in the things that are around us everyday. It truly is something that needs to be replicated in other places around the world as there are so few public places that exist in many parts of the world including the United States.

-William Cole Miller

The Step Tower in Osaka, Japan stands out amongst the bricks and bright colors that surround the structure and really help it stand out. This building was inspired by ships and maritime feelings. The flow of the building and the curved designs are supposed to remind one of the flowing ocean as the ship cuts through the waves bringing peace to those who are within it. Located in the center of town, the building is well known in the growing town that really ties together the ideas that the city is growing and becoming more and more modern. For those living within the building each floor has a larger and larger view of the city skyline that contribute to the simple, clean, and neat feeling that was the intention of the project from the beginning. I think this is an interesting structure and although it is intended to stand out amongst the things around it, I don’t find this structure to make a lot of sense to me and I don’t feel that there is enough for me to really feel the ship and maritime feeling that the firm was going for.

-William Cole Miller

The Hotel Ninja Black is a structure that is focused on being a symbol of the historical purpose of the Ninja. Quiet and operating in the shadows while still being a felt presence in society as a whole. The client of the building has traced their lineage back to a group of people connected with the Ninja disciplines so they may be a descendent of one of these mysterious “people of the shadows”. The lobby of the hotel has a deep pit dug in the floor that is filled with sharpened sticks covered by a very thick pane of glass to give the illusion that there are traps and mysterious things await anyone who decides to stay there. Many of the doors are built seamlessly into the walls along with all of the staff being dressed as ninjas to truly embrace the essence of the building as a whole. In addition to all of these aspects there are shuriken, throwing stars, that are decoratively stuck in walls and optical illusions of ninja silhouettes are randomly projected on the walls at times to complete the experience. I think this would be one of the coolest places to stay within Japan and would truly be an experience that would interest visitors and help immerse them in the culture of the country and feel as if they are a part of the shadows.

-William Cole Miller

The Concrete Square House was designed by the Eastern Design Office and completed in 2019. The architecture was specifically designed to be concrete square tubes that were stacked on top of each other. According to the firm the blocks could technically be piled up limitlessly horizontally and vertically. The most interesting part of the house to me is that there is a maple tree that runs through the entirety of the structure. At the top of the structure there is a pool that is lit by floodlights and has a clear glass exterior that helps keep the lower floors lit to make sure that the structure has adequate natural light streaming throughout. The coolest part of having the pool shine through all the way to the first floor is that the light changes colors and moves with the motion of the water.

-William Cole Miller

The residence halls at the University of Oklahoma are often seen as one of the worst times in some student’s lives after moving out of the dormitories. I look back on my time in the dorms as one of the most fun times I had on campus. My roommate and I were both the same major so we had a lot of classes together which made studying and homework much easier. Everyone on our floor all became friends to the point that no one locked their doors and every night was a social event between the entire floor. From studying to going out to the restaurants around Norman there was never a time that people were alone. I would love to go back and have one more week of everyone on the floor living together again and getting to do all the crazy things we did in the dorms freshman year. I will always remember Walker 740W and hope that there are others like me who actually made the best of an old run down building.

The Chesapeake Energy Arena is the home of the Oklahoma City Thunder, an NBA team. The arena was originally known as the Ford Center from 2002-2010. This building made a lasting impact on me as it was the first place that I saw a professional sports team play when the New Orleans Hornets came to OKC following Hurricane Katrina. I attended many games while the Hornets where here in Oklahoma and became a season ticket holder when the Seattle SuperSonics relocated to OKC. I have spent many nights watching the stars of the Thunder such as Kevin Durant, Russel Westbrook, James Harden, and Serge Ibaka. Every time I drive by the arena I remember all of the events that I witnessed there from amazing wins to devastating losses. It truly is one of my favorite places to be in OKC because of the adrenaline of tens of thousands of fans cheering on one of the biggest symbols of Oklahoma to the rest of the United States. I can’t wait to go back to the arena to watch more in the coming years.

Just south of Jerusalem is one of the coolest sites that I have ever seen in my life. Built by Herod the Great between 37 and 31 BCE it sits atop a plateau overlooking the Dead Sea and was fortified to survive attacks from Roman soldiers. The remains of the fortress on the top of the plateau was built with amazing thought including curved ceilings for the steam room so that water did not condensate on the ceiling and a caldarium which is a bath room that could be heated through the floor to offer warm water to clean off in. Even the food warehouse was built with a drain in the olive oil room to catch any olive oil that was spilled or if a vase was broken. Walking through the ruins there was a feeling of being on top of the world able to overlook the entire landscape around you. Anyone who has the opportunity should absolutely visit the site to take in the views of the mountains, deserts with flash flood channels cut through, and the wonderful sight of the Dead Sea in the distance.