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.

Mount Vernon was the plantation home of George Washington located just outside of Washington D.C. in Virginia. Construction began at the estate actually by Washington’s father in the early 1700’s who built a moderate home by comparison. George would later renovate and expand the property to his own preferences leaving behind to me a beautiful and picturesque estate. It is a large plantation but it is not gaudy or overwhelming it is just felt peaceful. When I toured the mansion I actually ran into a man that was overseeing what ended up being the effort to preserve the property. He told me he was a contractor that specialized in the historical preservation of buildings and went into the detail of all that includes working with historians, architects, and other specialist to properly restore the mansion back to its original glory. That encounter really stuck with me and now it is my current goal to eventually become a contractor that specializes in historical building renovation or preservation. It combines my two loves history and construction and I believe it is an honorable pursuit to try and save buildings for future generations to be able to observe. Also if you look up Mount Vernon their website has been tracking the preservation progress throughout the years and it is a very interesting.

St. Gregory’s University for me was a second home because of amount of time I had spent there. I always found myself amazed by the architecture and found it breathtaking during the day, and haunting at night. I grew up around Shawnee Oklahoma and worked at St. Gregory’s and knowing what I know now, I wish I could have experienced the architecture as it is and not what I thought it was. I always thought it was a beautiful campus.

St. Gregory was a private Catholic university in Shawnee Oklahoma from 1875 till 2017. After damages from natural disasters, the campus was too expensive to maintain and only the monks remain on campus at the monastery on site.

Between my junior and senior years of high-school I actually was able to win a competition held by the Oklahoma electrical co-ops that took a couple kids from within their regions to Washington D.C. for a week. We toured about as much of D.C. as you could within a single week and I was in a almost constant awe by the architecture everything from the government buildings to bridges. It is hard to say but my favorite building I was able to see was the Capitol Building. The Capitol Building has seen so much since its conception with its first corner stone being set by George Washington himself in the latter half of the 1700’s. Though the building was left in ruin after the War of 1812 it was rebuilt. Throughout the buildings life it has been in a near constant state of renovation and refurbishment. No picture I have seen has given the scale of it justice it is a truly impressive building. The day we visited was in the middle of July with the sun blazing due to that you could hardly look at the Capitol with the reflection off the white stone. The interior of the Capitol Building was equally if not more impressive than the exterior. The dome makes you think of a modern day pantheon and the art of the founding fathers is modeled after something from the Renaissance. With all of that the part that struck me most was seeing the wear in the stone steps inside. The steps were worn down so much there was a noticeable curve to them. This was the first time in my life I truly observed and thought of the history and life of a building and it nearly brought tears to my eyes as stupid as that seems.

Devon Energy Center Tower is a fifty story tall tower located in downtown Oklahoma City. The tower was constructed over a three year period from 2009 to 2012 and is Oklahoma tallest building. I am sure to those that grew up in or near big cities this is not all that impressive of a building as they are used to seeing buildings of that size. Growing up here in Oklahoma I got to see the towers gradual construction and i am glad it is not just some square tall building. I truly believe that Devon Tower is a beautifully designed tower and it in some strange way brings me pride as an Oklahoman. I think the tower also helps to legitimize Oklahoma City as an actual city. We are finally growing to have a recognizable and memorable skyline.

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.

The Louvre is iconic when you think of France, so of course it was a must do during my trip.  My wife and I visited them a couple times during our stay in Paris. We spent a day touring the museum and another day taking our wedding photos in front of them. So, I have very positive feelings when I think and see this building. We had our wedding ceremony in front of the Eiffel tower early that day and it was rainy and cold. We were freezing while taking our photos and the water feature beside us was misting us with ice cold water. But the weather actually helped with the photos because hardly anyone was around to be in the background. Seeing the Louvre was one of my favorite parts of the trip. 

It was very interesting to enter the main entrance, into the pyramid, and immediately descend down escalators. The pyramid and underground lobby were added in the 1980s to help with the influx of daily visitors. The underground lobby allows for crowds to gather, shop, and eat without clogging up the ticket collections. I thought this was a pretty genius solution, diverting traffic this way. You have to go up another set of escalators to enter the museum. There are also 3 smaller pyramids in the courtyard that act as skylights for the museum collections below. To be in the largest art museum in the world was exciting, especially since we were at the front of the line at opening and got to see the Mona Lisa before the room became swimming with tourists.

Paestum was an ancient Greek city founded in 450 B.C. Today, Paestum has the only Greek ruins left on Italy’s mainland and it is still in great condition. There are 3 Temples, all in the Doric order and dedicated to female goddesses. The largest one, Temple of Hera II, is one of the best-preserved Greek temples in the entire world. Despite all this, Paestum remains off the beaten path. We were one of very few people touring the site. This made touring the site a much better experience. We were able to walk around freely and get up close and feel the stones that made up this 2500-year-old ancient city. The buildings and roads were so well preserved, you could really imagine the town when you walk through the site. Seeing the amphitheater, arena, pubic baths, and public forum really put life back then into perspective.  In my opinion, the lack of tourists and being able to get inside the ruins, instead of viewing from the sidewalk, made this one of the best sites in Italy.

I know the assignment is to spotlight a building, but when I think about architecture that I love the French Quarter as a whole comes to mind. The French Quarter a historic district in city of New Orleans Louisiana and much like its name suggest the architecture of the many of buildings there reflect a French style. It is hard to describe the feeling you get when in the French Quarter, but to me it feels as if I am stepping into another country the cultural history is just so different from any other city I have been in. I spent a lot of my childhood visiting New Orleans in the summer since my family is from the south. Every time I visit I still get a sense of wonder walking around the narrow streets looking up at all the old unique buildings. Even though the French Quarter has a reputation of being a rowdy area I always feel at peace when visiting. It is by far my favorite city that I have been able to able to visit.