Located in South Wales in the city of Newport, the Newport city footbridge provides an excellent addition to the city. Constructed in 2007, the plan of the bridge was to be the start of the unlimited plan to regenerate Newport. The bridge itself connects the popular Rodney Parade Stadium to University Plaza. This allows easy access in and out of the city, which promotes more interaction between anyone who is there. In 2007, the bridge won the George Gibby Award for its beautiful structure and the meaning behind its purpose.

Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science opened their doors in 2017. It is located in Miami, Florida after being moved from Coconut Groove Florida. The structure serves as a science museum, planetarium, and a aquarium. It’s one of the largest museums in Florida, and also the second biggest aquarium in Florida. Inside you can go to scientific development/research lectures that talk about a variety of topics. Then you can proceed to visit the massive aquarium that contains sharks, penguins, and even alligators. This structure is considered another Grimshaw Architect style .

Solstice on the Park is located in Chicago, IL. Created by Jeanne Gang, it was designed to use sunlight to passively warm the surrounding area using the sunlight during the winter time. This building is also used to minimize light and heat gain throughout the summer which reduce air-conditioning usage. With its unique symmetrical architecture designs that allows sunlight to come in and reduce heat giving off the sunlight during the summer and using the sunlight to gain heat during the winter, it is an excellent place for residents to live as it is aesthetically appealing.

This is one of the more important buildings that Jean Nouvel designed. The Arab World Institute is an organization founded in Paris in 1980. The institution was created because of the lack of representation of the Arab in France. Jean Nouvel used a very sophisticated design that incorporates mainly windows. He also used enclosed balconies, which are mainly used in Islamic architecture. Within this building, Jean Nouvel managed to fit in a museum, library, auditorium, restaurant, offices, and several meeting rooms. All in all, this was one of the more sleek designs that Nouvel had.

This is a photo of the Guthrie Theater that is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The theater was originally built in 1963, but was rebuilt and redesigned in 2006 by Jean Nouvel. It is now a 285,000 square foot theater that has 3 theaters in the building. One of the things that is most unique about this theater is that it has a large bridge that connects the building to the Mississippi River. Another cool thing about the architecture of this theater is that the outside panels are all made up of different murals. Jean Nouvel really took his time in creating this one of one theater.

Aqua tower is located in Chicago, IL. This building was designed by Jeanne Gang and is absolutely stunning to see. The design of waves going up the building are actually balconies and not just some exterior designs which are based on a vertical landscape made up of hills, valleys, and pools. The Aqua Tower is 876 feet high and is a combination of offices, hotel, parking, and has a green roof which is considered one of Chicago’s largest green roofs at that! Through specific conditions of density within the spacing of the city the Aqua Tower was able to connect with the city regardless of the density because of its height it is able to have residential spacing and office rentals and a bonus of a parking lot!

By: Blayne Nichols

Capitol Federal Hall is located at the University of Kansas, home of the school of business. Gensler and Associates’ goal during the design process was to inspire entrepreneurship. The building is 4 stories tall and has spaces for students and faculty. It has study rooms, labs, offices, and conference rooms. Within the building, collaboration and connection is encouraged. Buildings like this should be on every college campus.