The Last Hoo-rah

For our final Arch 199 project, we designed the city of Octavia, a fictional place imagined by Italo Calvino in his text Invisible Cities. This city is described as “the spider-web city” and is held up solely by ropes and chains between two mountains. All buildings hang below the support system. Those who live in Octavia cannot be certain of their fate from day to day because, as Calvino points out, “they know the net will only last so long” (Calvino, 75). We took these ideas and transformed the fictional place into a real structure with a twist: the whole thing was made out of candy. (Margaret)

Using Lifesavers, Twizzlers, Fruit Roll-Ups, Starburst, Gummy Bears, dental floss, Hershey’s Kisses, and some rope, we created Octavia on a scale that spanned the size of a room. Below our city, marshmallow clouds rested upon a bedsheet that represented the void into which the city would inevitably fall. There were three main support ropes, with floss, Twizzlers, and Fruit Roll-Ups creating the rest of the spider web. Everything else hung from these supports, with nothing rising up. (Samantha)

Our construction of our masterpiece was most definitely on the fly, but it turned out much better than we initially thought. Our original idea was to have a dozen or so skewers with a pineapple on each side with some fruit on the skewers and some rock candy hanging as well; we were quickly told that this was too small scale and we had to shoot for the stars! When we finally secured our exhibition locale, the famous “Eagle’s Nest” room in Temple Hoyne Buell Hall, we really took a big step forward. We constructed the city in phases and different waves of volunteers. The structure went up Sunday, the houses and city elements early Monday, the clouds below on Monday night, and the great finishing touches before the unveiling on Tuesday. (Patrick)

With candy, we tried to recreate a lot of the elements from the description, keeping the principle that everything ‘hung below’ instead of rising. So our city, concentrated at the centre with clusters of ‘ground-scrapers and houses’ hung below. We also included elements such as people who inhabited the city. Ultimately ,we were able to create an edible model of a city that the inhabitants know will last so long, by making it out of substances that we wanted our audience to interact with and tear down. (Rajasi )

This project provided an interesting experience, particularly with our choice of city, as it required us to pour all the knowledge we had accumulated over the course of the semester into a delicious model.  I’ll be the first to admit that I swiped a few starbursts and hershey kisses during the construction phase, but it was, nonetheless, an engaging project to have to assemble a city based solely upon a one page description provided by Italo Calvino.  Some features were deliberate and some features were unintended, but in the end I think we did a bang up job assembling Octavia for the class, not to mention it was incredibly delicious.  (Charles)

Creating an edible model of Octavia definitely turned out tougher in the end that I originally thought it would be. What seemed to be a simple design in the beginning led to multiple iterations before we could finally put all the pieces together. Although we wanted to make the model completely edible, we found that that would be next to impossible on the scale we were given, spanning the Eagle’s Nest. We needed to include a few non edible supports that would help steady the project until the Giants came and tore down the city. As we could see first hand, no one was ever sure when the city would be no more. (Cody)

Smalltown USA

        Today we toured a town that reminded me a whole lot of my hometown. While I grew up in a town about 3 or 4 times the size of Philo, a lot of similarities arise between all of the farming communities of Illinois. To begin with, we met the people who didn't ride the bus at Casey's General Store. Yes, we have on of those in Fairfield, and it happens to be located in the same relative location: on the main road into town, just past city limits. Professor Hinders explained that Casey's market is all the small farming communities across the mid-west as they act as a small town Wal-Mart.

         Then we took about a 10 minute drive around the community. Of course, it is located at the cross section of a highway and railroad track, offering multiple means to transport crops to market. The main drag consists of everything a town needs: Library, Bank, Post Office, Water Tower, and Tavern. As we went deeper into the community we were able to see very different types of homes, and even a subdivision in such a small town. I am still able to relate everything I have mentioned to my hometown, and I probably will be able to for the entirety of this post, but I won't bore you with that information. 

        We also discussed the presence of the different churches and how they are representative of the culture in Philo. There is a Catholic Church and Grade School in the center of Philo. Philo's population is said to be 50% Catholic, so it makes sense for both of these to be present. The explanation for the dense Catholic Population could stem from the German settlement in Philo. There are two other churches in Philo. It seems to be to be the trend for each small farming community to have 1 church for about every 500 residents. My hometown's populations is about 5,500, and I am sure we have 11 churches within the city limits.

        We ended the day at the Philo Tavern with some very tasty appetizers that were very generously paid for by Professor Hinders. All in all, we had a good day when we traveled to the Center of the Universe.

EB and KAM

            Today we went on a "student led" tour that took us through the Education Building and the Krannert Art Museum. We started at the Education Building, and at first glance, you can see that the building represents a temple. In the original plans, there was to be a sister building built where THBH currently resides. The space between the two buildings was going to be an open area that implied conversation between the two buildings. This idea mimics the UGL because it consists of two temples that frame a void in the middle. However, those plans fell through and we are stuck with what we have now. The entrance to the Education Building is perfectly framed by the void between the Architecture Building and Wohlers Hall. As we approach the door, we see that the distinction between inside and outside is blurred by the floor mimicing the steps. The size of the gravel in the cement on the stairs slowly decreases until it becomes the floor of the building. One interesting aspect of the building is how the symmetric look on the outside doesn't correspond to the layout of the building. For example, even though there are two doors on the front entrance. There is only a main hallway on one side. The other main hallway terminates on the first floor, but reappears on the second floor. Another really cool aspect to the building is the offices on the third floor. We were able to go out on a rather interesting balcony and look over the edge to see that the bottom floor sticks out past the first floor. We also saw where the wooden slats that are part of the ceiling stick out past the window and acquire water damage.
              Our next stop was at the Krannert Art Museum. I had never been in the museum before today, so I was excited to see what was inside. Before we went in, Professor Hinders pointed out that the museum was pregnant with art, as the design of the building indicated. Once inside, I realized just how much I don't understand art. I will say that the rope jungle and the burnt popcorn where my two favorite pieces, although I'm not really sure what either represent.

Main Library, Foreign Language, Smith Hall, Institute for Genomic Biology

                Today we discussed 4 interesting, but very different buildings: the Main Library, Smith Hall, the Foreign Language Building, and the Institute for Genomic Biology. We discussed different aspects at each building that I had never noticed or thought of before.

                We started our tour at the Main Library. Now we have discussed the Main library as a piece to the very symmetric puzzle we call our campus, but we hadn’t been inside to discuss the building individually yet. While the building is very open in the entrance and has a very grand appearance, I think the best part of the building is definitely The Stacks. Today was the first time I toured The Stacks, and they sure didn’t disappoint. One very interested aspect is how the shelves actually serve as support for the building as well. Just above one “level” is the mezzanine that is made up completely of concrete blocks that sit basically on top of the bookshelves of the level below. While I didn’t see any books of interest to me this trip, the structure definitely made up for it. Another interesting design deals with the mobile shelves. Although if I want to use those in the future, I best figure out exactly how they work.

                The next stop was the Foreign Language Building. This building is definitely one sticks out from the rest of the buildings due to its design, but blends in with the rest due to its color and location. The first time I noticed it, I saw an inverted pyramid type structure and was very intrigued by it. Today we discussed how the building may serve as a compliment to the Tower of Babel, which was built in an effort to reach God. This building, however, seems to be asking God into the studies of Foreign Language. While the building has a bunch of wasted space, the open void that is light up constantly by sunlight again emphasizes this attempt to bring God into the space. Professor Hinders explanation, while it may not be the exact reasoning, definitely made sense and offered a new light on the building.

                After the Foreign Language Building, we walked to the entrance of Smith Hall. This entrance is located away from the Quad for various reasons. To begin with, the concert hall in oriented so that the stage is on the Quad side and the seats are on the public side, offering this sense of student performing for the public. The entrance then magnifies this as you enter directly into this concert hall. Also, the entrance would be overshadowed by another building if it was place anywhere else. As we walked up the stairs, the columns and doorways served almost as the opposite of a telescope by eventually making the many varieties and differences of the public seem to be one body through music.

                Our last stop was a building that I had always noticed by the ugly “chewing gum” statues that sit out front of the building, the IGB. This building definitely has a different design, but it was built in a way to help preserve the Morrow Plots. A stipulation of the design of the IGB was that it could not throw any shade on the Morrow Plots. The IGB fits this stipulation by have the main part of the building set back away from the plots, and the rest of the building underground. The main pavilion which sits off the side of the entrance was an interesting aspect. As your coming from the Quad, this pavilion welcomes you, however from the South, there is no such “welcome.” Another interesting aspect was how useless a lot of the building was. For example, the lounge area on the first floor that we sat in to discuss the building was there for no apparent reason.

                This trip covered many different topics and many different buildings. However, afterwards I felt like I understood many different building of campus that I had before simply ignored. 

Center for Wounded Veterans

                Today we visited the construction site on 906 W. Nevada St. What is soon to be the campus Center for Wounded Veterans is now just a crowded mess of sweaty men, wet paint, and construction tools that look dangerous.

                The first leg of our tour started in the basement where we can find all of the mechanical systems. While this is probably the part of the building with the most going on right now, it really wasn’t too interesting when you don’t know what’s going on in the different pipes. But it was cool to see how much planning goes behind the accessibility of each system and how to use the space that you have.

                As we moved up one level, we saw the main lobby/lounge space that will be available both for residents and the people who are just in the building temporarily. One of the major aspects of the design on this floor is the wall of windows where the lounge area is. One of the things most veterans want when they get back from war is to be able to see everything around them. They typically sit in the corner so everything is in front of them and nothing will sneak up on them. The purpose of this design is to help them become more comfortable with their surroundings and be able to not limit themselves to the corners of every room they are in.

                The second floor is home to some of the class rooms and PT rooms.  All of the residents will have access to physical therapy at this center. This floor was pretty bare at this time phase of the construction, but we did see that some of the mechanical systems will lie above the drop down ceiling of this floor. Another interesting aspect of design is that the original plan may not always be the plan used in the end. This was very evident in the first floor public bathrooms. While the original plans call for a hard ceiling, they have seen that they will have to have multiple access panels located at various areas of the ceiling to be able to reach the different mechanical things that need to be checked often. However, this is a lot of access panels, so one proposed change is to make this ceiling a drop down ceiling for easier access.

                The third floor is where the full-time residents will be housed. Each will have their own personal room that will have its own electric mobilization system to help the residents move around their dorm. The hope is that these rooms will help residents have easier access to their classes and be able to connect with other veterans on campus to help make their own burden lighter.

                It we very interesting to see a building currently under construction and hear about the many details, small or large, that go into the design process.

Mt. Hope Cemetery

                Today we visited Mt. Hope cemetery. While in the beginning, I was very unsure of what I could really learn architecturally from a cemetery, by the end I had a much greater appreciation for cemeteries and what they really mean to a community.

                We started our tour at the Mausoleum that sits at the entrance into the cemetery. While I have never seen a collection of above ground graves, the idea of above ground burial is very interesting. Here you can start to see stories of the many lives that have passed. Of course it is very common to see man and wife buried together, but being buried with you parents isn’t quite as common. At this Mausoleum, families have already reserved spots for husband/wife/kids to be laid to rest next to the rest of their family.

                As we started the actual tour of the cemetery, we came immediately upon a group of Jewish graves, signified by the rocks on the gravestone. Coming from a small town community, I have not seen many burial traditions other than basic flowers around the grave. This tour definitely opened my eyes to what exactly a cemetery has to offer to the community it represents. It must be able to accommodate as many requests as possible while still respecting the other religious beliefs and family traditions.

                Another major part of the cemetery is the collection of veterans who have either died in battle, or served and then died after returning home. The stories are very vivid here as you can tell from their tombstone what part of the military they served and whether or not they died in combat. While their gravestones may not be the biggest in the cemetery, their service and bravery definitely does not go unnoticed.

                Lastly as you continue to walk around, you see the big names of the community and university. Buried in line with the 50-yard line are the men who have had gigantic influences within the athletic programs of the university like Huff and Zuppke. While I don’t recognize the other names in the community, it was interesting to try and read the different stories that lay within the few words on a tombstone.

                All in all, I definitely didn’t realize the significance of cemeteries and how important they truly are to the communities they serve until I walked around and saw the many stories and traditions that families help to save and cherish through the grave sites of their loved ones.

Campustown

               Today we took a tour of one of the most popular streets on campus. In fact, when I moved in this past fall, Green Street was the only street I was familiar with. My math team coach in high school always took us to Green Street to experience “college life in Urbana-Champaign.” But to think that Green Street hasn't always been this bustling corridor of restaurants, bars, and shops kind of blows my mind.

                The Campustown we know today started being shaped up when a few students and a faculty member took it upon themselves to fix the flooding problem. Now this wasn't just a minor flooding problem, the floods were so high and common, that students would take kayaks down to Green Street to row around. What this group of researchers found in this area was a potential place to be a destination for students to relax and have a good time just a block away from campus, not just a place for vehicular transportation to rule.

                What happened in the many years to follow this project by the students and single faculty member shaped Green Street into what we see today. From the awnings shrinking to the sidewalks expanding to the roads narrowing, everything has changed to open up the area for student and campus life. The first block between Wright and Sixth Street has a form of symmetry in that all of the buildings rise only two stories. As you go farther West however, you see the buildings have no real order. Apartment buildings have been erected to take advantage of students’ desire to live near such a bustling neighborhood. These companies can charge more in exchange for less space, but the location and proximity to the area keeps bringing the students back to sign their leases.

                One of the most interesting things I have seen in this class exists in Campustown. Certain bars and shops are actually running out of a house. These stores have planted an open store front in place of the front porch of a home and are otherwise using the home as their place of business. You don’t notice it when you are just walking by, unless you have been notified of it before. In that case, you will never be able to unsee it.