THB Infrastructure

2/10/15

                Today, we stayed a little closer to home than usual. We toured Temple Hoyne Buell itself and examined the stuff that keeps such a huge building going. This tour was related to our visit to the Abbott Power Plant over a week ago because today we specifically focused on the heat and cooling of the building. Abbott supplies much of the energy that heats and cools the campus and THB is included in this. Behind every great building is the infrastructure that keeps it functioning as it should.

                While we couldn’t access the maintenance room to see where much of the inside workings of the extensive air system, a unique feature of THB is that so much else of the pipes and power lines are not only visible, but incorporated into the architecture of the building itself, forming a unique aesthetic that combines both form and function. Starting at lowest level of THB, huge pipes are visible running vertically up to the ceiling. These carry air to and from all of the rooms of THB.

                Following these pipes up to the third floor, we can see the pipes start to run horizontal through the various offices and studio spaces. Starting on one side of the building, the delivery pipe has a huge diameter. As the pipe travels along the building, however, it decreases in diameter because the amount of air it holds decreases with each room it passes. The return pipes remain the same size throughout the building.

                This tour showed the importance of functionality in architecture. A building can’t just look nice, it has to also be able to serve the people it houses. Equipping a building with all of the parts it needs to be able to function properly is a main part of the project, so it is necessary to consider this aspect of design very carefully.  

Krannert Tour

2/5/15

Our tour of the week was at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. As a member of the Illinois Band Program, this was not my first visit and nor will it be my last. It was interesting to see the building through the eyes of people who have not experienced it as I have. I took the role of visitor as opposed to performer. This allowed me to see Krannert in a way I had never before.

                We started our tour in the main lobby of Krannert. Long and low-ceilinged, the lobby is the first thing that greats guests to the building. This horizontal shape echoes the exterior of the building. The lobby, we were told, is 1.5 acres or 9 tennis courts. The floor is made out of a rare wood imported from India, which was designed by Mrs. Krannert herself. The ceiling is ridged to minimalize noise in the lobby. Without this, the low ceilings of the lobby would cause sound to echo loudly, making it difficult to allow many people to carry conversations.

                We left the lobby and went down 3 floors to the production level of the center. This is where I felt most at home, as this is where I have had many rehearsals and warm ups in my time performing at Krannert. Here, we got to see the wood shop, where all of the sets are created, and the costume shop, where all of the clothes for the performances are designed and put together. We even got to see the stage of one of the smaller theaters from the backstage, where we also saw a lot of storage of props.

                My favorite part of the tour was when we went into the Great Hall. The biggest of the stages in Krannert, it is the one dearest to me, as I have performed on that stage many times. The hall was built on the principles of symmetry and maximizing acoustics. There are no right angles in the hall to maximize the sound produced on stage and the seats are made of a foam that mimics the density of the human body, as to ensure that no matter the size of the audience in the hall at any given performance, the sound will have the same quality. The hall is also perfectly symmetrical. The wooden panels on the walls mirror each other perfectly in that each pair were cut from the same tree. There is even a set of doors in the back of the hall, one an actual exit and the other a fake door to keep the symmetry.

                Krannert is such an important building to campus. It is an epicenter to the arts and a place where students can appreciated world class acts for the cheapest price around. It is such a valuable resource and reflects the values of the university very positively. Everyone should at some point visit Krannert and see a show. It’s an experience until any other.