Erlanger House

2/24/15

                On this walking tour, we went to the Erlanger House. This has been my favorite tour so far. It exposed us to something completely different than what we normally experience. It also tied in nicely with the models we are doing for the next class.

                Walking up to the house was the first of many surprises to come in the tour. It stands out from all of the other houses on the street around it. It is set back from the sidewalk farther than the rest of the houses and, while all of the other residences have large window and doors at the center of the house, the Erlanger house has none of these. Instead, all that is visible to passersby is a blank brick wall, and, if one looks closely, a small glass door, set on the edge of the front of the house. This gives the whole building the sense of privacy.

                The first floor of the building shows off the minimalism put into the building. The whole thing is very open, with two full walls of windows, letting in a lot of natural light. The sitting area contains a sunken space with couches built into the sunken space. This faces out to the “front yard”, which is a space outside, in between the wall of brick visible from the sidewalk and the glass wall of the house. On the other side of the sitting area is a very open space that rises the height of the building. This is also against a glass wall that faces the backyard. Here, there floor is completely open and hard wood, as opposed to the rest of the floor, which is cement and stone. This space was intended for dance classes that Margaret Erlanger would have at her house. There is also a small kitchen and bathroom on the first floor. The whole house is centered around a chimney that rises straight through the middle.

                The second floor is only half of the length of the house, as the dance space is double height. This space is dedicated almost entirely to the bedroom. This space is, again, very open. The second floor acts as a balcony to view the dance space on the floor below. The whole thing is carpeted in white, including the bathroom, which is a little odd. The toilet and shower are on opposite ends of the bathroom and both have a square skylight above them. Even in the place where one is supposed to have the most privacy, one can feel the sense of openness.

                This house was huge important to make connections to, in regards to our model project. The space had a mezzanine level, a double height space, stairs, and a chimney. Indeed, as I moved through the house, I was able to think about all of the elements it incorporated and apply them to the rules we had been assigned.

                This house was just so different from anything I had experienced before. It so simple and had such a beautiful aesthetic. It fit the original owner so perfectly in both function and very representation of who she was as a person. If this has convinced me of anything, it is to hire an architect to design my own future house.

The Armory, Huff Hall, and Irwin Indoor Sports Facility

2/17/15

                This past Tuesday, we visited three of the buildings on campus that are affiliated with athletics: Huff Hall, the Armory, and Irwin Indoor Sporting Facility. All three of these buildings were meant to be very open and spacious, perfect for sporting events or practices. These spaces all had huge volumes, uninhibited by columns or support in the main space. From the floor of the buildings, it seems impossible for the high ceilings the stay suspended in the heavens without any main columns holding up the center. However, when you exam the ceilings, you see the intricate network of support that redistributes weight to the edges of the building. It is through these that the building is able to hold up the massive ceilings without central columns.

                The function of buildings like Huff, the Armory, or Irwin is to create large spaces where students and athletes have room to engage in sporting activities. This involves such activities as running, jumping, and even throwing things. This means that there needs to be adequate space in the building for such activities to be done without being impeded by columns. Large networks of trusses are used to redistribute the force of the ceiling. These networks take the vertical force that gravity puts on the ceiling and, through a system of interconnected beams, turns the force into a horizontal one. These horizontal forces are then sent outwards, to the edges of the building. There, vertical columns transfer the weight of the ceiling to the ground.

                A truss generally consists of two beam, a top chord and a bottom chord. They utilize tensile and compressive forces to act as braces. The top chord is generally in compression, which means there is an inward, pushing force on the beam. The bottom chord is in tension, which means there is an outward, pulling force on the beam. They are designed to transfer force and to stabilize each other. This allows them to hold up huge ceilings.

                The ability to redistribute force is very important in the modern structure. As buildings get bigger, the necessity for more complex infrastructures arise, and trusses and other such elements become all important. It combines the increased functionality of large spaces with impressive design of complex trusses 

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. 

Column Scavenger Hunt with Charles Tierney

Tuscan Columns at Busey Evans

Composite Columns at Busey Evans

Doric Columns at the Delta Gamma House

Ionic Columns at Smith Hall

Corinthian Columns at Newman Hall

Walking Tour 4 - Abbott Power Plant

1/29/15

            Today, we toured the Abbott power plant. Located right on campus, Abbott is responsible for 75% of campus’ energy. With 3 natural gas boilers, 3 coal boilers, and 2 heat recovery steam generators, they are more than capable to fuel our campus. The entrance to the fabled steam tunnels is in the plant as well.

            The plant itself was both smaller and larger than I thought it might be. It was smaller in a sense of floor space, however, it wasn’t cramped or claustrophobic. There was plenty of walking room between the maze of pipes and huge boilers. We encountered fewer people than I thought and I had to marvel at the technology that allowed so few employees to run such a huge power plant.

            As a chemical engineering major, the plant was interesting because we discussed the various reactions that take place in the generators and boilers. We were also told about problems that had occurred and how they had been fixed, which all lent itself to making engineering problems much realer.

            From an architectural standpoint, there wasn’t much to see. I did find the way that the plant was integrated with campus interesting. It took up very little room, relatively, while still outputting considerable energy. That, along with the steam tunnels, the plant was allowed to do its job well, while maintaining as little of a presence as possible.

Walking Tour 3 - The Main and Engineering Quads

1/27/15

            Today we toured the main and engineering quads. We started the tour on the steps of Foellinger Auditorium. As we looked down the main quad, it was clear that it was built with the concept of collective building in mind. Though many of the buildings had been erected at different times from one another, they shared similar appearances. They are all made out of a reddish stone. They all have lighter colored stone accents. They also all have a common edge with the buildings around them. They are all around the same height and width. This helps give a unified and symmetrical feeling to the quad.

            Foellinger is a very important building on the quad. Sitting directly on the main axis, it commands the attention and reverence of all who walk down the quad. Its domed shape echoes that of the Pantheon, after which it was modeled. The dome itself is important because, in American culture, the dome has been associated with democracy. All of these things lend themselves to making Foellinger a fantastic place to hold large lectures of the students that make up the university or the put important speakers.

            The Union is another important building on the quad. It was originally intended to be in the shape of a block I, however, Harker Hall was blocking one of the pavilions. This building is one of the oldest on campus and was designed by U of I’s first architect, then director. For this reason, it was allowed to remain, and the Union’s original design was never fully realized.

            This takes us to the end of the quad. Here, we notice a shift in the axis. This was to account for the buildings that were already in existence when the Engineering quad was set up. They couldn’t continue the main axis, as it would run through part of Engineering Hall, so they shifted the axis over. Grainger takes on a curved shape so, as you approach it, it seems to be hugging the quad, encompassing it a little, to make up for the awkward shape of the quad.

            The northern most part of the Engineering quad shifts back to the main axis. They do this by having a local entrance to Grainger on the south end and the Beckman Institute at the north end. The Beckman Institute was designed with the intention of being a style that could be echoed around the quad or even the campus. Here, they fell short because the design was focused around a rather phallic like shape, which was difficult to replicate for a few reasons. There wasn’t much else characteristic about the design other than the shape of the outside. Beckman also acts as a wall that closes off the north of campus. This is an interesting look into how architecture is intertwined with the environment and society itself. While the top of campus could be a great place to put an entrance to the university, Beckman offers no admittance to a place that is intended to be a shrine to learning and wisdom. Therefore, the blocking out of the community speaks poorly about the mentality of the university.