The first thing that comes to mind when I think Walt Disney is the classic image of the Castle. The Walt Disney Castle is an image that every child or adult has seen if they have ever seen a Disney movie. The real life castle is located in the most magical place on earth, Walt Disney World. Going to Walt Disney World is the dream of any kid, or lets be honest, it is the dream of any adult too. Walt Disney World truly is a magical place though. It is where all these castles and buildings seen in our favorite Disney movies are actually brought to life out of the cartoon for us to see and experience. I grew up watching many, many hours worth of Disney movies and still love watching them today. So getting to experience Walt Disney World was an amazing experience for me. It took me back to my childhood; you know the time before we had to worry about college, getting a job or making an income. I am majoring in architectural engineering, so I really enjoy the architectural sides of buildings but also enjoy knowing how a building comes together and is built. Thanks to Disney Plus, I was able to watch a documentary about the design and construction process of Walt Disney World. That for me is the best of both worlds. From seeing the Disney Castle in movies as a kid, to seeing the Castle in real life, and then learning about the construction and architecture of this childhood image of mine, this truly is truly one of my all time favorite architectural works.

Perhaps my favorite building in Fort Worth is the Modern Art Museum. This building is breathtaking to me because of the symmetry and pure beauty it possesses. The building seems to float on the water and as seen in the picture the windows reflect the water below creating an oasis of blue. I have been to the museum many times and still go as there is a lot to see and do inside. There is a cafe located on the far left in the picture that has amazing food. I would usually eat at the restaurant and then spend an hour or two viewing the amazing art exhibits inside. The building made me feel free both because of the art and the mind boggling architecture.

My most distinct interaction with the building was when my lifelong best friends aunt, who works at the museum, took us to see a showing of the TV series Goosebumps. It was one of my first experiences at the museum and I got to see the museum on a more casual basis. This allowed me to examine the building in a more private setting. During the showing, I kept trying to ask my friends aunt if we could just go explore the building. She eventually gave in and we got to see segments of the building that are usually closed off to the public because of her employee access. I specifically remember sitting on a bench that overlooked the water and will not ever forget the lights that shined up on the structure and down on the water as it seemed like an oasis in a crowded city.

The Von Trapp Family is probably most well known from the classic movie, The Sound of Music. The Von Trapp’s lived in a large villa located in Salzburg, Austria up until 1938, when they had to quickly flee their home to escape the Germans who had invaded Austria. The Sound of Music is one my personal favorite movies, especially since its based on a true story. It was the movie and history that drew me into the architecture of the Villa. The actual Von Trapp Villa is not the same as the one shown in the movie. However, both houses are located in Salzburg and both have the same yellow/gold exterior color which I think is what makes the structures so neat. Though I have never personally seen the Von Trapp house, I have done a fair bit of research on the family’s home. I had plans to see this movie famous home during a study abroad trip, until the trip got canceled from the pandemic. My trip thankfully has been rescheduled for next year where I plan to visit Austria to see the Villa Von Trapp along with other famous film locations.

The dorm I stayed in my freshman year was Walker Tower. This was the first test I had with living on my own. This was also the tower that my dad said he stayed in during his freshman year so it felt like I was following in his footsteps with being at OU. Every time I look back at the towers I am reminded of the different things I had done my freshman year and how I survived my first semester. It provides a nostalgia for me now that I am preparing to graduate this December and I hope that it provides comfort for the residents who are staying there too. It was a bit cramped for my liking but provided a place for me to sleep as I spent most of my days traversing campus. While many do not like the dorms for their design, it will always have a place in my heart for being the first place I was truly independent.

Last year, I lived in Callaway House Apartments and did not have a great experience. Though the exterior might look somewhat nice, inside is a dark, confusing maze of hallways. The rooms aren’t much different. My bedroom only had one small window and our living room window faced an interior courtyard so we did not get much natural sunlight. A lot of things broke easily and seemed like they were cheaply built, too.

I am not trying to complain because I realize that I am fortunate to be attending college and have a place to live. However, I am just expressing my honest thoughts and feelings about the experience. I think I would have preferred to live in a house or somewhere else with more natural light and easy access to the outdoors. I love having a backyard and front/back porch and living in apartments does not typically allow for this.

Notre Dame was a unique experience for me in terms of my interactions with buildings and how I felt towards them. I Never expected to like a cathedral as much as I enjoyed this one because it seemed very plane and uninteresting to me at a young age. However It taught me that some places have to be visited in order to understand and respect the beauty they present. Paris is filled with some of the worlds best architecture but none of them meant as much as Notre Dame. I always look back at my time in Europe and remember the cathedral for the feeling of awe it created.

I visited the Cathedral with my family when I was very young and we had already seen most of the famous European buildings including the Eiffel Tower, Roman Colosseum, and Big Ben. At first glance the Cathedral seemed dull, but when me and my family walked inside it was eye opening. The dazzling colored glass and illuminated arches shocked my young mind because at that time all the holy places I had seen were straightforward and conservative in style. Despite having to spend a lot of time walking up winding stairs, which was a negative because of all the people crowded together, Notre Dame introduced me to an aspect of European architecture I had never imagined. It was also a great experience for our family because we all agreed it was the best building we visited in Europe.

During the summer after my sophomore year I got the opportunity to intern with 3M in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN. Thankfully it was before COVID happened and I got to go experience my first internship in person. While I was there I got to see what a companies headquarters can look like. Every morning I would go here and wait for a shuttle that would bring me to my work building but this was where we had most of our intern events. This was one of my first experiences with a job that pertained to my Computer Science degree and felt like I was truly becoming an adult. I was in awe by everything and felt out of place but knew that if I worked hard, I can have the opportunity to work somewhere similar to 3M.

The building has an open design to make it more inviting and not look like a traditional office building. It felt nice initially going in there and having a modernized design that tells you that 3M is looking towards keeping their employees happy there.

I lived in Headington Hall my freshman year and had a great experience. First of all, the exterior of the building is beautiful. The architectural style is classic and timeless. The interior is the same way and designed very well in my opinion. The ceilings are tall and large windows are prevalent. This building houses both student-athletes and non-athlete students (like myself). The amenities at Headington Hall and the extremely nice dorms contributed to a great living environment as well. I am glad that I had the chance to live here for a year.

On my trip to Washington D.C. I saw many amazing architectural works, but out of them all Mount Vernon was by far my favorite. I love architecture and I love history, so when both architecture and history go together I get very excited and intrigued. George Washington’s estate, Mount Vernon, is not just a house. It is almost 500 acres of a mansion, farmland, gardens, burial sites, mills and many other outbuildings. The entire grounds is just amazing to see, but focusing on the main house the architecture is a very classic style. George Washington himself designed and planned most of Mount Vernon. The exterior of the house is cream with a bright red colored roof along with many of the outbuildings having this same design. On the back side, the house is lined with eight large columns which is one of my favorite aspects of Mount Vernon. Something I find very interesting is that there are constantly new preservation projects going on at Mount Vernon to preserve its history.

(Kyncl, 2021)

Walker Tower is a building on the campus of the University of Oklahoma that I plan to never step foot in again. Walker is one of the four Residence Halls on campus, with the other three being Couch Tower, David L. Boren Hall, and Headington Hall. Before the closure of Adams Tower, Walker was known to be a part of the “trifecta”: Couch, Walker, and Adams. Walker is a suite-style room, meaning that you share a room with one person and a bathroom with three people. Walker was built in 1966 as Couch North, but was renamed in 1970.

Walker holds so many amazing, and not so amazing memories for me. As the first place that I “lived on my own” Walker taught me a lot of lessons. Walker was also the first place that I had to share my space with another person, and even with multiple people. Walker is also the first place that I had to share a washer and dryer with thousands of people. The amount of fights that broke out due to people putting other people’s clothes on tables is unbelievable. Walker made me realize how disrespectful and privileged some people can be. You could not pay me to live in this dorm again. The mold problems alone keep me away.