My osbervations of UNCG

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Centers, beats, strips,turfs,sinks and stacks are the things that we have observed within the universities campus. Diagrammed above is my interpretations of each of these. The university is evidently surrounded by many strips in which people are accustomed to. On thing that particularly stood out to me was the fact that all of these aspects have changed over time. I know this because of things such as the infrastructures of the buildings as well as the surrounding land. The inhabitants of the area also determine what category an area falls into. For example, the more buildings and activity in an area will determine how big the beat it. Things such as turfs and sinks have changed overtime because of development of new land etc. For example, the golf course used to run all the way down the left side of campus however now this has been replaced with recreational areas. This also creates more districts in this ‘mini city’.

Buildings at UNCG

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Our next task was to observe buildings and relate them back to clays definitions.
Steam building (sink)
This building is a building in which people would not like to see however it is essential in the running and maintenance of the university. This would be defined as a sink. It also lies on the edge of the campus, surrounding it are other essential processes such as the water tower as well as the railway trail which would have been used for coal in the past. This tells us something about the history of the building and evidently that it is old.



The Mary Foust building (Center)
This building was the first building that we ever observed, we decided that this may be an example of a center because it was where important events had taken place. It is evident that this is an old building because of its a-typical infrastructure.




Minerva
This statue is one of the most important aspects of the campus because it tells a specific story about the history of the university. Minerva, which stands for ‘goddess of wisdom’


Clock Tower
Although this particular clock tower has only been around for about four years , it plays a big role in this ‘mini-city’ It is a memorial tower and therefore in the future it may become a historical monument for the university to dwell upon later on like things such as the Minerva. Using Clays definition of what a stack is, this clock tower would qualify as one. Clock towers are essential to a campus and many campuses have them. They signify when to come and go and they give the campus order. Subsequently, you could say that time and memory ‘stack’ up on this corner. This may not seem important but it is essential in amplifying the values of the school.






Brown Building
This building stands out because it is one of the few buildings whose frontal view is on the edge of campus. It also looks fairly new which tells us that it was recently restored, probably within the last two years. The newer infrastructure such as the brick and the archways resemble the newer buildings on campus. The composers names surrounding the outside of the building shows us that this use to be some type of musical building in the past, the buildings around it also hold various theatre shows which shows us that there is a common theme shared between the buildings in this area. This building sits up high and sits apart from the landscape which means it was built to stand out from the others, the buildings surrounding it are also low scale which means it stands out even more. The building also lies on Tate Street which is home to many beats. This could enhance the theatrical nature of the area to keep it upbeat and alive.

THE MARY FOUST BUILDING

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Our first task of the semester was to observe one of the oldest buildings on campus; The Mary Foust building and discuss it's significance to the University.


I have grouped my obervations into three sections; What I noticed about the building, what I don't see and what this all means.





What I noticed about the building:
· Old infrastructure (Brick)
· Stone balcony
· Arched windows
· Different from the surrounding buildings
· Chimneys
· 5 vertical stars (picture reference above) – keeps the building from falling during natural disasters, shows that the building has structural problems, another indication that it is old.


· Vents (weep holes) , show that they had a different type of ventilation system than we do today

· Rough stone

·Gutters go below the ground, shows that there is infrastructure below the ground and surrounding the building.

·Building is not symmetrical . Although the entrance is prominent, the building is different lengths on each side.


What I did NOT see ( elements that a modern building would have)



·Plain- no decoration
·Not painted
·No wires/electrical lines to keep the historical value of the building, all of this is underground.



What does this all mean?
This all means that this building is historical to the university and that something special took place in this building, because of the fact that they have chosen to keep it around. It is evidently the oldest building on campus and has remained strong throughout the years although there is evidence that it may have some structural problems. It is also used as a monument for the University.







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