Panoramas

Paris

New York - above Times Square

Dubai

The first thing that I noticed when looking at these three cities was the different use of space according to the times that they were built. In the Paris panoramic there are not many skyscrapers to be seen. The most dominating presence on the horizon is the Eiffel Tower, which when compared to some structures in other cities, it's height becomes rather dwarfed.

In New York, concrete skyscrapers dominate the observers eye. During the time that New York was developed there was not a lot of land to build on. To solve this, architects built up. This desire for height spread throughout American cities and can still be seen in other developing cities today such as Dubai.

In Dubai there is less of an emphasis on concrete, and the buildings are very modern. Once again, skyscrapers are the main focus of the horizon, and the desire for height can still be clearly seen by building the worlds tallest building (Burj Dubai). It will be over 160 stories high! It's interesting to see their skyline evolve and change as time goes by.

What Dubai will look like once Burj Dubai is complete.

Classical Architecture

When someone from Buffalo thinks of a building that is modeled after the Parthenon, the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society Museum in the city would automatically jump out in their mind. This section of the building is a clear attempt to duplicate the Parthenon in Athens. It has it all, the columns, ornamental carvings at the top (in the Tympanum), and the triglyphs below that. It's a perfect example.


When I think classical architecture I always think of columns. Columns are also heavily associated with UB, and are carried through to the apartments on campus as well. These columns are found framing the entrances to South Lake buildings. It fits since scholarship is highly associated with Rome, and what better place to represent that legacy than on a Universities campus.


Baird Point on Lake LaSalle is what the University uses as their symbol to represent the college. The image of the three pillars can be seen on our UBcards, and pillars as seen in the above example are scattered about campus. Even the Sweethome apartments caught on to the theme and use the three pillars to represent their off campus apartments.



Site where I found the technical terms and great examples of classical architecture throughout Buffalo: http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/arts/Architec/Generalities/IllustratedArchitecture/B/Brokenapexpediment/Brokenapexpediment.htm