Campus Walk- Finding Groups, Stacks, and Circles

http://arnisdesigns.blogspot.com/2009_02_01_archive.html

       Last friday, our history of design theory class took a walking tour of campus, in efforts to find real examples of groups, stacks, and circles.  The first thing we came to were the colonnades outside of the Ferguson building.  The columns align to form a group.

sketch of colonnades

We then moved on to the College Avenue and the EUC area.  While on the way to the EUC we stopped at the Alumni House to observe the columns in front of the house.  We found the design of the house to be very symmetrical and even.  The windows were made with a keystone at the top of the border of the window, which after being informed by Audra, we now know was put in as the last piece of stone, and was generally known to keep all the stones together.

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/1256
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From College Ave we moved inside the EUC and found ourselves at the Walker Street entrance, standing in the middle of the mosaic circle.  Circles are a common theme in the EUC, and rightly so, as it is the one building in which every student at UNCG has something they have to do, walk through, or meet someone in.  Circles symbolically bring people together, and do the same in the building, which is why they can be found at each entrance.

From the EUC we walked to the music building.  The music building was a sources with groups, stacks, and circles.  The circles began outside of the building with the circle pond.  Moving closer to the entrance, one will notice to ripple effect tile and stonework done, creating a large circle, probably to show the effect music has on everything.  The ripple stonework leads you into the building, where you will find groups of columns inside.  The spaces inside the music building are seperated by differences in ceiling heights.  The outside of the building has layers of different building materials, creating a stacking effect.

Finding groups, stacks, and circles around campus was not as hard as I imagined.  Things occur in groups, stacks, and circles so regularly, it's not that you have to look hard to find them, you just have to know what you're looking for.