Group of five does scavenger hunt: My take

Methodology for scavengerhunt: We were four peers from the group of five cards, Tyler B, Trevor R, Courtney S and me who went around OSU campus following the clues in the assignment and used Tyler’s iPhone to take photos of buildings and things.

Clue01:

We decided to go to the Art library to find a Barcelona chair. We took the photos from different angles and Courtney posed for us on the chair.

The Barcelona chair was a statement of German renewal of art, sophistication and luxury after the devastating First World War. Named after the host city Barcelona, the chair was exclusively designed by Mies van der Rohe for the German Pavilion, for the International Exposition of 1929. An icon of modernism, the design of the chair was inspired by the campaign and folding chairs of ancient times.

I thing most interesting look of this chair is its unusual legs. All four legs are curved and looks like foldable and legs are very thin compare to the sit, however very proportionate and modern.

Clue02:

We went to the architecture library to find our favorite designer chair. Although not my first preference, I decided to stick with group’s choice, the Red and Blue Chair, because everyone the chairs has its own identity and characteristics. And it’s hard for me to decide my favorite one.

The Red and Blue Chair was a chair that came out of modern European art and design movements after 19^th century impressionism. Cubism emerged with geometric lines, bold shapes, with rectangles and cubes, signaling a break from natural curve, perhaps humankind’s domination over nature, or perhaps moving into the abstract world of ideas and purity of thoughts. Similar movements spawned across the continent, the Dutch flavor being De Stijl (“The Style”), with members Theo Van Doesberg and Piet Mondrian being the two most prominent members. Designed in 1917 by another member of the movement, Gerrit Rietveld. It represents one of the first explorations by the De Stijl art movement in three dimensions. As one can see from the construction, the straight lines, rectangular edges, the bold and vibrant primary colors, it is as if the designer worked hard to conceive the essence of the idea “Chair”. In the end, though, the eye catching chair is not very comfortable to sit. Form over function…

Clue03:

Wexner Hall was designed by Peter Eisenman and Richard Trott. To me it is a mixture of form and function, a unique building whose façade was made out partially of red bricks and rectangular grid metal framework. It gives me a feeling of labyrinth, and I have gotten lost in it before.

Clue 04

Science and Engineering Library

The SEL library and the Mathematics Tower were designed to form a harmonious existence with already existing simple brick buildings at the north campus area, but not without uniqueness of the architect Phillip Johnson. Given and monetary and stylistic constraints that he had to work with, I think he has done a wonderful job with the designs of the SEL library and the Math Tower, simple, but beautiful and elegant. With beautiful Spanish Andalucian arches (left over of eight hundred years of Muslim civilization there), and impressive façade, with an open area full of trees, the SEL library stands out as one of the most eye pleasing on the north side of campus.

Mathematics Tower

Clue 05

One of the most imposing buildings on campus is the new Thompson Library, designed by the architectural firm Acock and Associates. I visited the old main library a few years ago, and it was an imposing building then as well, but it was pure function and no form, if you consider book storage being the only function of a library. Damp and dark, it reminded me of a coffin. The new library is a breath of fresh air and natural light, by contrast. It is very inviting from outside and comfortable inside, and I really like the interplay between glass and concrete. The only complaint about the library is that it no longer holds the amount of books the old library used to. Then again, libraries not only need books, they also need people there checking out the books. I think the new library design by Acock and Associates accomplish that harmoniously.