I decided to take my shot from inside looking out in order to get a better feel for what meanings our campus communicates to the community when they are actually inside one of the buildings, in this case, Festival. The Festival Conference and Student Center was intended by its designers for just that, conferences and students. We see that in the grand ballrooms and the food court that it contains. But Festival also communicates additional meanings in the way it decides to relate the surrounding buildings. In this picture it is obvious that the huge wall of windows in "Festy" allow a very clear view of the outside. From inside a student can see the ISAT/HHS/Phys/Chem buildings as well as the Skyline dorms. All these buildings have similar designs and color schemes, yet they don't crowd the view. On the contrary, they provide green spaces for the eye that seem like a breath of fresh air even from the inside. We see the social aspect of JMU in the architectural decision to actually reserve these green lawns for the students and even set up tables outside for students to eat and talk inbetween classes. Another meaning that the planning of the campus conveys is JMU's green movement. The designers made a conscious decision to allow the students inside Festival a view not only of the surrounding campus, but all the way to the trees and tops of the mountains in the distance.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Jimmy Aliaga's Madison Space for 4/7/10
I decided to take my shot from inside looking out in order to get a better feel for what meanings our campus communicates to the community when they are actually inside one of the buildings, in this case, Festival. The Festival Conference and Student Center was intended by its designers for just that, conferences and students. We see that in the grand ballrooms and the food court that it contains. But Festival also communicates additional meanings in the way it decides to relate the surrounding buildings. In this picture it is obvious that the huge wall of windows in "Festy" allow a very clear view of the outside. From inside a student can see the ISAT/HHS/Phys/Chem buildings as well as the Skyline dorms. All these buildings have similar designs and color schemes, yet they don't crowd the view. On the contrary, they provide green spaces for the eye that seem like a breath of fresh air even from the inside. We see the social aspect of JMU in the architectural decision to actually reserve these green lawns for the students and even set up tables outside for students to eat and talk inbetween classes. Another meaning that the planning of the campus conveys is JMU's green movement. The designers made a conscious decision to allow the students inside Festival a view not only of the surrounding campus, but all the way to the trees and tops of the mountains in the distance.
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Ben Parker
ReplyDeleteDr. Mulrooney
This is an interesting picture because it shows a wide view of not just the inside of the festival building where students come to eat and interact, but also shows the buildings around it. I agree that the modernness is interesting and gives a good green space between them provoking even more interaction as a common place like the inside. What I also see in this picture is the landscape around the campus, and the older part of campus. Like I mentioned in my blog post, it is as if the newer side of campus is above the older side in being "better" because of its modernity, Very interesting photo.