holly: Burda, BP 14, IAR 221

Object, Space, Building, Place: 4 things that I love!

Object: My snowboard

My snowboard is one of my favorite objects because it gives me the oppertunity to see parts of the world that I'd never get a chance to see if I didn't ride. The view from the top of the mountain on a crisp, clear morning after a night of heavy snow is one of the most beautiful sights in the world. Any noise is muffled by the snow and whether I'm sailing through fresh powder or riding the lift to the top, I'm filled with a sense of serenity that clears my mind and allows me to appriciate nature at it's fullest.

Space: Piazza San Marco, Venice, Italy

I love the Piazza San Marco in Venice. It provides a great meeting space. You could spend days there just sitting on the steps and people watching. There are a lot of artists there that are creating and selling their work. There is also a ton of really cool shops and restaurants that surround the piazza. It opens up to the water where you can take boat rides around the city, and the history and architecture of this area seem to adapt well to the modern buzz of the city.

Building: Frank Gehry
When I was reflecting on really cool buildings I'd seen, two came into mind. One was in Cleveland, Ohio, and the other was the building fronted by a giant pair of binoculars in Venice, California. I had a feeling that the binocular building was by Frank Gehry, but I had no idea that the building I was thinking about in Cleveland, the Peter B Lewis building, was also by Gehry.

Peter B Lewis building in Cleveland, Ohio

Chiat-Day building in Venice, California

The Chiat-Day building, also known as the binocular building, sits on main street in Venice, California. Frank Gehry is responsible for the three facaded building behind the binoculars, while the giant binocular sculpture was created by Claes Oldenburg. The binoculars serve as an entranceway for vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Interestingly, Claes Oldenburg also created one of my favorite sculptures in Cleveland, a giant rubber stamp with the word "Free" on it.

Claes Oldenburg's "Free Stamp" in Cleveland, Ohio

Place: Savannah, Georgia
I love visiting Savannah because of the tremendous amount of history and architecture. The downtown city blocks are arranged beautifully, and the spanish moss dripping from the trees makes it seem like you are walking into another place and time. The georgian and Victorian homes are breathtaking. I also appriciate that SCAD, Savannah College of Art and Design, has taken it upon themselves to purchase and renovate old and decrepide historic buildings. In this way, Savannah is truely an architectural link between past and present.