Recentering

Today, we visited 3 buildings: the EUC, the cafeteria, and the Jackson Library. We were looking specifically for centers in the buildings and how to identify them.

In the EUC, there are 2 main centers that I saw, and they were the 2 main entrances.

Center 1:
Entrance
















Inside

















Center 2:






Notice how the light in the first picture draws the eye up, and the floor pattern has a circle in the middle with pieces going out towards the doors and windows. This floor pattern reminds me of the one we saw in the music building, which had a similar circle and outward pieces pattern.

Running between the 2 centers is the hallway, which acts as a spine of the building.

The following picture shows an example of a demostration/information offering that often happens in this hallway.


I think that the 2 entrances act as centers because they connect both ends of the building, with the bookstore and food court on either side of one center, and classrooms and the Information Desk at the other center. People are always walking through the EUC, whether it be to meet with friends for food, to grab a book from the bookstore, or to go to a meeting in a classroom. There never seems to be a quiet moment along the hallway.


Another place that we visited was the Library. We were told to walk in and find what we thought was the center. I chose this:

This is the mobile hanging above the spot that I chose for the center. To physically describe it, you walk into the library and go past the circulation desk. Stand in the spot where the walkway of the entrance intersects with the long hallway running across the building and that's where I was. I believe that is the center because it literally is the center of the building, and it is at a main intersection of the building. It is near the circulation desk, the express computers, the hallway to the Super Lab, and the books. You can look all around from this spot and see several different areas of the library. After explaining why we picked our centers, we walked out the library to the front and saw this:

Above the main entrance, you can see the tower.

Since this tower is 9 stories tall, it is also used for radio and satellite reception.

The last building that we visited was the cafeteria. One of the main centers in this building besides the dining hall itself is downstairs at the entrance.


When you walk in, there are many things around you: the Spartan Market, the Mail Center, the other restaurant, sitting areas, etc. Then as you walk through the hallway, you get to the stairs and the dining hall. This is a very important center for many reasons.
1. Everyone has to eat.
2. You can buy snacks and a variety of other things here.
3. If you have a package, this is where you pick it up.
4. Some people like to sit on the couches and hang out inside rather than out by the fountain.
The cafeteria serves a variety of purposes and is one of the main centers on campus.

Centers help you understand the building and its purpose more. You can also tell by looking at the centers what was important to the school when they constructed/updated the building.