Architectural Visual Analysis

Step 1. Choose an architectural structure within your own “built environment.” This could be the apartment or dorm complex you live in, a shopping center you frequent, a freeway you commute on.Be creative! Choose a structure that you are personally familiar with and experience/have experienced on a regular basis, and that you will be able to think and write about critically. This may mean that your childhood home is not the best structure choice for you… Step 2. Write a paper (1000-1500 words, or about 4 pages double spaced) that includes: A visual analysis of your chosen structure (follow suggested formatting for visual analyses #1 and 2) Your reflections on how the structure’s physical form influences and affects your experience of it. Questions to guide your writing: For the visual analysis part: What is the building’s purpose? Does the building appear today as it did when constructed? What does the building say? What message does it send/statement does it make? What materials are used? What role does landscape play? What architectural styles are used/referenced? For the personal reflection part: Does form follow function? What is the interior flow or organization (floor plan)? How does this contribute to your experience of the structure? What emotions does the structure bring up in you? In other words, do you feel positively or negatively about your experiences in it? How does the structure’s architecture contribute to these feelings? Are there architectural design flaws that hinder your experience of the structure? If so, what do you think would improve the structure’s design?