Interaction and Memory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Interaction and Memory - Essay ExampleAn excellent case is the new-made Cooper Union Building at 41 Cooper Square. Designed and completed back in 2009 by Thom Mayne, it promises to be one of the more habitual landmarks of New York with its striking design and well-thought concept. Seen from afar, say from the Cooper Triangle Park, the New Cooper Union Academic Building poses a stark contrast to the sure-enough(a) edifices and some forgettable edifices within the vicinity. One will be immediately arrested with its modern design, characterized by sleek and shiny glass materials that declare contemporary and the futurity in bold letters while depicting a seemingly humungous art element straight out of a Picasso brookvas. The overall impression is a forward-looking, solid and imposing structure that is also a point of convergence and a mecca for creative thinking all at the same time. Indeed, Mayne emphasized that the building is conceived as a vehicle to foster collaboration and cross-disciplinary dialogue among the colleges three schools, previously housed in separate buildings. (p. 96) In this respect, it appears that the building designer achieved his documentary triumphantly, at least in the battle for perceptions. As an academic structure it successfully integrated the crucial functional elements with the aesthetic and most things in amongst in order to establish a conducive environment for learning with the limited resources (i.e. space) it has in its disposal. A fundamental characteristic of the building is the breaking of the power structure of circulation into a burst of open spaces that serve different purposes. There is the vertical circulation concept in addition to the spaces for different functions designed so that people can move through and interact with lectures and perform another(prenominal) social/learning activity that could change into a different experience once one transfers into other space or meet another or hold a different co nversation. The key concept in the design is space. This is the element that holds all the other design considerations together such as the desire to enhance learning, the attempt at achieving freedom, collaboration and interaction. From the outside the view is welcoming because it communicates a degree of nudeness that comes with the visual transparencies and the accessibility of the building to visitors or those outside. A passerby, for instance, will have no difficulty or reservations entering since the entrance and the entire ground level is seemingly connected to the external environs such as the street and the community it is in. The facade registers the iconic, curving profile of the primaeval atrium as a shiny figure that appears to the carved out of the 3rd Avenue facade, connecting the creative and social heart of the building to the street. Architecture and Urbanism 2010 page 96 Then the glass materials allow the exposure of the activities indoors to those from witho ut especially in the ground level Once inside, there is then the vertical 20-foot grand staircase that connects all the four stories, functioning as the central atrium at the same time. Those students streaming out of their classrooms, their lectures, the library, and from wherever else within, converge at this atrium/staircase. This is fundamental why