Architecture Throughout
They (whoever they is) say New York City never sleeps. And upon arrival at 15 years old, I couldn’t sleep either.
After a grueling, 18 hour bus ride from North Carolina to NYC, I had never been more ready to get out of a vehicle. When the skyline appeared as a tiny row in the distance, jumping off the bus and running to the city felt like the only option. We couldn’t get there fast enough. Instead, I peered out the dirty window with my eyes locked on the horizon. The city became bigger and bigger until we finally stopped.
A Modernism made of mostly windows gave the illusion the glass was falling off the structure, struck me first. The next included geometric shapes cladding the exterior. After came a multitude of other buildings, each vastly different from the one right next to it. And yet, they all somehow captured my attention. While my classmates were antsy to eat good pizza or shop a store they’d only heard about on tv, I just wanted to stare at buildings. Inside or outside, it did not matter to me.
Design was all around me. Methodical, varying and captivating. While the food was good and the Broadway show was incredible, I had never witnessed the scale of a city like this before. My hometown had 1 stoplight and 1 grocery store; this was a shock to my system.
New York hooked me on traveling. Each place I experienced brought new structures and gave an understanding as to why they were built the way they were.
Asheville, NC brought art to life, using buildings as their canvas. Atlanta, GA gave height and concrete an entire new meaning. Boston and Plymouth, MA showed their age with Colonial influence; smaller structures covered in cladding to take the beating of their elements. North and South Dakota had low, sturdy structures due to their turbulent winds and massive loads of snow. Montana and Wyoming similar in sturdy brick buildings, with a picturesque backdrop, they let the land be the star of the show. Miami, FL allowed visitors to view the ocean from high up. Nashville, TN holds the old with the new as the city is ever growing. Muscle Shoals, AL holds on to its shag carpet and wood paneling. The Gathering Place in Tulsa, OK looks like a modern villain resides there. Sulphur Springs, TX holds a marvel structure on its square. Raleigh, NC created alleys and trails leading you to buildings that once heavily supported the railroad. Kernersville, NC holds one of the most thoughtful architectural homes I have ever witnessed.
With each new place, conscious (and sometimes subconscious) notes are taken back with me to inform new design. The idea is never to copy but to realize there are a thousand ways to blend elements together. Whether it’s the shape of the structure, the ornamentation of woodwork, colors used decades earlier or material that is shaped but still holds up after years of use, nothing is too small of a detail to log.
We all travel for different reasons. And while I appreciate a new coffee shop just as much as my coffee enthusiast partner, I am there for the surroundings. The best latte I have ever had was in an old mechanic shop they had repurposed into a vintage furniture and clothing store (shoutout to Paloma Vintage Goods & Earl at Paloma in East Nashville). Respectfully, it is in the most unassuming place to think you’ll have the best latte of your life. But that’s the beauty of structures, you never know what you will find inside.