Week 4 — Art Activity — Architecture & Urban Planning
As technology advances, middlemen are cut out and some things aren’t useful anymore whereas others take their place. Things get taken out such as books for computers, eBooks, phones, and tablets. This is extremely vital against not only convenience, but ensuring public safety while trying to continue life as it was before the virus.
Generations change interests as well. Today promotes mental health and student wellbeing more than before for example. It could also be shift in which how one views something particular, or how they do things. It’s relatively new that CSULB allows food and drinks into some parts of the library to help people study with comfort. I’m not complaining!
Life at CSULB is amazing. I can hardly ever think of anything that needs improvement or something new at the moment. Everything feels like it was addressed on point. However, there are suggestions I would add based on my experience.
The main thing I would talk about is taking advantage of our location. We are very well near the ocean. That is a blessing! How come the buildings in south of the campus hardly take advantage of creating a view to it? We may be near the ports, but not near enough to have a visible scenery. I had the privilege of seeing that horizon on a higher floor of the library. That’s the only place were I know I can find that sight in all of campus. I made two ideas, whether they may be possible to engineer or not:
- Adding two or more floors to the Liberal Arts Building 1. Other than the building being not tall enough to see, the library blocks a portion of the building from seeing beyond the campus, and the windows are too elevated to peer through with ease.
The reason the windows from lower floors are higher may be to prevent distractions. I figure that the upper most top–or the floors that can show the ocean–can serve as a site for seminars and debates. It could also be a room designed for private study group rooms. Though it’s a liberal arts building, I wouldn’t mind writing math questions on a board accompanied by that view and coffee to sip!
2. Another way to take in the view is forming a tower!
I acknowledge that the areas will replace the trees resting there, so I would have incorporated as many trees and other plants as I could. It’s full of windows for the scenery of course, and serves as a very beautiful study group in floors. They can serve as small ballrooms for huge events! Just move the tables and chairs under the stairs! The coziest is at the bottom floors. The upper get the view of the far ocean. I also had the idea of adding a very fancy cafe in the cozier floors.
In times of events or when someone wants to treat themselves well, this is a good way to raise funds for student activities, developments, and needs of the campus. Students get a job in the process as well. It’s quite parallel to the Tokyo Sky Tower. When I visited, they had a café that did cinnamon art like in my drawing! They had a 360 view too.
Majors that require hands on interaction such as majors in the biological sciences, and health service majors for some examples may be among the most disadvantaged in online classes. Here are two suggestions for urban planning:
- Back in Week 2 concerning Virtual Worlds, they can sometimes be substitutes for places–especially during this pandemic. Though this next suggestion for campus planning isn’t on campus–but online–it’s something consequential to address. It’s ensuring proper labs. It’s funny how we actually have a computer lab online in which we use to access another computer screen that’s not ours. It sounds useless, but it’s quite important at times. I used it for my Business Statistics class to access Excel. CSULB could find and add high quality virtual labs to the virtual portal. I am a Nutrition Major that feels at a loss from not experiencing chemistry lab stimulations online, and I feel inexperienced.
2. We can bring out huge tents and a projector outside to expand social distancing while providing interactive classes that greatly benefit the most other than labs (In which labs are taken in labs for obvious reasons, so this does not apply.). The fields we have for sports can be converted into outdoor classes! How many can happen in one day? Moreover, some people get to experience the sun!
