This is a project I worked on while attending school at Penn State. I don’t remember if I designed the building first and then wrote the speech for my English class, or if I designed the building for the speech itself. Either way, the plan was to build it somewhere on the Penn State campus. One day I may try rendering the rest of the building in AutoCAD or Revit. Right now the complex angles make it a little more difficult to do.
My Speech
Imagine a place where students can get out of class and immediately get started in a round of mini Golf or get something to eat from one of many restaurant or fast food options. Imagine a place where you can have fun and party just a few hundred feet from where you had class just a few hours before. Imagine something bigger than the HUB with more different things to do in one area than all of the downtown has now. Imagine our beloved mascot, being the inspiration behind this building that I described.
As you can see, my idea is to really make this the next big landmark for our school. People will drive down the road and see a giant building shaped like a lion staring back at them, ready to pounce at any moment, and wouldn’t help but be impressed. Through my design, you would see very little windows while approaching from the front because all windows would be slanted at an angle and facing back, so that from one side you would just see the giant lion, and from the other you would see mostly glass. As you come closer to the area you will notice this isn’t just any ordinary building that happens to be shaped like a lion, but instead it is a fun place full of activities as well as academics classrooms and lecture halls.
The very first thing you may notice as u approach the head of the building, would be the giant glass enclosure surroundings a multistory themed miniature golf course. This would be no ordinary course, but would instead include a series of artificial caves and mountains, with plants and animals included, to create the feel of the mountainous environment that our mascot originates. Beyond the scenery, in the middle of the head region, you will find other large areas full of even more activities. These range from a large bar like setting which would provide the same party atmosphere as a regular bar would, except without the option of having alcohol; a giant arcade/ gaming area to provide a fun way to relieve stress with friends or just compete for the next high score, and a serious of fast food places or restaurants, to sit down and get a quick bite between classes or to enjoy a nice night out with friends or family. Also included could be things like a laser tag arena, or a dance hall for the more traditional ball room dances or maybe a hoedown or two. The possibilities are numerous as this portion of the building is just a place for people to come to have fun and enjoy themselves.
Exiting from the head portion to the body opens you up into another large place surrounded by many large multipurpose classrooms and offices. As you look straight ahead you will just see a giant open area filled with seats and tables for people to study or enjoy their lunches. If you look up you will see 3-4 floors surrounding the area, each with a stepped seating overhang, over looking the entire central region. These over hangs would provide even more places for people to study or take a quick nap or even watch the news or the current game from the large projection box suspended above the floor, similar to what you may find at a basketball game. To prevent noise pollution into the surrounding classrooms, headphone jacks could be installed at various points to allow those who want to hear what’s going on to do so with out disturbing others who aren’t interested. But of course, our own football games on weekends would have to come from the main speakers for all to hear. In addition to just housing areas where people can eat or study, the lower floor would also become a place for shows of all types, similar to the courts in large malls where a lot of people can gather to watch the performances.
Now as you look to the left and right and back where you would expect to see the legs and tail that a lion would have, you will see another series of smaller classrooms. At the end of the legs, 2-3 large lecture halls would be included in each paw. The design of these would be very similar to the forum, but I promise to make more leg room and space with my design. The second floor of the legs and tails would simply house more offices or smaller class rooms as every part of the design should be in proportion to a real lion.
If a building such as this is built, I believe that we, Penn State, would be the only ones to have a building shaped like our very own mascot. Other schools may become jealous and try to create a similar building for theirs, but I’m not sure anything could compare to the lion, ready to attack at any moment to guard our beloved school, Penn State.
