The UNCG Campus and it's Architectural Power

Space: The UNCG campus covers 210 acres of land inside the Greensboro area. These 210 acres houses the many specific college major buildings such as the Curry School of Education and the Bryan School of business. The campus is organized in a way that space in between the diverse major classrooms is approximately at least a fifteen minute walk to and from. The main buildings as far as the residence halls, cafeteria, the library, and the EUC are all located in a general area to ensure that students that live on campus may have accessibility to fulfill everyday needs. There are also details of how much space that our mascot Minerva has in between the structure of the Elliot University Center. She is given enough space for significance and value. Also if you are a student at UNCG you will pass her everyday on your journey down college ave.  In general, I believe that the campus of UNCG is organized well as far as the smaller, intimate space for student interaction as well as organized to ensure the best college experience for the entire student body.
Power: The UNCG campus is powered by knowledge and close knit bonding. The campus's power is bestowed by the Roman goddess Minerva. She is the goddess of  wisdom and war and it is her duty to be the campuses overseer of knowledge. She guards the Elliot University Center where the majority of the student population must visit everyday to consume a meal, purchase a textbook, or attend a social event. Since the university is centered around academic power and success the significance the small scale holds the value of social bonding and achievement.  Students will travel by foot to classroom when adventuring across campus and interact with familiar faces daily. Overall, the power of the campus is not judged by its scale or huge structures. But  the structure of Minerva is not the entire piece of the power for this campus because without the entire student body's interaction with the campus the site would hold nothing but space.
Experience: Upon entering the campus from any given entrance a person will be perceiving the impact the campus has for the value of a powerful college education. The space inside buildings, the small scale of the campus, and the dedication to knowledge each will give a different individual different perceptions. Many individuals favor a smaller scaled campus with only a handful of buildings each structured well in the interior and externally. Some individuals prefer a larger scaled campus with tons of historic buildings that are outdated. The UNCG campus grantees awe and amazement at structures and buildings that each undergo remodeling to become updated facilities. This will ensure that the individuals looking for a small updated structural community will indeed receive what they desire. UNCG entices the student driven by knowledge and wishes to mature fully socially as well because the campus is definitely not a Chapel Hill or The University of South Carolina.
 Principles: The simple principles of design are definitely well organized into the campus of UNCG. Having many educational buildings up and down college avenue creates a balance and proportion of structure and boundaries any student grows accustomed to after one semester. The harmony and unity  of the campus is surely captivated by the specific structures like the fountain in front of the cafeteria, the sculptural artwork in front of the EUC and the Minerva statue erected behind the EUC.
Precedent: Since the educational buildings on college ave are all located together and in close proximity, I believe that when the addition of new buildings were suggested to be created the architectural common sense was to add additional educational buildings to the street.
Site: The site of the campus itself is becoming and all coming together as one. Without different educational buildings in existence the basic major structure of the uuniversity would be entirely different. And of course without the points of emphasis and harmony the campus would not be so structural appealing. From the drive on to campus and parking a car an individual will trek near the EUC which is connected to the library from the inside. And it is the little details of paths created for students to the buildings created for work that makes the campus a site of quality education. 
Order:  There is no specific entrance to the UNCG campus, so one may walk onto campus from the different street entry ways or drive into the more specific entrances to campus. But the campus is not created in a specific order of importance or structural significance. There is a center to the entire campus that houses the EUC and the school library that hold order to ensuring the option of study accessibility before crossing over to college ave for classes. The campus's purpose is to only house the knowledge that students need to become successful and store basic needs for everyday human needs. 
Scale: The scale of UNCG compared to most other state universities may be considered large in some aspects but compared to other more known universities UNCG is significantly smaller. The buildings scales all range but the largest ones are centered inside the campus because the have the strongest importance to everyday life of a college student. But unless you are a student that has a specific major the journey of specific importance may range.
Technology: The campuses facilities are built to have the universities wireless Internet connection accessible at all times. And all the buildings are also built with restroom facilities that use flushing and water pipes. The residence halls, and cafeteria are assessable for TV cable, and microwave technology. The library also houses many computer technology for students that do not have laptops or other wireless devices to access Internets and to create class projects.
Surface: The surface of the UNCG campus is mainly flat lined with hills that are made accessible by stairs, and sidewalks. Otherwise the campus is laid across a flat surface of land.


Erin Matthews:Non-Major


  

Circles,Groves, and Mountains- Enviroments & Rituals As One

Circles:

The Late Joman Japanese "Sundial"

In Japan, the citizens of  Late Joman period would create "sundials" with one large upright stone in the center of a small circle. Each surrounding stone would not be particular in size as seen in the image above. The citizens were not worried as to the beauty of the circle but the function it had. Every sunrise created the casting of specific shades and lights needed to read the sundial. The citizens would be able to know what time of the day it was. Without the environments important role in this ritual the Late Jamon period would of failed to use the concept of a circles as a "sundial". 

A Grove:

The Dazheng Hall in the Shenyang Imperial Palace

This grand hall in China during 1625 AD held the grand ceremonies like the emperor's enthroning, war declaring, and welcoming the triumphant troops.  The structure of this grand hall is a great example of the Chinese spectacular architecture even from earlier dynasties. The country is vast in surface area and filled with tons of citizens.  Rituals that are performed in this specific combination of groves and mountains create an environment of elegance, and royal significance.  The royal family and honored guests were only allowed to enter this stucture. To make sure the hall was sturdy groves of local bamboo trees were used to hold up this important structure.      

A Mountain: 

 The Pyramid at Chichen Itza

This pyramid was built before 800 A.D. in Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. The pyramid is apart of the most famous Mayan city found today. This pyramid served as the political and economic center of the Mayan civilization. The citizens of the Mayan civilization studied the stars, mastered the mathematics, and had one true writing system in the time of Europe's Dark Ages. This architectural example presents the stacking of horizontal slabs to create one huge literal mountain of a temple. The Mayan citizens were advanced for the times with both architecture and knowledge.

Environment is used to form concrete rituals from the influences of the natural environment around certain civilizations at a specific period of time. The environment creates certain ways of creating significant structures in history. The environment holds the sun and the trees growing around each civilization. Without the environment, rituals would not exist.  

The Indus/Ghaggar-Hakra Civilization

2500 BCE- Central Asia

The Indus/Ghaggar-Hakra region was the first urban civilization in a true sense with over a thousand cities spread over a quarter of a million square miles (equivalent to modern day France). Each city shared a common language and standardized system of weights although distance was shared also.

The alphabet of the Ghaggar-Hakra civilization consisted of an arrangement of human, animal, and mythical forms similar to the alphabet and storytelling of ancient Egypt. The common ships of the Ghagger-Hakra civilization carried bricks, bread, lumber, metals, and lapis lazuli which were traded in the cities of Mesopotamia.

The civilization of Ghaggar-Hakra constructed a substantial amount of unique protective systems that required a higher level of thinking. The citizens in the large city of Harappa would create protective walls to keep out the flood. This same city decided to try and create an interconnected drainage system designed to disperse storm waters. The evidence of this piece of history can still be found in the now dry city of Harappa.

The architectural structure of the larger cities of the Ghaggar-Hakra is similar in both placement of palaces, exclusive walls, and ceremonial places located in the upper town or lower town of this society. Even though the cities clearly had a social hierarchy there is no solid evidence of kingship. There were no centralized religious structures, only the terra-cotta seals show the belief in a plethora of supernatural beings.

Early in the second millennium BCE, the Ghaggar-Hakra began to dry up, the reasons for this drastic change in environment is still debated today.