Michael Reynolds started an earthship community in Taos, New Mexico. The community uses only solar and wind power in order to function which is very unique. This is one of my favorites by Reynolds because it brings a community together, which is what Michael Reynolds values so heavily. His ability to unite people across the world is one of the reasons why I find his work so intriguing! This community consists of hundreds of acres of land and has provided housing for many people. The earthship community in Taos offers tours to the public and educates them on the origins of earthships, how to build them, and the significance of them. This is something that I would be very interested in attending after seeing some of the amazing work created by Michael Reynolds!

https://taos.org/places/earthship-biotecture/

Throughout his career, Michael Reynolds has proven that he not only cares tremendously about the well-being of the environment, but he wants to positively impact people and communities all around the world. The first Earthship in Latin America was a sustainable public school located in Uraguay. The school  includes old rubber tires, aluminum cans, solar panels, and many more recycled or natural resources. Reynolds help guide hundreds of volunteers to construct the amazing school over the course of a few months. I find it interesting that a school with such a complex drainage and drinking water system can be created from these kinds of materials. The true genius of Michael Reynolds was showed off in this building because it proved that no matter the geographic location, he can make an advanced, eco-friendly building like this one!

Michael Reynolds’ Earthship Brighton is one of his more popular buildings, and one of my personal favorites of his. The shelter is made out of tires and other recycled materials which is quite fascinating. Brighton was built in 2006 and was the first Earthship constructed in England, and now currently serves as a gathering place to educate people about the environment. One of my favorite things about this masterpiece is that it has provided many jobs to people in the Brighton community, and has served to help raise awareness for environmental protection. Reynolds has spent lots of time educating others about the importance of Earthships and how exactly to construct them, which has allowed him to team up with architects to construct these kinds of buildings all throughout the world!

During a time when pollution and litter covered the United States, architect Michael Reynolds saw a an opportunity to turn this unfortunate situation into something positive. In 1972, Reynolds built a house comprised of over 70,000 beer and soda cans that he reused. This genius idea brought more attention to the serious litter/pollution issue that was present in America and is known as one of the most creative architectural ideas of all time. The environmental enthusiast has spent his entire architectural career focusing on eco-friendly ideas that benefit society and attract the eyes of many. Thumb house kick started Reynolds career and encouraged him to continue constructing houses and buildings with this ‘pro-environment’ mindset.

https://www.businessinsider.com/michael-reynolds-beer-can-thumb-house-2014-7

When I studied abroad in Arezzo, we got to visit the Vatican, an experience I will never forget. We got to listen to Pope Francis speak and tour St. Peters Basilica. The whole experience was surreal because of the history the building, not to mention the beauty behind each square inch.  While the outside was amazing to look at, the inside was even more intriguing in my opinion.  The statues, artwork, and high colorful ceilings are just a few of the great things I remember from the inside. Aside from the fact that thousands of people were surrounding the entire place and I felt claustrophobic, the overall experience of getting to see a world famous basilica like St Peters was unforgettable. St Peters and the Sagrada Familia are the top two buildings that i have had the opportunity to see and I feel extremely lucky because of how much I learned and the beautiful mental pictures that i took of both of them. CIAO.

I decided to write about my high school because of the architectural beauty behind it. I attended Boyd high school freshman-senior year and made some great memories there. McKinney Boyd is home to 3,000 students and is a quarter mile long. A funny memory I have from high school is walking from one side of the building to the other during passing period. I think one semester was tardy every single day to my math class because of the long walk and lack of time between classes. The school is beautiful inside and out, likely because it is relatively new (opened in 2006).  Anyways,  I wanted to include this building because I spent so much time there on a daily basis and got to know so many people. I still pass by it on my way home from Norman and love visiting when I get the chance.  Honestly, it took me a few years to really realize how pretty and well structured the school is compared to the majority of the other schools in the U.S.

Ever since I was a kid, my family has been die hard New York Yankee fans. This is a photo of the old Yankees stadium prior to its demolition after the 2008 MLB season. This building is meaningful to me because some of my earliest memories are when my grandpa would take me and my 2 older brothers to yankees games. I can never forget the feeling I would get when we would drive to  a game and I could see the stadium from half a mile away as we approach. Who could ever forget Derek Jeter’s face-busting, diving play into the stands in a 2004 playoff game? I surely cannot. The ballpark opened in 1923 and lived to almost 90 years old before the Yankees opened up a new home. It is one of the most popular stadiums in the history of sports and is quite fascinating. Though the place was pretty run down during my childhood, I still get chills when I see pictures of it because it brings back experiences that I’ll remember forever. Go Yankees.

This is a photo of the Sagrada Familia. I got to see it in person in March during a trip to Barcelona. The Sagrada was undoubtedly the most intriguing building that I have ever seen. The attention to detail was amazing and it didn’t even matter that it was not complete. I was fascinated how each side of the building referenced a different part of the Bible and told a story. The most memorable part of this experience was watching other people’s reactions to the building. I got to see several of Gaudi’s masterpieces while I was in Barcelona and learned a lot about his life which was very rewarding.