Dictionary.com defines common as “a tract of land owned or used jointly by the residents of a community, usually a central square or park in a city or town.” applying this definition to Georgia State yields the Langdale quad as the obvious commons for GSU. The observation took place on Monday September 26th in various locations around the quad. The focus of the observation was on the materials and the textures of the structures in the quad.

Materials and Textures on the Langdale Fountain-

Langdale Fountain

The majority of the well of the fountain is made out of what appears to be brick. The bricks are reddish in color. The mortar is visible, and grayish in color. Both the bricks and the mortar have very rough textures. The fountain itself is tiered, with an upper and lower portion. Although there appears to water reservoirs for both sections, water seems to flow from the upper tier to the lower one. The inside of the fountain is lined with what appears to be blue tile. The brick wall surrounds the water reservoirs for both the upper and lower portions of the fountain. On top of the brick wall and on the edges of the water there are large rectangular sections of material that resembles concrete. These concrete sections overhang the brick wall. The texture of this section is different than that of concrete however, as there appears to be small stones embedded in it. The overhanging slabs are mostly off white in color but with many more subdued hues. On the top of these concrete slabs there are what appear to be blue patterns in the shape of paw prints. The paint fells smooth to the touch. The lower fountain has three pillars of water projected upwards from the reservoirs. The upper fountain has two rings of water projected at an angle pointed towards the inside of the rings.

Materials and textures on green square-

Shrub holding cube

The floor is made up of what appears to be concrete squares. These squares have a rough, pebbled texture, and are grayish in color. There is some sort of white substance, presumably mortar on the sides of these squares. There is what appears to be brick wall of a reddish color built into a cube like shape. There is what appears to be cream colored mortar joining the bricks. Both the brick and the mortar have rough textures. The top twelve rows of bricks are arranged horizontally, with the longer side of each rectangular brick parallel to the floor. However the bottom row is arranged in a vertical pattern, with the longer sides of the bricks perpendicular to the floor. Near the cube there are what appear to be chairs. On top of this cubic section of brick there appears to be a concrete slab with the same properties as those of the fountain. The texture of the slab remains pebbled, but smooth overall. There are no paw prints on this slab however.  In the center of this concrete section there is a hole in the shape of a square. On the inside of the square there is some sort of shrub, which appears to be growing out of the cube like structure. The roots of the shrub are covered by what appears to be mulch of a reddish color. The mulch feels appears dry, but reveals a lot of moisture when prodded.

Materials and textures on the stairs-

Stairs leading to Langdale from Library South

Each individual stair step seems to be covered in what appears to be a sheet of rectangular metal. This metallic sheet does not cover all of the stair step, but most of the front portion of it. The metallic sheet has stripes running horizontally across it. The stripes are dark in color, and are extremely rough in texture. The metallic stripes of the sheets on the other hand, have a really smooth texture.  The metallic sheets are attached to the stair step by what appears to be screws.  One of the sheets has a white tag that reads “Amstep Products” in blue letters. The steps themselves are made of what appears to be concrete. They are painted in blue paint, and have a smooth texture. The paint appears to be missing on the inside edges of some of the steps.  One of the steps seems to have some concrete jutting out at the bottom of it, and is also missing the paint on the bottom of it as well.  Each of the steps has a pillar for the railing located at the far right and far left of the metallic sheet. The posts are white in color and appear to be made of metal.  They have a smooth texture as well. The railing is a darker color, and has a smooth texture.

All photos taken by the Author