For my unit 2 site visit I chose the student center at Georgia Tech. I conducted my hour long observation while walking around the interior and exterior of the building, focusing specifically on the design of infrastructure. The design of the sidewalks made it apparent where it was and was not alright to walk, marked by elevated curbs or strips of grass. The trees on the side of the walkway provided excellent shade from the mid afternoon sun, and people seemed to be drawn to the shade. The atmosphere was very peaceful and calm, you could hear the birds chirping and the leaves rustling, despite being in the middle of downtown Atlanta. The campus felt very alive, both with the students walking around as well as the vibrant shades of green covering the campus.

The Student Center on Georgia Tech campus is located at 350 Ferst Dr NW, and is a major hub for social and academic interaction on the campus. The student center itself is several floors tall, with a food court and seating areas on the second floor. The floor of the student center is primarily tiled patterns, but the seating area is carpeted. Outside the student center there is a beautiful fountain area with a large fountain, wide paths shaded by trees planted along the side, and many tables and chairs set up along the side.

 

The tables are made of metal and are small and square. The chairs are the same color metal and appear to be from a set with the table. There is a railing on one side of the table, facing the fountain. On either side of the table, in line with the railing, there are shrubs that are well trimmed and maintained. Students are sitting at these tables either eating lunch, socializing, or working on their laptops or other devices. The buildings in the surrounding area are made almost entirely of brick.

 

The fountain is a wide circle with a large metal sculpture jutting out from the center. The fountain is filled with water, with small jets arcing from a central point, and slits for the water to flow down a small waterfall to a lowered area with terraced stone on the edge. Where the terrace reaches ground level, there is an arrangement of plants completing a larger circle. Outside of that circle there is a large brick tiled path going around the fountain and merging back into the main concrete trail, which is heavily traveled by students walking from class to class. On one side of the main path there is a fence erected, enclosing a large grass area with several trees. The fountain path is bordered by a small curb that clearly marks the edge.

 

On the side of the fountain opposite the
path, there is a semicircular terraced
seating area partially shaded by trees planted intermittently. The main path is surrounded by strips of grass on both sides that are not walked on.

 

The sculpture in the fountain is a several stories tall, composed of thin square metal plates stacked on top of each other but slightly spaced apart from each other, each plate rotated slightly counterclockwise from the one below it. At the very top there is a large spire, surrounded by four smaller spires. The plates glint in the afternoon sun.

 

 

There are bright green leaves hanging down from baskets filled with a brown substance, which are strung by a thin wire to a grey iron bar connecting a red canopy overhead to the building. There are small black chairs arranged around a small silver table, facing inward. The tables are enclosed by a black metal
fence with traces of rust and discoloration. Beyond the fence there are
numerous trees planted at equal distances from each other along the side of
the road. The trees are surrounded by light brown square tiles. The leaves and
branches of the trees move gently with the breeze, and the pots with the
leaves spin slightly back and forth. There are green metal benches with curved backs next to the trees on the sidewalk. There are multiple light posts with symmetrical vertical grooves along the length of the pole. There is a parking meter, with a blue sign above it pointing straight down with the words “Pay Here” on it. There are multiple cars lining the side of the road by the parking meter.

 

 

One of the cars is white with dark windows, black mirrors, and the word “Fiat” written in silver letters against a small red circle on the very front of the car. The next car is a black SUV, with two silver door handles on each side. The rims are silver, with significant discoloration as a result of the layer of dirt or other debris coating them. There is a silver Toyota symbol on the front of the car, slightly inset from the rest of the front bumper. The symbol is formed by a narrow vertical ellipse intersected by a wide concave hyperbolic shape, forming what appears to be a “T.” The next car is a silver Volkswagon sudan, much smaller than the SUV behind it. In front of the Volkswagon there is a white sudan with white door handles. In front of the sudan is a white Jeep with a metal rack of some sort affixed to the back.

 

Next to the white Fiat, there is a bike rack with a bike on it, held in place by a large D-shaped black object, presumably a lock. The bike rack itself is attached to the ground by four large bolts, one on each corner. A person wearing jeans, a mint-green collared shirt, glasses, and a backpack rides up and dismounts his bicycle, and proceeds to place his bike on the bike rack, attaching a D-shaped black object to the rack and the bike, intertwining them. The seat of the bike is covered with a loose fitted light brown transparent material, which moves slightly in the breeze, presumeably a brown plastic bag, possibly to keep the seat dry should it rain.

 

Between the bike rack and the parking meter there is a yellow monolith protruding from the ground, roughly a third the height of the trees and planted near it, and two thirds the height of the lamp post. The yellow object is rectangular, and has two smaller rectangles protruding from it. On the smaller protrusion is written “Technology Square” with “tech” and “square” in black, and “nology” in a very faint color, barely visible without close inspection. On the other protruding rectangle are the names of various buildings, with an arrow pointing forward at the top. This can be assumed to be a sign indicating the directions for specific destinations on campus.

 

Across the street there is a white box with a black and white striped rectangular object attached to it. Many cars take turns driving up to this black and white object, stop briefly, roll down their windows, have the driver reach out for a few seconds, and then the black and white object raises, hinged where it is connected with the white box, and the cars drive through. After they pass the black and white object, it lowers back into place, obstructing any cars who would wish to follow them without first repeating the ritual. Beyond the object there is are many cars with no visible persons inside, all stationary with no sign of moving in the foreseeable future. The area beyond the object is surrounded on once side by a black gate, most likely made of iron, with vertical thin bars between each post, and on the other side by a metal gate with interwoven metal strands, forming a loose mesh.

 

There are countless people walking by at a steady rate, and a steady stream of cars travelling the road. A few people are even biking along the road in the bike lane. One woman, wearing a short sleeveless dress that goes down to just above her knees, approaches the parking meter with a blue card in hand. She inserts the card and pushes some buttons on the meter, and then walks away. A line has now formed at the machine, several people long. In the background there are numerous buildings made almost entirely of brown brick except for the light blue/green tinted glass windows. They are each several floors tall, and have people walking in and out in large numbers.