Oh my Lanta

Oh my Lanta

By: Megan Gebke

 This past week, the graduate students took a field trip to Atlanta, Georgia to study how they solved the problems of the post Olympics.  The past couple summer Olympic sites have struggled to use the sites that cost the country so much money to build.   Our studio project this semester is dealing with the Legacy Plan for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.  We are to solve the issues with the after effects of the Olympics.

            One of the most exciting things about our trip was our visit to Centennial Park.  The park was located in the middle of the city with a busy road on one side.  Standing in the middle of the park, it was amazing to hear the silence and the peacefulness, but still able to see the skyscrapers.  The park obtains the silence by designing so many different kinds of water features that created different spaces and different emotions.  Most of the water features are located near the busy road to drown out the noise from the traffic. The designers did an amazing job working with the topography of Atlanta and really had a space for people of all ages.  The park had many statues and remembrances dedicated to the Olympics and for a visitor, it was enjoyable to read about the history of all the events.

Across from the park was the Georgia Aquarium which is the world's largest aquarium.  The park and landscape of the aquarium is a completely different setting and emotion, but works well with Centennial Park.  Centennial Park is set up very linear and has different spaces to sit, but the aquarium park was created with various curves and made to meander through it filled with brightly colored flowers and short landscape trees connects the aquarium with the Coke Museum.   

 I got the chance with a couple of other people to attend the Georgia Aquarium and let me tell you it was an experience of a lifetime! The architecture was just astonishing.  TVS Design did a great job creating an Atlanta landmark.  Inside the aquarium, you immediately experience a feeling that you are in water.  The blue lighting helped to create that feeling.  Each exhibit was designed for which water body they were showing.  They even had crawl spaces for children with special lookout areas. How they laid out the aquarium works well with crowds, too. They have five different exhibits that each enter and exit toward this big central space.  While we were there, we got a chance to watch the workers feed the whale sharks. They eat 100lbs of food a day!!! That is ridiculous.  Also, we got to watch the dolphin show.  The dolphins were incredibly talented.  A dolphin even jumped out of the water to touch a ball 15 feet in the air.  Overall, the atmosphere flowed together nicely.  The owners even made the right business decision by making everyone exit out of the gift shop.  

From my trip, I learned that Atlanta is laid out completely different than any other city.  You have to drive everywhere to get to where you want to go.  I also think it is interesting that most of the residential creates a circle around the city with a canopy of trees.  Overall, the trip went well and I got to take which me some design aspects to include in my project.