A Skyscraper Charrette

By: Alicia Luthy

Hello all! We are rapidly approaching graduation. A month from tomorrow is our graduation, which has brought me to the strong realization that I have nearly 150 pages to write before now and the end of July. May the odds be forever in mine and all the other grads favor. This previous week we were assigned a skyscraper charrette for our Global Traditions class.  The skyscraper needed to be 100 stories and employ a vernacular metaphor to a major citing in the world. So this week I decided I will write about my skyscraper and show the design.

The location of the skyscraper was in St. Louis on the site that was proposed for the new Rams Stadium. St. Louis was first founded by Pierre Laclede Liguest and was used as a fur trading post. It is known as Missouri’s oldest city. St. Louis is known for technically having two downtowns, with the second downtown being Clayton.  Also, the famous rapper Nelly is from St. Louis. Additionally, the city is located along the Mississippi. Other great things about St. Louis include the Arch, the City Museum, Forest Park, and many other great places. The Arch is known as America’s tallest monument. The City Museum is like Alice and Wonderland coming to life. It allows for all of us to live out our inner child. Forest Park is a beautiful park located by the zoo and is more the fifty percent larger than Central Park.  Last but not least, St. Louis is very loyal and proud fans of the St. Louis Cardinals. So, the inspiration for this skyscraper came from a number of things that make up St.Louis. These things include the two downtowns, the Mississippi River, and the St. Louis Cardinals. The two towers derive from the number 11, the amount of World Series wins for the Cardinals. The curve comes from the front of the boat and the dhows of a sailboat. The two buildings joining together are to represent the two downtowns forming one. The sketch below is of how the form was made and the two renderings is looking at the skyscraper from the Mississippi River.

https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/visit-play/stlouis-history.cfm