Kd's In Bricktown - Whitney Apperson

I didn't realize until we had already left the restaurant that my picture was blurry and didn't turn out so I had to borrow this from their website.

Kd's is a new restaurant in Bricktown right beside Toby Keith's Bar and Grill. I love the modern interior and especially the bar area. The counter tops are gorgeous marble and with the foundation being lit from behind as shown in the picture. The north side of the building faces the river walk and gives a great view of downtown. The lighting over the bar area is also very cool and unique.

Devon Energy Hall-Taylor Johnson

This is the East side of Devon Energy Hall here at OU. I have always liked this building ever since I came to this campus. I like how the building comes together despite having many components such as brick, concrete, and windows. It probably looks simple to most but for me it is a building that I never get tired of walking by. Also, there is a patio on the 5th floor that gives you a pretty good view of campus and I think the designer noticed that if he/she built it this way you would be able to see the entirety of OU. This is a nice place to study or clear your head when the weather is nice.
-Taylor Johnson

The dinosaurs in my hometown park - Whitney Apperson

I know this isn't a building but the story behind these things is actually pretty cool. I'm from a town called Mountainburg, Arkansas, population 600 and there's only about 5 non residential things in our town, a gas station, a very small grocery store, a Dairy Dream which is only open during the summer and not to be confused with Dream Queen, a post office and the City Park/Fire/Police/VA/community center building. I couldn't get a good picture of the building off line but the one thing I've always loved about this park is the almost life-size dinosaurs that adorn the playground. 

The gentleman that made and donated these to the city used to make sculptures for amusement parks and museums and after his wife died he retired and started making these for the local park, he makes them every few years and then changes them out with the old ones. I lived about a mile from his house and drove right by his yard on my way to town and his whole yard is full of them. I love the fact that he put his retired years to good use and used his gift to bring joy to other people.

Oh and the best part was is that you could crawl inside them!

Connex Living by Jared Zettl

A new growing fashion in the housing market is connex housing. People are building elaborate houses out of old shipping containers. A person can buy a container from anywhere between $1500.00 and up, so it makes them attractive to use. I think its a pretty neat idea, and with the wide range of configurations you can purchase one in, a person could make a castle out of them.

Republic at Classen Curve by Jared Zettl

Republic is a restaurant and brew house in the Classen Curve shopping center. They make a pretty good burger there. The structures in the shopping center all have a modern theme and flow well together. Its a pretty interesting place to spend some time and money at.

Fountain Place

This building, Fountain Place which can be found in Dallas, Texas is where my aunt worked for 30 years.  After school, I used to take the train all the way to Dallas and sit in her office until she got off work so that she could take me home.  I remember a bowl of candy that sat on her desk and every day, there was always new candy in the bowl.  She doesn't work there anymore, but every time I pass this building, I think of her, and I always think of how much fun it would be to skateboard down the side of the building too...

--Anson Wilson

State Fair

I know this isn't particularly a building, but the Texas State Fair Farris Wheel is an amazing architectural invention that shows incredible focus and ingenuity.  Every year growing up, my dad would take me and we would always do three things: 1) Get a state fair corn dog 2) Get fresh squeezed lemonade 3) Ride the State Fair Farris Wheel.

--Anson Wilson