Last Christmas, I had the opportunity to experience the fireworks show in Disney World. The theme park’s magic and wonder fascinated me and thus compelled me to choose Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall as my building of study. Both its exterior and interior uphold a quote mentioned in Professor Speck’s lecture by Abbot Suger, “Man reaches contemplation of divine through the senses.” In other words, an individual is able to understand a deeper meaning through use of the five senses. Therefore, every person that passes this building goes through a unique experience when his/her eyes first detect the building. Author Rasmussen’s book Experiencing Architecture further elaborates on this architectural experience by emphasizing “You must observe how it was designed for a special …show more content…
In Rasmussen’s Experiencing Architecture, the author differentiates architecture from sculpture through utility. Therefore, the eye-catching curvilinear shapes of the hall’s exterior are more than bizarre geometric shapes. Surrounded by an urban setting, the concert hall’s undulating contours invigorates the cultural atmosphere of downtown Los Angeles. Spectators feel free to creatively interpret its ambiguous and novel shapes; whether the curves represent the crashes and clashes of orchestra or the frenzied hand gestures of the conductor, the concert hall ultimately reshapes the cultural landscape of LA as a unique architectural statement. Additionally, the materials used to construct the hall are stainless steel panels that hover above an asymmetrical band of glazing at the building’s base. This highly reflective material creates an appearance of “billowing sails” and captures the sunlight during the day and the city lights throughout the night. As the Sydney Opera House embodies Sydney, Australia, these malleable and illuminous curves serve as a symbol for the city of Los