Styles Of Windows In The Karrmann Library example essay topic

First Impressions May Be Deceiving Michael Jordan For many years now, people have been fool by appearances. Someone may look at the exterior of an object and expect one thing when actually the exact opposite is waiting inside for them. For example, an un expecting person picks off a grape from the bunch and bites into the fruit while dreaming of a mouthful of juicy, sweet grape but in reality receives a surprisingly bitter splash with the first bite. Or when a person first looks at a power vision 3-D picture they only see mass chaos until a few short seconds later a sailboat evolves out of the picture floating among the earlier seen chaos. When visiting Madison, Wisconsin, someone may pass by the UW-Fieldhouse and mistake it as a barn instead of a basketball arena. So too, the Karrmann Library can be easily mistaken for a bank as you come upon it from the exterior.

The first feature about the Elton S. Karrmann Library that makes it seem as if it were a bank is the solid construction of the library. Much like the construction of a bank, the library was also constructed with security and protection in mind. Also, the impressive exterior of the library resembles that of a modern bank. The concrete support pillars not only add strength but also give the library this impressive look of a bank. These light white-grayish, square pillars are 2 by 2 ft. and almost half the way up them there are two engraved lines that run all the way around them about 6 in. from the other.

Concrete, a sign of strength, is also used in the patio around the tower entrance. This grayish colored concrete was poured in slabs of 3 by 3 ft. sections. Concrete was also used as dividers between floors. Between each floor, the red ish-brown, 4 by 8 in. bricks are split up by a light grayish horizontal concrete layer. The items used in the construction of this buildings how the strength needed for the protection of a bank. Secondly, the setting of the Karrmann Library is unique and creative, like a modern bank, by placing the first floor of the library into a hill.

Beneath the patio is a loading dock which allows you to enter the basement. This is similar to that of a bank because they have loading docks which give access to the vault in the basement. The sidewalks on the mall side come to a'V' at the roofed entrance. Also, there are benches near a shrubbery garden at the mall entrance. Near the entrance of the building is an after hours book drop off which resembles a bank's after hour deposit box. Another similarity to bank is the parking that is available to the west of the library.

The setting of the Karrmann library very closely resembles that of the setting around a bank. Now, the feature of the Karrmann library that most closely resembles it to a bank is the windows in the library. The 2 by 4 ft. windows on the east, west and mall sides are indented into the building. The bottoms of the windowsills are slanted bricks which would make it very difficult for any to succeed in climbing and breaking into one of these windows. Another security measure pertaining to the windows are that they very narrow and would make it next to impossible for someone to squeeze through them while trying to hang on and keep from falling. These windows on the third and forth floors are also grouped in pairs giving them the look of office windows seen in a bank.

Along the front entrance of the mall side are enormous, 10 by 10 ft. picture windows that not only add style to the building, but also serves as a security measure by allowing a plain view to anyone who passes by, including police. The styles of windows in the Karrmann Library resemble greatly those found in many modern banks. The Karrmann Library has many close resemblance's to that of a modern day banks. These similarities are in the solid construction for protection, the library's unique setting in the land and the style of windows used throughout the building. So, if someone asks you directions to the bank, be sure to point them downtown so they don't get confused and stop at the Karrmann Library to cash a check.