These questions can be difficult to answer, at least for me. There are those who have always had an interest in it from the get-go - those who loved building blocks as a kid and never gave up the idea of building something when they grew up.

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I always loved LEGO, but I don’t think that’s what started my love for Architecture.

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During interviews, I always say that it started when I first took a class at The Guthrie Center. Yes, it sparked my interest. However, I don’t think I knew exactly what Architecture was. Not until I traveled.

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These posts will be a series of travels and life in general with photography about what Architecture is to me, why I love it, and how it impacts my life. I am so thankful for the opportunities my family gave me at a young age to travel the world. They always wanted me to experience different people, cultures, food, arts, language, and history.

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One of my first architectural stops was Seattle, Washington, 2012. Seattle, Washington, the home of mountains, forests, water, and the Space Needle.

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The Space Needle, standing at 605 feet, started my love of towers and skyscrapers. Why? They make you look at them from a different perspective. We’re always looking at things at eye level. We’re never looking up or even down.

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Once you reach the top of the Space Needle, you’re immediately drawn to the mountains and how they create these gorgeous divisions between the sky, land, and water.

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And by looking up, the Space Needle can look exactly what Edward Carlson imagined: a UFO.

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Then there is the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum that sits directly next to the Space Needle. I remember specifically walking into the space, and my eye was immediately drawn to the glass sculpture by Dave Chihuly, suspended 40 feet in the air. It then draws your eyes to the Space Needle.

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The Museum of Pop Culture, also known as the EMP (Experience Museum Project), by Frank Gehry, was another architectural stopping point. He used different colors of aluminum metal panels to depict the different types of guitars. His inspiration was Jimi Hendrix smashing one of his guitars during a concert. One of Gehry’s goals was for patrons to experience the building through different textures and colors. Each one represents a different form and when inside the museum, you experience music in various ways.

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However, I see how some of these sharp or soft edges touch the skyline, just like how the mountains cut the sky from the top of the Space Needle. The way the sun reflects off each metal panel and curve creates a new coloration that reminds me of the mountains.

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I will never stop looking up. It opens opportunities to view things in life from a different perspective.

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Architecture and design have allowed me to look at things differently. It’s made me become more observant.