Previous to arriving in the city 3 years ago, I had grown up in the suburbs of Connecticut. I was accustomed to a low energy atmosphere, acres of farmlands, and a high amount of natural landscape. With few trips made to Boston and New York City as a child, Hartford became the closest experience to a city environment for me. Progressing from the suburbs to Boston was quite a vast change. Thinking about how the small-town architecture affected me when I was younger, I found the extent of circulation to be consisted of small landmarks or popular natural instances that were familiar to the people of the area. This type of low energy atmosphere combined with the importance of natural surrounding resulted in a peaceful and environmentally conscious architecture.  

The transformation from my hometown to Boston was, at first, expected to be greatly different and in most circumstances was. What was similar, however, was the manner in which I adapted to move around the city. Similar to my hometown, I found myself using certain instances and landmarks across the city that guided me to where I needed to be. The Prudential Center, Sweeney Field, Hancock Tower, Longwood Medical T-stop, Fenway Park all became my new guide marks. Architecturally, they are vastly different than what I was familiarized with at home, yet still provided the same need. I find that as an individual inhabits a certain space, architecture will inhabit that space and the need of that space as well. When the Pru was constructed, its purpose wasn’t intended to be the “north star” for incoming freshman at WIT, yet that’s what the majority of us realize it as. Overall I feel architecture orients you in the way you want it to. Whether it is the skyline that you look towards, the thousands of signs and maps that line the streets, or the Il Mondos pizzeria, architecture will always surround and adapt to what you need it to be.