UF Landmarks

There are many landmarks across UF that serve as powerful tools of visual rhetoric to convey a message not only to the outside world but also to the students who attend the school. I chose Turlington because it is right in the center of campus and everybody, including visitors, knows about this building. I also found it a very interesting building – the fact that it had a more positive effect on visitors due its visual feeling of power and pride and a more negative effect on students due to its inefficient architecture, bad classrooms, and a general sense of overcrowding was a very unique quality. However, there are other structures that are phenomenal.

Century tower is another key landmark. The ominous bells that ring every so often give off a nice, almost homely atmosphere to the area. The tower is also huge and can be seen from miles away, and can also be used to navigate when you’re lost. One of the biggest things I’ve wondered about it is how it would be like to climb that tower and actually play the bells, or the view one would get from up there, seeing all of campus.

The French Fries outside Marston Library are also very interesting. I think the biggest visual impact they give off is rather funny, and it is the question of “Why?” When I first saw the French fries I was a bit confused – why would UF just arbitrarily decide to put giant yellow French fries right outside a library? It felt so out of place, but at the same time was a bit comical in that sense. Other people who saw the French fries were just as confused as I was, and although I still don’t know why they are there, I think the fact that the French fries cause confusion and questioning amongst those that first see it is pretty funny.