Blog Post - Circles, Groups & Stacks: A UNCG Perspective

Themes of circles, groups, and stacks are as prevalent on the UNCG campus today as they are in the early evidence of architecture.


Circles – The rotunda of the Elliot University Center is an excellent, and very literal, example of circles on campus. The oculus at the top of the rotunda can be seen as a “window” to the sky above and reflected directly below is a representation of the Sun. The environment that is created by the EUC Rotunda is a reflection of the environment outside including the sun and the stars (in the lights at the top of the space) but it also promotes the use of the space. It is open reflecting the outdoors but also contained creating a transition from outside to in. People move through the space, gather, and meet as part of many daily rituals. It is more than a passage way as people move from indoors to out (or vise-versa) it is also a place to stop and converse.

Groups – The outdoor corridors at Moore-Strong are an example of groups. Both the windows and the columns on are grouped together in a vertical arrangement. The simple brick columns with the simple square windows bring character to an otherwise simple residence hall. Though each level is different the group of four columns as a whole bring everything together much in the same way that the students who inhabit the interior space could be characterized. There are things about people that are common and shared but there are also differences; taken as a whole we all seem to work together to accomplish a goal. Though the columns are supportive they are also expressive.

Stacks – The entranceway to the new School of Education building exemplifies stacks in that the different floors are delineated by the exterior “shades” and the windows below. Layer after layer of the building is highlighted also in the decorative brickwork beyond the foyer of the building. Rising higher it exemplifies the gathering of resources - perhaps a poignant metaphor for learning. The environment inside is filled with light and invites visitors to look outside.

People – The stairway inside the Elliot University Center is an example of use of the human form in architecture. The two staircases are like welcoming arms, inviting visitors to move deeper into the building. The gathering place in between the set of stairs serves as a gathering place where visitors are “embraced” and the space beyond serves as the “heart” of campus with a food court, bookstore and multiple student services offices.

I don’t believe that people and their environments can be separated or said to have a one-way relationship. Evidence from early architecture and from the UNCG campus reflect that materials, location, orientation, and form is repeated across cultures as well as within a particular society.

Rituals, like buildings, are an expression of humanity. There are common needs among people that transcend our geography – safety, eating, sleeping, sense of belonging, personal worth and importance and spiritual fulfillment. These needs are expressed clearly in the work of early humans, throughout the millennia and into today.


The form that this expression takes may be different because of the resources available at any given time or place but the two parts, ritual and environment, cannot be separated and are constantly being adapted and reshaped by people. What remains are the fundamental human needs and how these needs are expressed.