In my stint as a student of the University of Pittsburgh, one of the most common complaints I heard was of the massive schoolâs sprawling, depressing, almost-Soviet architecture. From the sharp corners of Posvar to the looming Litchfield Towers, spending grey winter days at the schoolâsurrounded by sallow-faced boys smoking cigarettes on the cornersâreally could make you feel like you had passed through the iron curtain. Thanks to the eccentric tastes of my father, though, I was more captivated than these buildings than depressed. Also, when youâre 19 and desperately sad, it can feel pretty poetic to have that bleak essentialist mood projected into the landscape around you. Really, my only complaint is that Pitt should be taking better care of its concrete. It looks like itâs melting all the time.
My favorite buildings at Pitt:
⢠Posvar
⢠Lawrence Hall
⢠Chevron Science Hall
⢠Litchfield Towers
⢠Frick Fine Arts Building
