Do you remember the old computer/video game of Tetris? In the game colorful bricks in various shapes descended down a vertical screen and the player had to orient and arrange them as they fell. Aligning the bricks in a continuous row across the screen eliminated them and made room for more bricks. It sounds easier that it actually was. As levels increase the bricks would fall faster. In the background some Russian-sounding music played and sped up in sync with the game. After a while the bricks would be falling so fast that it was impossible to keep up and the column would fill to the top and the game, along with the frantic sounding music, would come to an end with a great crunching sound
Under construction at the University of the Pacific in Stockton is the new John T. Chambers Technology Center, which is to be the home of the UOP’s school of engineering and computer science. A modern building that also blends into the rest of the campus’ brick and ivy architecture, it sports an interesting decorative design on a portion of its facade.
Multiple colored bricks make up rigid geometric patterns in a larger vertical column just to the right of the building’s main entrance. I don’t know if it was the architect’s intention, but the shapes of the patterns reminded me of Tetris. Although they were static, the bricks gave the impression of movement down the column like the game. The only thing that was missing was the music.
