Fin.

power post.

So the final sketchbook review is tomorrow. With that in mind I was able to finally get out of my very very busy life in barcelona... to scan some sketches?

Some sketches that I thought fit my scale theme:

Parc Guell

Bilbao Calatrava Bridge

Barcelona Pavilion

Rioja Calatrava Winery

Montjuic Botanical Gardens

Caterina Mercat

Evolution in scale.

Just as scale changes from one space to another, I would say: so have I. Whether you’re standing next to a Barcelonan dog or standing next to Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia… you will always have that feeling of scalar change. In saying so, this past weekend I’ve come to the realization that this semester abroad is coming to a fast close; I’ve seen many things and with those many things I’ve learned a great deal. Having lived here for almost 4 months now, I can say that when I leave Barcelona I will have no regrets. Until then, I have made a “Things left to do in BCN” list. Of that list, I accomplished 2 this past weekend: The Botanical Gardens + Ras architecture bookstore.

Despite April’s random sunshine and shower storm days, we ventured out to the Botanical Gardens, located just behind the Olympic Stadium in Montjuic. Walking through the gardens, the landscape architecture was notably tranquil and “angular.” It combined the elements of the landscape with the individual through angular and planar space. As you walk up the gardens, you feel a balance of scale between yourself and the exhibit (plants). Similarly, the space in its entirety is situated in a vast portion of Montjuic, overlooking its denser neighbor of the inner city. Very anti-climatic, the actual exhibition building at the top of the gardens was reverse of the actual garden. Larger in appearance on the exterior façade, the interior was a simple-narrow rectangular plan. On our way back down, we came across an unexpected water show. Lucky for us, we were able to see one of the greatest / dramatic “fountain shows” we’ve ever seen just at the footsteps of the Catalan Art Museum. Noteworthy of its monumentality, the fountain amazingly shot out 50 feet of water upward into the air. At the climax of each song, the height of water would most certainly place itself in my “scale” category. Water as element and height as catalyst, the fountain show had presented itself as a monumental scale element in the idea of “display culture.” It was also interesting to note the location of the fountain in comparison to the rest of the city. Just off of the metro stop of Espana, the area is very open and is focused on community and public spaces. Open in landscape and large in building scale, the space brings a unique characteristic to the area.

Architecture land in Valencia.

Where did we go for 3 days of Easter Break? No other than more architecture in Valencia of course. Absorbing in Santiago Calatrava overdose, the ciudad de artes + ciencas (city of arts and sciences) proved again the strong influences of architecture on society and its strength as scale within the urban fabric. A city, almost literally, Calatrava built his architecture wonderland on a large portion of Valencia, located very openly to the void of the city. In this way, his buildings such as the Opera House, the bridge, and the science museum is brought out in a very monumental scale becoming one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks.

Aside from Calatrava’s usual “dynamic” trademark, I felt that the scale of his buildings was brought out most importantly by his use of public and water spaces. Clear and blue, water surrounds the opera house and the arts and sciences center, creating somewhat an edge for this “inner city of the city.” Adding on, spatially they provide for the illusion of “atmosphere’s” scale. Futuristic in every sense, his buildings portrayed a very unique environment, almost unreal.

Putting architecture land aside, the old city as well as the extension sectors of Valencia were nicely proportionate. Unlike Barcelona, the streets were smaller in width… bringing on nice proportions of sidewalk vs. street. Planted with plenty of palm trees and other vegetation, “green” and water becomes a theme for the city. In this way, I found the city to be very friendly and family – oriented with its residential like characteristic. I also found that Valencia is dominated by its external stretch of parks (larger scale) and its internal stretch of shopping spaces (smaller scale). All in all, Valencia was nicely done

The Sahara where donkeys roamed

Ok so we weren’t exactly in the Sahara but our driver was going to drive there the day we left. And there were plenty of donkeys to be seen in Morocco. With that said, our trip to Africa was definitely an experience.

We spent 5 nights in the city of Fez in Morocco. We stayed in a palace. We also lived like kings. Literally, the service and accommodations at Hotel Al Dar Andalus was truly amazing. Small scaled on the exterior, the interior space was that of a Dar style (enclosed courtyard). As contrasted to the rest of the urban fabric around it, the hotel was spacious in terms of both public and private spaces. Following the idea of the “Dar style,” it was relaxing to stay at such a space where the interior is introduced with the exterior. Even more, we were helped with any needs we desired by our two friendly bell hops. However, despite the luxury of the “inside,” the outside appeared very free and ‘out of this world.’ The Medina. We were fortunate enough to have our tour guide Mo-mo bring us around the very old and dense city of Medina. What’s very interesting about this city, regardless of its messy-ness, is the scale of the city in comparison with the individual. Following the idea of the Islamic faith, architecture in Fez is built around that idea of ‘finding one-self.” Where one wall ends, it connects to another. In this sense, each wall is supporting that neighboring space. Similarly, the complex circulation throughout the city can almost be justified as intentional. “Finding one-self” becomes a theme, where the individual must first get lost in order to find “place.” In a sense by getting lost within the narrow streets of the Medina, scale becomes a major element. With nothing but the sky on top and white plaster walls on your sides... you just have straight ahead to look forward to.

Tasting Bilbao + Rioja

Despite the little time we spent in Bilbao I really enjoyed it. Bilbao is a nice little city with a friendly atmosphere. Located just below the mountains and next to a river, the spaces within the city is open and nicely spread out. Even in the old city, the amount of separation from building to building is comfortable. Unlike the old city of Barcelona, Bilbao’s had a newer look to it. With the river as the urban edge, the scale is organized in respect to it. From the older city in the northeast the scale increasingly gets larger towards the west where the majority of the museums are located. The river was also probably a leading factor of the scale of the streets and buildings around it. At night, we observed that a lot of locals enjoy long walks or even jogs along the river. In a sense the river serves as a type of connecting point between the different scales of the cities.

On our way to the Guggenheim Museum, we experienced one of Santiago Calatrava’s bridges. His footbridge yet again exemplifies a work of elegant movement (in my opinion). In this particular one, the cables in tension twists along with the bridge across the water, giving the pedestrian a sense of movement and an awareness of self. In a way, this also portrays scale in respect to the human body.

Finally after a power sketch of the footbridge, we continued to the Guggenheim. Like many other iconic buildings, the Guggenheim Museum by Frank Gehry establishes itself in its scale. In this particular one, the skin of the building is that very element that enhances scale even further. Continuous in color and materiality, the building in contrast to the individual is a giant. With nothing but its individual volumes and claddings to use as reference, the perception of scale is great. Building upon what Cecelia had discussed during the quick sketching assignment of the Guggenheim, its primary function within the city was to give a sense of human perception of “landscape layering.” In doing so, it is established as a sculptural node and a visual alignment within the urban fabric. Similarly the building itself provides examples of this concept, with its systematic way of organization from curvilinear to curvilinear throughout each volume.

And of course with architecture comes wine – tasting. Over the course of our trip in Rioja, we were able to wine-taste from Zaha Hadid’s Winery Space, to Gehry’s iconic Hotel, and to Calatrava’s dynamic winery. All together, it was an experience for both understanding wine and the architecture that attempts to express that taste.

And then we traveled the world…

Spring break ’09

From sunrise to sunset, breakfast to dinner, maps to maps, the guys and I spent an entire week of seeing three major countries. Spending roughly 3 days per city, we went from Paris to London to Rome. All in all with our experiences between speaking and seeing, I would say each city had a very unique characteristic with its own defined set of order, working for its own benefit in their own way, all with pros and cons. (But to just throw it out there, if I had to choose the best city out of the 3: London)

So much to see and so little time? Despite the little time we did have, I was happy with how much we were able to see in so little time, however sad to say… I had to sacrifice my usual sit-down sketching sessions. Though I do have one or two rough ones, I will soon post them up in latter blogs ASIST (as soon as I scan them).

PARIS. Starting off the break, we arrived in Paris at 7 am, with only a map to the hotel and a guidebook with key phrases. We did not know how to speak French. Little did we know, we picked up the language pretty quickly with our handy-dandy phrase book and within hours was able to say a few phrases. By that time, I could already see the difference of Paris from Barcelona. More welcoming, brighter, and spacious in scale, Paris didn’t seem as confined as aggressive Barcelona.

After spending the first day walking from the red-light district (location of the Moulin Rouge + our hotel) to the Eiffel tower and to the Louvre, we were able to meet up with three of our friends from the CUArch Rome program under the Eiffel tower (cool I know). Deciding to walk up the steps of the tower, we were able to see the very complex structure of the tower from the semi-interior. Massive in scale from the exterior, its four legs gives an outward branching expression which with observation, is probably why it has that presence of magnitude. Both a monument and landmark in a very open space in Paris, the Eiffel tower gives you a sense of reference and orientation within the city.

We were also lucky enough to venture out into the outskirts of Paris and visit Villa Savoye by Le Corbusier. Deceiving from the internet pictures, Villa Savoye is NOT on a large plot of open land in the middle of no where, rather it is plopped in a regular lot surrounded by trees with a neighboring school and other residential homes nearby. As old as the building is, it is definitely a must see. There we were able to witness first hand Corbusier’s ideas of inside – outside and directive framing of vistas. Even more, we were able to walk around the building that started the free plan style.

Pompidou Center. I would have to say the interior exhibition spaces are more beautiful than the skin of the building, but I wouldn’t say more interesting. Despite its really intricate and rough qualities, the design of the façade is pretty interesting. Bringing on a new aspect of inside outside, Renzo Piano had made pipes, cables, and structure visible on the exterior which I guess in a way invites the individual. The very intricate layers of structure on the façade along with its tubular vertical circulation also brings on a scale reference to the occupant.

The Louvre. Yet another icon of Paris, the Louvre is very massive. Its very Romanesque quality brings on the Parisian culture… very grand and enormous. Did you know that it would take roughly 9 months to successfully look at each individual art work at the Louvre? Yeah, our main goal was to see the Mona Lisa.

LONDON. I loved every single bit of London. Not one graffiti, not one sketchy person. Of course I might be totally biased towards criminals who mug for a living, but London is pretty safe from what I can see… safer than Washington D.C, safer than Paris, DEFINITELY safer than Barcelona. Taking aside the whole notion of “Big Brother” watching or the police in every corner, I believe that the city’s urban development had led them to the way they are today. The great fire which had demolished 80% of London’s buildings had forced them to start anew. And by anew, removing their past and on with the future. In contrast to Barcelona, London doesn’t have any residential apartments closely located next to each other. In Barcelona, in particular the old city, people live in the slums left over from the past. Uncomfortable and small in space where one building is a foot away from the next, it is no wonder Barcelonans are aggressive people. Spacial wise, as seen in London scale is an important factor. It provides for a well – kept community. Going to other things, one of the coolest museums we've seen so far was the Tate Modern Museum by Herzog + de Meuron.

ROME. When in Rome… you get to see all the major sites in one sitting? The city of Roma all in all built the future around its ruins. In one day we were able to see the Coliseum, and the rest of the Roman Forum. The following day we had the chance of seeing the Spanish Steps at sunset, giving us prime view of Rome. Lastly, we were able to go to the Vatican however Pope Benny didn’t make an appearance.

While in Rome we stayed at the luxurious apartment suites of our CUArch friends Sheila, Mary, and Anna. From their terrace, you can see the rooftops of Rome and a nearby Cathedral. Rather old but clean, the neighborhood around Campo de Fiori is closely situation next to each other. Though similar to that of Barcelona’s old city, Rome has a better community-like atmosphere with people out and about at any given day. Such examples of this idea of “congregational scale,” is at either Trevi Fountain or the Spanish Steps. Monumental by architecture, the space is enhanced by activity of the people.

And so yet again, another conclusion to a successful adventure abroad.

When in Spain.

"When in Spain," there's ALWAYS not enough time to explain everything. With that said, it has been a while from the last post but I'll try to recap recent events. (2.26.09)

It has been about a week since our return from southern Spain. The journey we took around the beautiful southern part of the country consisted of 9 days of traveling between Madrid, Cordoba, Granada, Sevilla, and Merida. From the moment we left Barcelona's train station towards Madrid, I could already see scale’s relationship with the individual and the environment.

MADRID. Starting out, we noticied the similarities of Madrid to home in DC. Similar in terms of scale, this city already shows its face as a kinder side of Spain in contrast to Barcelona, the notorious rebellious ghetto. Over the two nights we spent here, we were able to go to the Prado Art Museum, Reina Sofia, Caixa Forum, and plenty of other places. Among other things, we were able to dwell into the famous "Las Bravas" tapas place as well as experiencing my first "tapas hopping" which consisted of 4 straight hours of eating and Sangria. My favorite kind of experience....la comida.

One of the most interesting buildings I encountered here, was Jean Nouvel's edition to the Reina Sofia. Gigantic and monumental like with it's red metalic like skin, a strongly defined meaning of human scale is felt as one walks past it. Juxtaposed next to lesser in vibrant color and lesser in open-"air space," Nouvel's edition definitely made it's mark within the urban space.

CORDOBA. Smaller in scale, the city of Cordoba is unique in its own. Tranquil and peaceful, this ancient city is very empty and maybe even desserted. Having the opportunity to explore the city at night, we were not able to find anyone out on the streets except for a few couples here and there. And as shady-like the narrow alleys seem to appear they were in actuality pretty safe. I was also able to experience a thermal bath here which added to the city's peaceful attitude. Adding onto this aurora of tranquility, our sketching visit to the famous Mezquita was an experience in itself. With it's history of Islamic influence... it was amazing to see the use of beautiful arches with it's geometrical proportions as we have learned. In terms of scale, the space within the Mezquita was also breath-taking. Rows over rows, arches over arches, the space continued a rhythm of thin columns giving an enclosed yet vast feeling to the space.

GRANADA. The home of Alhambra, Granada was definitely one of my favorite stops. A balance between modern and historical, the city shifts its character as you climb higher onto the hill tops of the city. The first day we hiked up to a plaza just across from the Alhambra and sketched a wide perspective view of the urban landscape at sunset. With locals singing and playing the guitar, our sketching experience became an amazing cultural experience. The following morning we took our sketching from the exterior walls of the palace to the interior. The second phase of Islamic influence on Spanish Architecture was seen here in Alhambra, from the use of water to its decorative walls. Inside the Alhambra in particular, I was interested in the architecture’s use of symbolism to signify and connect the various hierarchal spaces. Lastly, ending our day at Alhambra, we had a quick tranquil lesson on water coloring with Sophia… where I was able to delve into the art of color and light for the very first time.

SEVILLA. Sevilla’s weather upon arrival could easily be summarized in Alex’s happiness on that day. Bright and happy was Sevilla. There we were able not only to enjoy a very relaxing weather of sunshine and warmth, we were able to see architecture’s influence at its best. First, we saw the pre-existent minarets built upon and around for the Cathedral of Sevilla where the ruler of the time had wanted to preserve. The survival and influence of this was also seen in the Alcazar. Last of its phases, the Alcazar demonstrated the last stage of Islamic influence on Spanish architecture. There we saw an abundance of Islamic scriptures decorated all over the walls. Even more, the idea of water has developed a relationship within the spaces as well. Juxtaposing with and against each other, they defined what is public, semi, and private. Through the use of water, the Alcazar was able to connect all the spaces in scale. Ending our adventures in Sevilla, a few of us decided to venture out to one of Calatrava’s bridges. A connector between two sides of the river, this monumental and expressional bridge proves yet again of Calatrava’s engineering and artistic talents. Awareness of the human scale, yet again is felt as you approach the structure. From its height to its elongated cables, the bridge allows the pedestrian to feel the relationship between man and structure.

MERIDA. Our bonus “power trip” to Merida, turned out to be very beneficial. Starting off a little rushed into the Roman ruins, we got a chance to see a different side of southern Spain, away from the influences of Islamic architecture. As the Roman Empire had been vastly influential, its remains are evident in this town. This idea of the past is also seen in Rafael Moneo’s Roman Museum. There we sketched and analyzed the building’s connection with the viewer, the architecture, and the art. The greatest strength of the building, I believe, is the experiential circulation one undergoes from down up. Using light and the surrounding context, Moneo was able to create a relationship between the past and the present.

If it’s one thing I learned from our travels, a little bit of a power walk and power sketch comes a tired self.

get to work.

So this blog is probably a couple days late... and not to mention it is right now a Thursday night, with no deadlines to be met, and nothing to do. Why am I writing this blog and not out roaming the city of Barca? The case of the winter sickness has spread around the studio. From the flu, to massive fevers, to more flu... I have luckily escaped these types, however managed to catch a cold from who knows who. Being sick in a sense describes this past week. In hopes of recovering faster from my cold, I hope to get better by Saturday so that I can both fully "work hard and party hard"
for our week long field trip across southern Spain.

Recapping last week, I have finally found a general theme for my blog: the perception of scale. After realizing the magnitude architecture has on both the human eye and the human body the week before, it might be something cool to look into while living abroad. Finally able to see architecture at its best here where anything is possible, I'll try to find anything remotely related to the idea of scale that would be interesting to note. With that said, we started the week off last week with an optional history field trip class to the Forum by Herzog de Meuron. There we were able to see the principles behind the forum and learned a bit about the history of urban planning within Barcelona. Already, the top heavy blue structure of the forum brings about a somewhat compressed sense of scale. The already vertical porous quality of the building's light wells also brings about a similar idea as one stands beneath it and look above.

Interesting enough, as professor Cecelia took us around the perimeter of the forum, we came across a gigantic-tilted-rectangular structure of which apparently used to be a pavilion. The perception of its scale is very unique. As you approach it, it doesn't seem to be "that" big. It isn't until you are beneath the actual structure that you can "feel" it. I even began to wonder as to how it is able to stay up on those seemingly thinner columns?

Scale in the urban space is everywhere. And by everywhere, I mean our sketching class field trip to the waterfront by Frank Gehry's Fish. There, the openness of the mediterranean sea brings to the person a sense of release from Barcelona's tall and enclosing city plan of the old city. Bright, sunny, and relaxing, this was probably one of the better days of the week.

Other things following that included a firm visit to a Spanish architecture firm nearby, work, and more work. Having a project deadline for the following Monday, we went straight into our automatic studio work mode til the very end. Somewhere in the middle of that, i got sick.

OLE! BARCA!

So this week's highlights, I would have to say, ends with an intense football win of FC Barcelona against CD Numancia in Camp Nou stadium. In a crushing win of 4-1, Barca wins over Numancia with all goals made on the 2nd half... which I might add if you look carefully behind the scoring goal, are our faces... as we had seats 3 rows behind the net. Never been to a barca game? On Saturday night, it was almost as if every barcelona citizen whether Catalan or American, seemed to be one being cheering for the team they love. Diverse and cheerful, a football game in Barcelona is a must.
Sadly I have yet to come up with a 'theme' for my Barcelona blog. Til then, it will just have to be a journal of my travels I guess? Over my travels, we have of course, seen many experiential things. Those things would include our visit to no other than Antonio Gaudi's Casa Batllo, Casa Mila, Sagrada Familia, and last but not least, Santiago Calatrava's Telefonica Communication Tower in Montjuic. Approaching architecture such as these from its exterior, has made me realize the greatness of scale; which the books had forgotten to describe to us. Before I mislead you further, we didn't get to venture inside in any of Gaudi's buildings... we had planned to go inside Sagrada Familia til we found out that a hurricane wind had closed down the tower access. Because of this, we were lucky enough to see Calatrava's communication tower at sunset, giving us prime views of Barcelona.

Coming to a close, we were able to visit Torre Akbar and an interesting Barcelona Hotel. In both cases, architecture's scale has again absorbed me. With that, good night.

VALE! Primera semana. week 1

So I have officially been here for about a week. Adjusting to Barcelona's cultural mindset, I am no longer confused on what VALE exactly means or whether or not a medium meal in a burger place is actually a small. Realizing that Americans are just a bunch of fat people in a very fast paced world, I decided to just go with it.

Upon arrival into the Barcelona airport, I really didn't know what to expect. Hearing warnings from family and friends about intense low life pick-pocketers, the guys and I ventured into the country of Spain with super caution. Our adventure from the airport to the studio was interesting in itself. Lugging two huge luggages and a carry on roller, and a bag with a sprained left arm turned out to be..... not bad. First I found out that the aerobus driver is a pain, he was complaining to me that I was taking too long getting on the bus and didn't bother to help; gee I should just throw the 500 ton luggages on his lap next time. Finally after getting to Placa Catulanya, we became huge targets with our oversized luggages traveling across the streets of beautiful Barcelona. After going in circles we finally found the studio, very discretely located. Finally soon after, we got our keys and took a cab out to our apartment at Born Portal. Good to see a familiar face, as the cab drove away we saw Scott walking in the pouring rain whom had apparently been dropped off a mile away instead of the front door. We all got settled in and our life in Europe began.

In the days to come when it finally hit me that I am and will be living in Europe for the next 4 months, I began to see just why life here is both beautiful and exciting. The days here are long. Typical of the people here, everything is done much later than back at home in the US. For one, people don't go out until at least 12 at midnight until the early morning hours. Secondly, there is so much to do. Whether you're on las Ramblas shopping or sight seeing the streets of Barca, people here live for the moment, people are always outside walking and being active. You would think people would live longer for being active here, but the common smoker here contradicts it.

Following the days to come, we were able to explore the city such as seeing Sagrada Familia from the exterior and the shores of the harbor with its beaches. Just when we felt settled in... little did we know we were still targets as tourists. On one night coming back from the studio, taking the same route the guys and I take every other night... little did we know that 7 or 8 low-life-future-garbage-men-convict local guys decided to ambush and mug us. Stuck in the initial shock of even being mugged, we didn't fight back, in fact it was a "silent" mug. The end result was Mike and Alec losing their bags (of which is completely useless to them as it was filled with architecture supplies; boy I hope they enjoy that T-square + pencils), and my cell phone taken but no money lost. In conclusion, they were the most stupid muggers to live. Soon after, pissed and angry, we got the rest of the guys in our apartment building to go out finding those muggers. So 9 of us went out in the dark streets of Barca in search of either the stolen bags or the muggers in hopes of getting vengence. Of course we didn't find them and days later we got over this ordeal and went back to loving life in Barcelona once again. We weren't about to let a couple of scums ruin it, but watch out... we now carry deadly pepperspray and ready to blind eyes.

As you can tell so many things has happened since our arrival. Being the first post, or even my first blog usage in my life, I figured I would make a long post. Of course not all events were recorded, those of which include gatherings and outings with all 20 CUArchitecture students, and even meeting new people at bars who are also from the US. My laptop is currently broken but pics will soon be posted once I get my new one.

Buenas noche.