Reverse Culture Shock... IT"S REAL!

I have been home for about 4 days now, and believe it or not, but reverse culture shock really does exist! When I pass people on the street, I expect to hear a foreign language spoken. I can't stop trying to dress nice either! I mean, in Europe I didn't want to stand out as a poorly dressed American, so I tried to look my best all the time. And I'm continuing to do that here, which might actually be a good thing. The plumbing is so different too, I keep forgetting that the flusher on the toilet is not a button on top of the toilet anymore! Doors here swing out, not in. And handycap accessible buildings are alive and well in America! Ordering at a restaurant is all of sudden not an adventure of not knowing what exactly your ordering, but rather boring. And worst of them all, those of us under 21 can no longer drink whenever we would like!

I miss Barcelona very much already, but I have plans on visiting next summer after graduation.

So long for now, Barcelona... I will be back :)

As the semester comes to an end

Well, after almost 4 months of living in Spain, my time here is coming to an end. I will be leaving Barcelona in exactly 11 days! All assignments are wrapping up. Spanish is over, Cece's paper is turned in, and sketchbooks are due tomorrow. I have learned SO much this semester in terms of architecture. I would have never gotten this education back in DC. I'm so grateful I came to Barcelona. Sketching has really helped me read into architecture more deeply and made me start to realize how important analyzing a space, building, facade really is to my architectural eduation. Here are a few of my last sketched of the semester...

Habitages de Mercat Santa Caterina:
At this site, I looked at the relationship between the market and the apartment complex behind it.

Museu Nacional D'Art de Catalunya: Sketching this site was very difficult because the scale of the area is very large. I sketched the entry sequence between the MNAC and the city and the city to the MNAC.

My favorite works of architecture in Barcelona

The Museum of Comtemporary Art
Architect: Richard Meyer
What I like so much about this building is the layering of the facades,
the colorful panels, and the intersecting simple geometric forms.





































Gas Natural Building
Architect: Enric Miralles

This building is a favorite of mine because it is very reflective
at all times of the day, during mid-day, at midnight, and
its most beautiful when the sun sets. The cantaliever
is very impressive and the forms of the building are really
beautiful.

All Good Things Must Come to an End…

With less than 2 weeks left in this amazing city, I am starting to feel the end of the semester approaching. It’s an interesting feeling, living in a foreign city for so long and traveling through-out the world and then all of a sudden it comes to an end, and reality comes back into play.

This semester abroad has been life-changing for me. I think everyone needs to do this in their lifetime. For me, going abroad was scary and uncomfortable. But I forced myself to do it and I have no regrets at all. I have accomplished so many life-long goals that I never thought I would do in my lifetime. My dreams became reality this semester, beginning in Southern Spain then traveling through Rome, Athens, Santorini, Paris, Istanbul, and Morocco. I have wanted to go to these places since I could remember but for some reason in my mind I thought I would never get there, and I got there in less than four months!

In terms of architecture, I can’t really think of a better European city to study it in. Barcelona is sort of like a package deal. In one city there are old Roman ruins, Gothic churches, Gaudi’s art nouveau, and then extremely modern buildings. It’s so enjoyable to study all the different types of architecture that Barcelona has to offer.

There are so many things I will miss about Barcelona. Lets look at a few!

Mistral:
I still remember my first visit like it was yesterday, one chocolate croissant! I probably go about 4-5 times a week, and sometimes multiple times a day. It’s that good and that cheap! I suggest the zumo de naranja (orange juice) as well.

BCNeta:
Barcelona’s amazing trash/clean-up service! These guys clean the streets at 3 in the morning and always seem happy. They keep the city looking beautiful!

Prostitutes & Transvestites:
What am I going to do when I get back to DC and don’t have the entertainment that I have when I leave studio here? I will miss seeing inappropriate things happening in the corner of the hospital across from studio and seeing guys trying to hop over the fence with the prostitutes. It always makes my day to see such desperate people take such drastic measures!

La Veronica:
If you are not homophobic, go eat the amazing pizza at this trendy restaurant in Raval. Great food and gay people unite here at cheap prices.

Barcelonetta:

You get great bars (such as the Champagneria), great seafood and the be

ach all in one! If I move back to Barcelona... I'm living here!

Most Recent Old vs. New Sketches

Universitat de Girona Biblioteca
Girona, Spain
Studied how the old existing building acts as a shell to the
new building, encompassing it within itself.

Building B & C of Can Jaumanpreau 22@
Barcelona, Spain
By studying the tartan of the elevation and the plan
between the two buildings, one can begin to see
how the two relate.

Most Recent Sketches from Various Cities...

Blue Mosque
Istanbul, Turkey
Studied the way the domes sprung off of one another.

Musee Batha

Fez, Morocco

Studied in plan the spaces that felt most inviting and least inviving and why.

In the same courtyard, I studied the sacred from the profane and how I defined the two terms in accordance to the building.

Home of the Ex-Governor

Fez, Morocco

Studied the underlaying tartan

in the courtyard.

An Incredible Experience... Fez, Morocco!

For our last field trip as a class, we ventured to Fez, Morocco and stayed in a Riad in the Medina which is the ancient city. Fez has left me speechess and at a loss for words. It was such an eye-opening experience. I will have to start at the very beginning for this blog, so here it goes!

When the shuttle from the airport dropped us off in the middle of the Medina, we all looked at each other in confusion because the pictures of the Riad did not look like they would be in the part of the city in which we got dropped off in. Then we were led into an alley and we approached the door to the Riad. We were greeted by the staff and brought inside, it was breath-taking! Without a doubt the most beautiful place I have and will ever stay. The main courtyard was once open to the sky but now covered by a retractable glass roof. The tile mosaics, marble floors, and plaster walls were so detailed that it was hard to imagine that someone did all that work. Me and Staceys room was a two story room with our bedroom and tea area upstairs on the loft and our living room, bathroom, and dressing room downstairs. It was really cool to stay in a two story room! The staff at the Dar al Anadalous was so generous and I will never forget them.

In terms of architecture, it really is a great city to study. The narrow streets of the Medina wind around in such an unplanned fashion: under buildings that went under arches that turned into wide streets with vendors and then narrow streets where your shoulders scrape the two buildings surrounding you. Walking through the Medina is very unpredicable and I loved it! The best part about Fez is that the streets are interesting but the buildings are not attractive, and then all of a sudden you walk through a huge doorway and up a few steps and you are in the most gorgeous courtyard or garden you have ever seen. Its interesting how the Islamic culture uses its modest values in all aspects of life, even architecturally. You would never be able to tell the beauty of a building in Fez until you stepped into the interior. I really enjoyed sketching in the Medina, needless to say!

Our excursion to the Middle Atlas Mountains was really really fun! I wasen't particulary interested in the two towns we vistied but I did really like seeing the water fall that me, Stacey, and Lauren put our feet in for the sake of a good picture! The car ride was so much fun! Our driver really liked music and he showed us how to dance traditionally. Then he sung us Arabic songs, and we sung him American songs. It was such a fun experience! We had lunch in the middle of no where and it was absolutley beautiful. We found a baby desert with baby sand dunes and me and Hawra played on them. Then we went to feed the monkeys! They were a lot bigger than I expected, but harmless until you tried to pet them. They only wanted food, not to be pet! Ask Nick about that, he got slapped.

Our guide Momo took us to some awesome places to see how things are made and good for shopping too! The ceramic place was the best by far. We all went a little crazy buying ceramic stuff, and it was so much fun. The textile place was next, I think everyone got something from scarfs to bedcovers, another really fun experience. The tannery smelt really bad and the stuff did not really attract me. The silver place was after that, I could have spent a lot more money but there was not enough time, probobly a good thing!

In the end, the trip was life-changing for me. It was weird to be the minority being starred at while walking down the streets, but I think its really good in life to be in those persons shoes for a few days and see what its like. Fez almost seemed like I was going back in time. It is still so primitive compared to Western societies. There are no cars allowed in the Medina, only donkeys which bring things in and take things out. Everything that is made is hand-crafted from pottery, to the fabrics. And to see the work people really put into these products makes you appreciate the things you are buying from them. The culture shock in Fez was intense, but I really liked it. It was so amazing to feel like you are in such a different, out of this world country. I'm so thrilled with how our Morocco trip went, it was definitly the most special trip to me and I will never, ever forget it.