Madrid trip! Oh Snap!

Wow,

What to say about the Madrid trip,.......many many argue but it was awesome! The first Hostel we stayed in was the most fun i've had in awhile. It was the 12 of the guys, 6 guys in each room which sounds horrible already, but it was great. The hostel had

1. Computers for internet
2. International students who spoke pretty good english
3. A Bruno complete with accent and fur coat.
4. A kitchen and a good amount of showers with warm water

On this trip we went to Reina Sofia, the Caixa Forum, to Toledo to see the Escalators, to then to Bilbao to see the Guggenheim, and then San Sebastian to see Wind Comb and Kursaal.

I was pissed when I watched the superbowl in Madrid and the Patriots lost. The Reina Sofia and Caixa Forum were pretty cool though even though I don't get as excited about cantilevers as the architects do, I could respect the buildings. Toledo was beautiful except Josh Kehl and I missed the train because the ticket guy was a giant trough of douche. The escalators were fun but don't forget your sketch books because you'll get in trouble.
Bilbao was a dead nightlife town. Its quality of transportation and area were much cleaner, but there was really nothing to do besides visiting the Guggenheim which was great by the way.
San Sebastian was great, It was the most beautiful site visit yet and the most fun. Wind Comb was interactive and a blast. I have a video of Harry Han putting his hat on the wind holes, I hope i can load it on this blog.

All in all the Madrid trip was great except the 36 hours all of us spent staying up all night when we got back to finish the massive amount of data cards and case studies for Hecker.

The fun thing about projects

In case any of you had any doubts about the cultural density of Barcelona, our group is researching knowledge work and culture for Juan Carlos and my part is Culture. We are trying to combine a map of the surrounding area of our site with all of this information and before you see our final product I thought I would show just what I have found so far. Blue is museums, pink is music venues, and yellow is theater and dance. These alone have enough to keep someone entertained for years. I still have areas of historical value, art, and the likes to find and document but I though that this density was interesting because it is nothing like what we find in Clemson.

Settling in tha BCN!

Ahhhh,,,

Finally, I can settle in here. My room is pimp, hahaha if I was a dwarf. No but seriously its alright besides the fact two of my lights in my room are out and my toilets clogged. I can't wait until the maintenece people come up and fix it for me 3 weeks later. I bought a skateboard and I use it to kick push around. It was 80 euro but i think it was definately a good investment. I either use it to ride to class or go thrashing with Rush and Eggs. I'm not that good right now, but I want to get better and riding every other day should help. Plus just carrying around a board makes my badass points go up like by 2. hahahaha. We got in trouble in studio the other day for having a dance party. We were blasting "call on me" and kicking soccer balls, and skateboarding on the top floor. Apparently a studio dance party can get you arrested in Spain and we're not suppose to have any fun in studio according to Prof. Juan Carlos, but I bet if he were up there that night he'd have danced with us...maybe a little salsa. Anyway blog out!

First Impressions

Ok,

So first impressions of Barcelona.....it was amazing. Besides the fact that on the first day Chad Hoffman and I had to pay our dumb ass taxi driver extra money because he didn't even know where we lived after i showed him the directions on a piece of paper, and we walked through hooker alley at 12am at night with suitcases getting whistled at for sex and hashish. By the way...beware of hooker alley unless you're on trolll patrol or you want your phone stolen like Brett O'Brien. The rambla is the place to be if you're a tourist, but if you want cheaper food that is better go the opposite way towards parallel, or hit up the raval for some doner kebap. I take that back. Maleek's Turkish Kebap is tha dank and its onlly 3.50 euro right off Nou de la rambla near the rambla. I love Barcelona.

ANDORRA: OH BABY

I decided to chance it last weekend and head to Andorra on the spir of the moment.  I woke up after debating on whether or not I should do more school work or enjoy myself.  After making a couple phone calls and inviting students around the Resa, I decided to head out by myself for Andorra.  The main reason I decided to go by myself was the fact that it has been a long time since I have experienced good SNOW SKIING.  This way no one had to WAIT on me and I could ski all day and return, getting my moneys worth of SKIING.  I have to say it turned out being one of my best experiences here so far.  I made new friends from Foreign Counties and ended getting a ride to a hotel by a nice French Woman.  The SCENERY, SHOPPING AND CLUBS were all so inviting.   The only one I was able to experience was the SCENERY and SKiing for the most part.  ORDINO- ARCALIS is where IT IS AT, Take that LA MOLINA.  Just Kidding skiing is Skiing,but then again there is ANDORRA.  I HIGHY RECOMMEND ANDORRA TO ANYONE WHO REALLY WANTS TO EXPERIENCE LIFE.  I tried to add a video but had problems with it loading, ANY HELP IS WELCOME!   ENJOY!

Geeked to see Gehry's Goog

The highlight of our first study travel, besides the overall beauty of San Sebastian, was spending an afternoon in the Guggenheim. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I left with a lot more appreciation for it then when I came in to Bilbao. Although it may look quite different than the its surroundings, it had a way of integrating with the site that I would have never guess unless I was physically there. There were a number of elements, such as the titanium panels and the flow between the pond, bridge, and river, which were directly connected with fitting in with its context.

The art gallery within the museum was far more interesting to me than any I had seen in Madrid. It was a nice and peaceful end to the trip. I really hope to go back to San Sebastian at some point. It was great to see those Atlantic waves again, and the food was amazing. At the beginning of the meal at Kursaal, I remember commenting to Cromedaddyflex that I would rather have 35 McChickens than spend this amount on any kind of food. I quickly retracting that statement after the first of three courses on the Menu del Dia. It was the jam.

Barcelona: Is A Very Different CITY

Barcelona is a very enjoyable city minus the fact of all the studio work.   The culture experience has been very great.  I meet new interesting people everyday in the street looking for addresses or asking questions.  So far the Australian's have been the coolest people that I have met, other than Good OLE Americans.  The newest experience for me personally besides living for over a month in a foreign country that speaks a different language is having to carry your groceries and walking.   Being in landscape architecture I love how pedestrian orientated Barcelona is, it is nice not having to fill a truck up with gas every 2 weeks or less.   The Carrefour Super Mercat has been a real budget saver to me and other people.   They have everything you need plus more (AKA Liquor).  The great thing that many people see as a negative is having to carry your groceries home.   But personally I really enjoy buying groceries and walking down the La Rambla and always seeing interesting thing happening.   It is nice being so close to the La Rambla all the time, but on the downside it is so hard to make myself say inside and do work, when I know so much is happening during the day and night, right down the street.   Basically there is something very exciting happening and always so many new things to see, it is great.

3D

Datacards Datascapes Diagrams. What has the world come to? Looks like this semester is based off the letter "D". No me gusta. We've herd these words a lot already and I'm sure they will also come up about a billion more times as the semester continues.

Bus Strike

After studio on Tuesday the 12th, I was walking to meet a friend for lunch. We met at the Liceu metro stop, and walked into the Gothic district looking for a good Menu del Dia. We walked past the architecture library on Carrer de Bisbe and we start to hear chanting. As it gets louder and louder we can start to tell that somewhere ahead are a loud angry group of men.

We ran the last little bit of Bisbe left and ended up in Placa de Sant Juame where about 300 men and women were gathered in protest. After reading their picket signs and a broken Spanish conversation with some other students nearby we discovered that they were bus drives on strike. The other students couldn't give us any more information, or we just couldn't understand...but after I got back to my computer I looked up some information on this situation. It turns out this is the third strike in the last few months as the bus drivers are protesting their six day a week work schedule. They want an extra day of leisure.

I also learned that on the last strike the CGT (Confederation General de Treball / Union for Bus workers) picketed all the bust stop locations in order to make sure scabs couldn't keep the buses running. If they found a bus in operation they would throw paint at the windshield, and one bus was actually stopped and the occupants were forced to evacuate by and angry group of bus drivers.

Just thought a little current events info might be pretty interesting, thank you come'again.

Mujer loca afuera la RESA

OMFG can she not yell at everything?! Ok so for those who don't know, there is a woman who sits for 23 hours out of the day in the plaza outside of the RESA who yells at people and animals and police that happen to cross her path.  She is a total dumpster troll and was in the Miss Dumpster Troll 2008 calendar...i think she was May or October, I'm not too sure on this one, but nonetheless DAMN.  One morning on my way to studio I was doing my normal routine, going to the bakery and getting a croissant con jamón y queso and when I looked up from my iPod I saw the most horrific thing I could have ever seen.  This woman was bent over, relieving herself into the street.  I just about fell over when I saw this.  After she finished she then walked over to a pigeon and began to yell at it with her Estrella Damm in hand no doubt.  At night when I am not slaving away in studio I can always count on waking up to the sound of "UNGGGGGGGG."  She, yelling at something.  But anywho, I just find it amazing that she just is doing whatever she does and no one cares.  Well that's all I got for this one.

The Goog, Bilbao, and Basque....

So being in Barcelona, the locals speak Catalan, ok i can handle that.  But in Bilbao they speak Basque....wtf.  Anywho, seeing the Guggenheim was INCREDIBLE.  The building is so interesting with its curves and whatnot.  When i got there to see it in person, I was taken aback at how intricate the whole thing is.  The interior did not disappoint as well.  The walls on the interior looked as if they were in motion at one time but after some event the walls ceased to move and the positions they were in at that time were frozen as they are today.  I dunno, that is my take on it.  

Bilbao is a beautful city and the new architecture there is amazing...new is relative to the age of the city...the Bridge and the Goog along with the new high-rise buildings are really cool.  The people there are so nice but one thing I do not understand is why the stores close at 7 pm...well maybe not that early but still, damn.  

How do u speak Basque?  Well it is not that hard, just try to pronouce this word:  Ujalskjfañxklsjdhfajhxsdakjshdalñkjñaskafs  this word means apple.  See not hard at all....

DO they NOT have any building codes here???

Surrounded by trees and buildings of equal height, the RESA housing unit shows cold exterior materials with glass circulation routes. Our place basicly consists of two towers (a & b). They have no connections with each other and there is only one stair well down to the main floor instead of the 2 we HAVE to have in every project we've worked on. And how about those random knobs on the room doors that have no function. I mean I turned it the first time to get in and know everyone else did the same thing.
O yea and our studio with the doors that open into a 10ft plumit to the bottom floor.
It always leaves you guessing

In

Since before I got here, I was told that Barcelona was full of architectural goodies.  So being a landscape architect, to tell you the truth, I was not very thrilled with looking at buildings but that has changed now.  Even if some of the archies don't respect the work we larchies do, I do have a new found love for building design.  In Clemson, we don't usually colaborate with the architecture students so in doing so here, I have gained a new appreciation for them haha.  But being more than a month in Barcelona, I am itching to do some design work instead of datacards.  It is cool to do some graphic things but I am really ready to dig into some design work.

After reading you will be tired of the word Mathematics

So I was watching a documentary on youtube.com last night on a castle in Grenada, Spain. It is based on a simple mathematical formula the square root of two, three, four and five. I think the name of the castle is Alhambra, but I'm not sure on that one.

The reason I bring this up is because of the extreme care that ancient architects put into mathematical design in their architecture. The pyramids and this castle are just two of the many examples of great architecture all designed with simple mathematics.

I wonder how much this technique is still used today, if it is completely outdated because of the use of computers or if computers have allowed us to explore a whole new range of possibilities when designing with mathematics in mind.

From working experience it seems as if ADA architectural standards have replaced the use of deciding why a hallway should be a certain length when the architects of the past would have had the freedom to make the hallway to the correct mathematical proportions.

so many blogs........so little time

So I have built a little bit of confidence after that first blog and feel I can take on the challenge. Hopefully I will bathe in the gold light of victory. So today I am pondering land uses and zoning for our group datascape. I have found that the time land use has become incredibly ambiguous since arriving in studio with JC. Is it the buildings that take over the site, the people that use the site, the way it is used, or something else. Perhaps it is a combination. (speaking of combinations, 4 halves of toast equal 2 whole pieces) Alright, time to blog out again. I need to do some stuff.

Love and Architecture

Eggl

No more rude blogs for me
Episode: 1
Chapter: 4 (the end)

Due to my recent frustration with my knee, not being able to participate in anything a normal 22 year active man would do, being sick for the last 5 days, living with another sick man, and having a stomach virus, I have been doing my blogs in non mature fashion. I apologize to anyone that may have been affended in any way.
Today I will blog about Dali.
Thus far I have seen a good number of paintings for Salvidor Dali; Reina Sofia and around the BCN area. His work holds such a strong paint stroke and can be interpreted in many ways. One work that really caught my eye was his painting entitled "El Enigma de Hitler." It was basicly a white dinner plate with a tiny picture of Hitler along with a dark scenery and a collage of related items that in some way describe him. I spent about half an hour trying to understand it and I feel like I got 5o% of it. Other than his paintings I was able to see a few of his sculptures. They honestly didn't really impress me all that much, but I really enjoy his photographs. Hopefully in the coming weeks I will visit his home town and see more paintings.

3rd FIRST

CeLLuLar TeLephones! I got my first cell phone EVER (and man do I regret it). To the surprise of many, I managed to get by in the U.S. without ever having a cell phone. Partly because I didn't want to waste the money, but moreso because I think cell phones are leading more and more to an impersonal world. I did however, end up getting a phone about 3 weeks after arriving in Barcelona because Doug said it was a requirement and started asking for numbers, though I have yet to email him mine (sorry). Aside from all of this, there is ONE reason that I absolutely regret giving in and getting the phone:

IN CLASS AND MY PHONE RINGS! 3 people have my number, and all of them are in my class. HOLA? It's the phone company. In spanish. NO SE!

IT HAPPENS TWICE MORE! Apparently Moviestar (the phone company) is trying to sell me something...not sure what, but I DON'T WANT IT!

So that said, I will make noises and speak in non-existant languages when I answer the phone, but apparently they still don't understand that I DON'T WANT TO TALK!

So if you want to talk, please call 680617911 I will gladly talk to YOU. I've recieved 7 calls in the past 2 days from moviestar, before that, I used my phone 3 times. UHhhhh

Traveling

Something I want to do as much as possible in my brief time here is visit as many countries as possible. I think its extremely important to experience as many different cultures as possible. On that note, I'm going to Berlin tomorrow morning. I should stay and work on our stack of assignments, but what fun is that? I'm super excited to visit the German capital; I hope to eat lots of good food, see some amazing architecture, and freeze my butt off. So after this weekend my country tally will be up to 4!

2nd FIRST

TAPAS! Are sweeet, but small. I think I felt full for the first time in the last month when we went to an all you can eat buffet in Madrid. Aside from quantity however, the quality of food is definitely top notch, but you'll pay for it too. The 20 euro meal at Kursaal was incredible, but how can you beat free tapas?

My second first was free... octopus, calamari, patatas bravas, etc. All were very very good, and apparently very common here. As professor Hecker compared it: fried chicken and sweet tea of Barcelona and definitely much better tasting than that. What better way to have an introduction to your class than a glass of champagne and plates full of tapas!

1st FIRST

Welcome to Barcelona! This is my first time in Europe, and I love it. So far I haven't traveled outside of Spain, but there is so much here! As harry said, Barcelona is full of distractions. It's a beautiful city with so much to offer: Architecture, Food, Nightlife, Culture, and more. Finally I feel comfortable with the city... I know parts of it well, yet I still feel like there's so much here that I still haven't uncovered. Barcelona is the densest city in Europe, which is obvious in terms of people walking down Las Ramblas, but the density is also seen on an urban level from Mont Juic. The top of Mont Juic is a short walk from RESA (our dorms) and while in the park, it's easy to lose all sense of the urban density. It is a quiet, green, peaceful mountain that you'd never expect to find within a dense city, yet the view from the top reveals all of Barcelona; a huge city packed within the valley of surrounding hills. I've come to like both sides of the city, the hustle and bustle of the urban environment but at same time, the open spaces, plazas, and parks integrated within the city.

We took our class study travel trip to Madrid, Escorial, Toledo, San Sebastian, and Bilbao last week, and for the first time I called Barcelona home. It was a great trip, but by the end of that week, I was definitely ready to get back to BCN.

Time 2 Power Blog 2K8!

4 Blogs, 48 hours-- here they come! I've managed to procrastinate thus far on the whole blogging thing, and we have 4 due by tomorrow, so here's my first one, EVER. Speaking of firsts, this semester has confronted me with many firsts; first, it's my first time to Europe, second, I tried octopus for the first time, third, I got my first cell phone, fourth, I staid in my first hostel in Madrid... I'm sure there are more, but those are 4, and I have 4 blogs, so here we go... power blogging 2K8!

We need lots of Puja

Today we found out what would be required for our first review. Basically we need a Frank plan. One that has the elements of the program, but you can still see all the stitches. We also need our group cards, datacards and some other information that relates to our site. We're working with housing an steel on a port. Should be fun and we'll need lots of prayer!

it's tuesday...did u bring ur coat?

actually, it's thursday, but some of us get the title...well, finally, a day of rest after a retarded hard 2 days of doin nuthin but dealin with data and puttin it into card form...already got complaints about us from bein in studio at night...evidently they thought we were havin a party...all we were doin was bein ourselves on a late night in studio doin work...a little relief now, the weekend's here and i don't have to worry bout datascapes and watnot for bout 2 days...i might even get some sleep in
i guess the real challenge of studyin in barcelona isn't the fact that there's a gigantic work load...it's the fact that the city of barcelona offers so many distractions both in terms of entertainment and architecture...i pass by a building that is either dedicated to gaudi or designed by him or both on the way to studio everyday, and everytime i pass by i'm thinkin wat the hell's in that thing? well, i'm sure i'll find out one of these days...alright, i'm gonna go get distracted some more, harry han out

Happy Valentine's Day

So I'm blogging before studio because yet again our teacher is late. I thought I would write about our first travel trip from a few weeks ago. It was a really great trip even though it started kind of rocky. My favorite city by far was Bilbao; I'm almost positive its my new favorite city period (a title formerly tied between London and New York). Maybe it was because the weather was so perfect but I was awed by how beautiful the city was and what beats the home of Gehry's Guggenheim? I loved the size, the river, the landscape, the list goes on. Only an hour drive through beautiful countryside to the equally beautiful city of San Sebastian; I really can't think of anywhere better. Barcelona will definitely always hold a special place in my heart, but this part of the country doesn't seem as lush and green as the north. I need my green.

BCN architecture

After being here for month and a half, I've began to notice quite a difference from the lifestyle I was used to in the States. Back in Clemson, architecture was only something I dealt with in Lee Hall during studio hours and before final reviews. When I walked out of the building, I was leaving anything associated with architecture behind.

In BCN, architecture never leaves your mind. You're surrounded by people who share the same interest, you're taking a full course load almost entirely in architecture (feels like 3 studios at times), and we are also located in one of the best cities in the world to study architecture. We are faced with it from the moment we leave RESA. Not everything is made of out of the same boring brick. It's allowed me to think much more in depth about architecture, whether it be my personal feelings on a building, to even where I want to go once I leave Clemson next spring. I'm interested to find out how I'm going to feel after spending this entire semester here.

John Winger: You can't leave. All the plants will die!

Yes, I would be one of the 4th year Landscape Architecture kids, minoring in Horticulture mainly because I love plants and learning about all things natural and organic, and not to mention, I am the only girl in this program with those awesome qualifications. And, I am most likely older than you...

A year ago, I decided I would study in Barcelona for a semester because I felt that Clemson could never give me all I desired out of our programs offered, and I needed to branch out. I spent two weeks in Egypt and a whole semester working with Architecture kids in Cairo and grad students in Clemson, and ever since then, the scope of my life, like any studio project, has had a constant "Scope creep."

The way the Europeans teach design is not a straight and narrow path. You become immersed in art, architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, cultures, and how all of these things become intertwined when you begin to design (and, um, not by a handscape, sorry). A sphincter says what? Oh wait. Toto, I don't think we are in Clemson anymore :)

I love traveling. I love being on the go. Constantly busy. Constantly moving. There's plenty of time to sleep when I am dead. January was definitely time to get the heck out of dodge and leave the old life behind...

And I don't feel bad at all. I'm pretty sure all the damn plants are still alive...

Good Morning!!!

so, my ryan screws up his knee pretty bad by trying to land some free walking maneuver. he is bed bound for like two days and then decides to go to the hospital. i figure i would post an image of what his knee looked like when he came back to the room.
Doner Kabeb anyone?!

Yay for sleep!

I must first say I am super pumped about getting around 8 hours of sleep tonight after losing so much the past 2 nights. Traveling on top of school work has just consumed all of my energy. I find it amusing though as everyone one else has been as tired as I have been, that most people in our studio have developed a talent for falling asleep anywhere. And by anywhere, I mean anywhere...I have seen classmates drift off in dirty subways, restaurants on top of their food, and anywhere where we are sitting for an extended amount of time. I welcomed the day trips we had while on the study trip because that meant a train ride I could sleep on when normally I would never be able to sleep while sitting up. It was also pretty amusing in lecture with kathrin today that you could tell which silhouettes belonged to our class by who was drifting off to sleep. I personally was just glad that my balance still works when I sleep because otherwise I would have fallen out of my chair. I used to know a girl that could fall asleep while standing up and her eyes open...so I think my new goal will be to learn how to walk and sleep at the same time...I'd be set then

La Comida

Food is a very important part of my life, as one of my professors once said, "I see the world through food." If there is one thing you should know about the food selection in Barcelona it's Menu del dia. This is your best opportunity to get a full meal (full meal haha) for a decent price. The fact that Spaniards make lunch their main meal and even have a specific time period during the day where everything shuts down (siesta) is pretty interesting. I feel like I can relate with a culture of people who base a day's schedule around their comida (that means food, Chad).

Let me tell you what I think about Japanese restaurants, while we are on the the subject...I went to a really good Japanese restaurant tonight. And although you probably don't care at all what I ate, I'm going to tell you. I got the Tori no Teryaki, which means Teryaki Chicken strips.

Some of the best dining experiences that I've had in Spain have been while enjoying urban and architectural elements of a city. We ate at a little restaurant in the George Orwell Plaza the other day and the light was able to find its way into the dining area. We also ate next to the Kursaal building in San Sebastian for one of the best meals that I've ever had. Who would have thought that two sunny-side up eggs over potatoes and broth would be delicious.

What not to do when designing an airport...

I was with the group that went to Paris and I must say that their system of transportation has got to be the most frustrating so far in all aspects...the most noticeable though was the airport we landed in. The main part was circular and had all these paths crisscrossing in the center going to random floors so if you start off in the wrong place, good luck getting to the right place. The signs were also not the clearest so at times it felt like we were literally going in circles. I think circulation in an airport should be clearly defined because traveling is stressful enough without trying to navigate a confusing terminal. Also if you ever design an airport make sure you design bathrooms on the other side of security near the gates because I had to go to the restroom after I went through security already so i had to leave and go back through the line and because of that I got patted down twice thanks to their super touchy metal detectors that I still have no idea what it was going off on.

La Molina

On one of our first weekends here, a large group of us ventured on the train to La Molina, a ski resort in the Pyrenees. It was the first time any of us had skied outside the U.S., and made for quite the experience. After a few minor setbacks and a long bus ride up an icy mountain, we made it.

I thought because I have done a little skiing in various places around the Midwest and North Carolina, I was suited to go to the summit. Boy was I wrong. Eggl, Cromie, and Ramsey (notice he still is on two feet) decided to come along as well. After a few tumbles, we all made it down safely. Here is a video I shot of us at the top before heading down.

All and all, it was a fun trip, and I'd love to do some more skiing before I go back home.

some shut eye

Goin to bed in the PM hours tonight, not sure how ill react to getting more than a few hours of sleep. But after datacarding and case studying my life away the past couple nights, im pretty much ready to find out. I also found mountain dew in one of the supermercats on Nou de La Rambla, thus rekindling a pretty obsessive past habit. I had 4 last night, that was dumb.

Also, to the basketball gods, please please PLEASE let us beat the crap out of georgia tech tomorrow night...

Paris: debt city

This past week a few of us headed to Paris for a weekend trip. We stepped into one of the most expensive cities ever! All the places we went had 3,90 or more euro for one coke bottle. Plus, the airport is out of the way and you have to take an 8,20 euro train ride that last about 2 hours to get into the city. You should hit up all the great sites in Paris. The Eiffel Tower puts on a light show once an hour starting around 7pm. A ride to the top cost about 11,50 but they dont check your ticket to see if you should get off on the 1st or 2nd floor and when you get to the 2nd you can choose to take a ride up to the 3rd level is you want. Point is, get a first floor ticket for 4,20, accidently ride to the 2nd floor and then go the rest of the way for 3,00. The bread is amazing!

I'm a blog virgin

Obviously, I've never done this before but here goes my first shot: I'm feeling very relieved right now, if only temporarily, because we just turned in our case studies. It feels mighty good to have that done even though improvements are due in the future. Work is requiring much more effort here because of constant distractions generated by the city. I'm having a hard time concentrating when there is so much culture and excitement right outside my door. I don't think I'm alone in this dilemma....anyway that's what I'm thinking right now and here I am procrastinating with this blog post....back to data cards, scapes, etc.

This seems like the never ending day. Bit futher remarks about people in Barcelona: The La Rambla is amazing. Of course that is only until clowns start chasing you down the street. There are plently of things to look at such as birds for sale, flowers, preformers and artist. Studio is just off the Rambla but the street is pretty sketchy. However several nice plazas are on either side.

a korean in spain

well, this is my first blog, i'm sure there are many more to come....a couple of things that i've experienced in barcelona....well, i've noticed that everyone likes to call me chino, don't really appreciate that...i get stared at by everyone more than my buddies, which is strange because it's not like there aren't any asians here...i guess it's the way i dress, although that really isn't uncommon here either...maybe it's because i'm really tall, that seems to make the most sense...idk, i'm gettin used to it, so watever...other than that, the people are nice enough, the nightlife's great, don't really have many complaints about the food other than there's never enough of it...oh yea, and the architecture's pretty word too

blogger mcbloggerson

Alright, I admit I am new to this blog thing. I assume you just pick something that is on your mind to talk about. Today I will talk about my views of this great city of Barca. Barcelona...Discovered by the Germans in 1927, they originally called it barcelonia, which means a whales......nevermind. I will tell you, being a kid that rarely leaves South Carolina, that Barcelona is an amazing city with so much going on. One thing that Professor Hecker has touched on numerous times is the way that architecture and the existing buildings are treated here in Barcelona. They don't hold the older buildings on some pedistal that is untouchable. They are always trying to modernize and create new and contemporary architecture. However, it still amuses me to see a city block with multiple sections missing. I think architecture in the united states could learn a lot from these European cities. Alright, blog out.

Love and Architecture

Eggl

"There is a matter of business to attend to....."

In fact, there is a lot of business to attend to. We have 6 case studies, 8 data cards, 2 illustrator iterations, 9 billion datascapes, and perhaps even a partridge in a pear tree, due in the next two days.... no? problem is.... about half of studio currently sounds like the frog king in this video.... some more than others..... making for a less than ideal work environment as we all get nice and cozy in studio these next two nights. should be fun. but we can do it, because as i think we have all learned by now... in a way nothing is impossible.

San Sebastian

I know it's still early in the game, but I'm about ready to call San Sebastian my favorite city in Europe. The coastal views are absolutely phenomenal, AND more importantly, I was able to get a quick frisbee fix on the beach late in the afternoon. Also, the projects we visited, the Kursaal Conference Hall and the Wind Comb, were great works. I was particularly intrigued by the Wind Comb because it was able to incorporate an experience for the visitor. Making sketchbooks fly with the project's tide jets probably could have amused most of us for hours. Also, the restaurant at the Kursaal was the best meal I've eaten thus far on the trip. We definitely paid for it, but the food was fantastic. Ok, that's it for now, San Sebastian was sweet!

Hola!

This is the beginning of the Spring Sememster Barcelona 2008 blog entries. Have fun.