Field Trip two began today as we head to Sants Estacio, where we caught a train to Girona, Spain, then walked a few blocks to our hotel in the old city. From there, it was a group conquest of the area, and the weather was FANTASTIC, which only helped the city be more beautiful than it already is.
The river...which the backsides of the buildings face. Some people find this problematic and unsightly, but I find the personal back porches, clotheslines, and open windows a sign of welcome and friendliness. There's just something about the lack of a facade meant to put on a certain air that makes me really enjoy the reality of the people who inhabit the spaces.
Our first sign of issues in Spain...I headed over to this group of shouting people and megaphones to find a protest of someone in political power. All I could catch was something about wanting more money for education and healthcare? Maybe? I didn't have time to stay and figure it out as the group headed off down a sidestreet and I had to catch up!
We were heading toward "the mini Great Wall" that Mike Kocher had told us about. It used to surround the old city, but now it only goes along part of it. The views are amazing because it's surprisingly tall! There were lots of niches to explore and towers to climb, which was quite exciting.
Tom was the first to climb this sweet spiral staircase in one of the towers...by this time it's only been about 45 minutes in the sun and I feel like I might be getting burnt...but it's so nice to be outside after the past few weeks in studio.
We ventured down from the wall into the city, and met this transitional space-the German gardens. Why they are called that, I have no idea, but they were lovely and I'm sure they are even more beautiful further into the spring. I was also intrigued by the ruins and the arch in the background...only 1 brick thick...and still standing! 
La Catedral, which has the largest nave span without columns in the world? Maybe? I think that is correct...no pictures allowed inside, but I didn't really find it too necessary anyhow. It was like an arcade-if you wanted to see what was in each apse, you put a coin in the slot and the lights turned on...weird. One of their display rooms had a super-old tapestry of the creation story which was cool. The bench in that room is carved and very intricate. It was nice to see workmanship like that.
Not just any window...this one is painted on the side of the building. I was impressed.
Ummm...how do you keep college kids amused for hours? LOTS AND LOTS OF BIG FISH and a bag of bread!
The backsides facing the river, as previously mentioned. Have I mentioned a billion times that I love the colors used on buildings in Europe? Because I should have! It gives the streets, or in this case the river, a completely different feel than if they were all dull or similar in color...wow.
We headed to St. Pare de Gallegas where we had a sketching assignment to capture the plainness of the facade. I liked it because it put more emphasis on the beautiful rose window. I also drew a plan of the exterior courtyard in hopes that it might help me design exterior spaces later on, and a section--but it was quick since I spent most of our alotted time outside working on the facade and proportions.
Finally we came to these steps, which are organic in the way that they seem to flow together and complement one another. I also like how they create a small terrace before continuing down further as a single staircase.
This is what we like to call Club Hotel...Felipe and Billy are just super at rearranging their hotel rooms and decorating any which way they can to accomodate all of us for hanging out when we're done exploring! ...and yes, that is some sort of pillow case or armrest cover on the lamp.
For dinner we decided to go to a Mexican restaurant people had seen while heading to lunch this afternoon. While we waited for Mon and Gisela we had a fun time playing at a hardscape park (basically meaning it was all concrete and statues, because most parks here don't have grass because of the lack of water available for it).
As always, I'm still captivated by street art...the bright colors, the different shapes used to create the letters...this just doesn't happen on a normal canvas. I don't think it would mean as much.
The backsides facing the river, as previously mentioned. Have I mentioned a billion times that I love the colors used on buildings in Europe? Because I should have! It gives the streets, or in this case the river, a completely different feel than if they were all dull or similar in color...wow.
We headed to St. Pare de Gallegas where we had a sketching assignment to capture the plainness of the facade. I liked it because it put more emphasis on the beautiful rose window. I also drew a plan of the exterior courtyard in hopes that it might help me design exterior spaces later on, and a section--but it was quick since I spent most of our alotted time outside working on the facade and proportions.
Finally we came to these steps, which are organic in the way that they seem to flow together and complement one another. I also like how they create a small terrace before continuing down further as a single staircase.
This is what we like to call Club Hotel...Felipe and Billy are just super at rearranging their hotel rooms and decorating any which way they can to accomodate all of us for hanging out when we're done exploring! ...and yes, that is some sort of pillow case or armrest cover on the lamp.
For dinner we decided to go to a Mexican restaurant people had seen while heading to lunch this afternoon. While we waited for Mon and Gisela we had a fun time playing at a hardscape park (basically meaning it was all concrete and statues, because most parks here don't have grass because of the lack of water available for it).Does anyone recognize any of these menu items? haha
As always, I'm still captivated by street art...the bright colors, the different shapes used to create the letters...this just doesn't happen on a normal canvas. I don't think it would mean as much.
This is the way I chose to model my initial proposal. It is an awful lot of mass, but I think it might be important to give the neighborhood a large amount of housing since it continues to be a major issue in Barcelona right now. The slanted roof can allow for the exterior facade and height to match those in surrounding blocks, while bringing the interior facade down to a more human scale. The bridged area serves as an indirect boundary-both separating the two halves of the block and allowing them to be connected through the walking path beneath.
Ahh yes, the super-attractive Argentinian bartender, Claudio
