Author: koutras.10

London Reflection – Adrian

What an amazing experience. It was everything I expected and more. Learning about the culture and, most interesting to me, the architecture, was something truly valuable and I plan to keep what I learned for a long time. This trip was honestly so inspirational for me and gave me the fuel I didn’t know I needed.

Firstly looking at some of the amazing culture I experienced were plentiful. From some of the delicious and unique food I had such as conveyor belt sushi from Yo! Sushi, to the amazing Indian food at Dishoom as well as traditional English breakfast in the morning at the hotel. In addition, the AC Milan v Arsenal match was easily an experience I can never forget. I raved on about it in one of my in-country posts so I won’t go on and on about it but it was such an incredible experience at a sport I love. Walking around the city with friends and by myself, not going to major site but experiencing some of the city life was just as intriguing and beneficial as my other amazing experiences. On my free day I went to my family’s house in London and that in it by itself was an interesting glimpse into everyday British life. My conversations with them also helped understand the cultural differences and similarities between British and the American lifestyle.

I learned a lot about the architecture styles found in London just through sketching, forcing me to understand the details that I may have otherwise missed. Studying the older gothic designs all the way to beautiful modern buildings and projects (which I especially liked). Learning from the group leaders was already informational as is but since many students on this trip had different backgrounds and/or were further in the architecture program, I was able to learn from my peers as well. I feel like I learned so much about architecture on this trip because of this one-two punch of knowledge so to speak. We had an amazing group on this trip, making learning fun and ultimately making this experience so much better.

 

Adrian’s In-Country Post 4

On this day, after our amazing Blue Badge tour of Westminster Abbey, we were free to go to any museum of choice. I decided to go to the Design Museum as it was highly recommended and seemed really interesting to me. Side note, before I did that, I experienced Yo! Sushi. That was the sushi restaurant where sushi comes around on a conveyor belt. Anyways on to the design museum, architectural the building was interesting by itself. The exterior I’ll admit was on the boring side however the inside was interesting. It’s starts you at the bottom and keeps the main museum space up on the 3rd floor. It forces you to experience the entire building and smaller exhibits before going into the main exhibit. In terms of that it had a wide array of design elements. There was a quote that read “from spoon to the city” which accurately explains the array of design elements found in the museum. I particularly liked the graphic design and typography areas, because those are fields that greatly interests me, as well as obviously the architecture sections. The museum was very inpsiring and i plan to incorporate and notice these things more in architecture and daily life.

Adrian’s In-Country Post 3

Today was yet another day with new experiences, starting off with an exclusive tour of Middle Temple Hall, to Sir John Soane’s museums, and to the beautiful contemporary high rises (I especially liked the Cheesegrater, a building I had a new found appreciation for after watching the PBS documentary, and St Mary Axe for the innovations in both structure and sustainability as well as its uniqueness in terms of a rounded skyscraper. However for me the créme de la créme was easily the Europa League match between AC Milan and Arsenal. Both teams have meaning for me with AC Milan being a team that I played for of their youth squad for a year and Arsenal being my mothers and some of closest friends favorite team. I’ll be honest pretending to be an Arsenal fan for 90 minutes may have been one of my toughest challenges in my life so far but it was hard not to feed off the energy of the crowd. I found myself jumping up with excitement for all three Arsenal goals. It was honestly an amazing experience and I don’t regret it for one second. In terms of architecture, HOK, the designer of this project has practically almost every major sport’s arena/stadium/park under their resume however always manages to create a unique experience at all of them. Emirate Stadium was no exception. The flowiness of the stands and roof reminded me of Zaha Hadid in a way. The roof also did a fantastic job of making the roar of the crowd even more explosive than it is. It was evident during an “Ospina” chant when you almost felt like you were being fully surrounded by a crowd of 60,000 chanting his name. I realize I’m rambling on a little as I appproach 300 words but this was truly an amazing experience and a glimpse into a scene so prevalent in many British lives.

Adrian’s In-Country Post 2

Stonehenge

 

So on our fourth day, we went to what I was looking forward to the most, Stonehenge. I’ve mentioned this before but I’ve had an obsession about seeing this for no real reason. Today I finally got to go see it. After getting a sneak peak of the wonder from the highway, the visitor center was the first major building you see. It has a very modern design consisting of two buildings covered by a large metal canopy. Then we took a bus to Stonehenge. I’ll be honest, it was smaller than I thought, however it didn’t dissapoint. It was amazing to think about just how old this site was. When you think of the ancients you don’t picture the smartest individuals in the world, however the builders on this project were ahead of their time. Obviously these massive rocks had to be carried over long distances and their systems of moving them was a major advancement for this ancient civilization. Whether or not it this site was used as a calander or ritual site, the way they placed the heel stone in respect of the summer solstice is a great show of how humans understanding of life on earth grew.

In-Country Blog Posts (Day 1)

Our first day in London started the trip with a bang and did not disapoint. The sketches below I drew at St. Paul’s Catherdral. The first sketch was one of the main dome of St Cathedrals and the pendentives and arches that help support it. I ignored the ground mostly because up is honestly the best direction to look in this massive cathedral. The intricate details of the dome and arches was what I wanted to focus on and capture. The dome is what your eyes is drawn to. My second drawing actually wasn’t too far from my first one, it was maybe 30 feet away. I chose a different angle and captured  really interesting angle. The large window and dome behind the arch really caught my eye and I knew it was something I wanted to capture. All in all this site had incredible detail in every nook and cranny and reallys adds to the grand nature of St Paul’s. It makes you understand why the Brit’s tried so hard to protect it during WW2.

On somewhat of a separate note, Jean Nouvel’s mall across the street had an interesting design, it was clear to see it was built with St Paul’s in mind especially on the west entrance where you are provided with a great view of St Paul’s.

St. Paul’s Central Dome Sketch

St. Paul’s Cathedral Side Sketch

 

Adrian’s Pre-Departure Post

There’s definitely a range of emotions that come with going on a big trip. I’m mostly excited for obvious reasons, getting to see a European city with a rich culture and history and of course beautiful architecture from a wide array of styles from medieval to modern. I’m excited to improve my sketching skills and appreciating the aforementioned architecture and culture. I’m excited to be able to travel without parents, instead with peers, in addition, going to London as a student rather than a tourist. I know it will an interesting and valuable experience for me as an architect and person so I genuinely look forward to this trip. Obviously packing, as it does for everyone, has been stressful, making sure I have all the things I need while I’m over there while also keeping space in mind. I’ve been to the airport before, including going overseas, however, going through customs is always a little stressful… All in all, this is all super surreal. It’s weird to me that I’m going to be in London in 24 hours. I almost don’t believe it! With that being said, I can’t wait for the plane to touch down in London, getting a good night sleep and getting to see the city we have been talking about all semester! I’m nervous but mostly excited as we get closer and closer to departure.

Adrian’s Bio

My name is Adrian Koutras and I’m from Novi, Michigan (20 minutes outside of Detroit). I was technically born in Kalamazoo, MI (west side) but I lived most of my life in Novi. It’s been nice living in the city this past semester and I truly am beginning to love Columbus. My favorite things include sports (especially soccer, football and hockey), playing guitar, video games/board games, go-karting and hanging out with my friends. I’m a second generation immigrant on both sides with my grandparents on my dad’s side coming from Greece and my grandparents on my mom’s side coming from India.

I’m a first-year majoring in Architecture, a field that I have dreamed about being apart of since I was in 5th Grade. Although I’ve had one semester of classes at Knowlton like Arch 2300 and Studio, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time and am excited for the future as part of this amazing program. I am also minoring in Business.

In terms of my travel experience, I have traveled a lot with my parents to places like Paris, Brussels, Dublin, Mumbai and more. I’ve traveled to London twice before too, however those were mostly focused on visiting family. I’m very excited to go on this trip for a multitude of reasons including the focus on architecture and sketching. I know that this trip will give me a whole new perspective on London while also improving my sketching skills. Details I never noticed in London, won’t stay unnoticed. That is what I am most excited for on this trip. However one site I’m particularily excited for is seeing Stonehenge. Ever since I saw a picture of it near my grandparents dinner table, I’ve always wanted to go to Stonehenge when I came to London but it never fit our schedule. Now I can’t wait to see it in person.