Author: Rachel Schmitmeyer

One Last Post…

Our week in London flew by! But, at the same time, by the end of the trip I was so comfortable navigating the city that it felt like we had been there for months. I think this was largely due to all the preparation we did prior to leaving. Before we even left Columbus, I knew what restaurants to eat at what tube stop to get off at. Being so well prepared enabled me to start experiencing the city right away, and not have to spend too much time getting acclimated.

One of the main reasons I decided to go to London was because I heard great things about their combination of historical and modern architecture. I was not disappointed! I think the city has done a great job blending the old with the new. The new buildings are designed to complement their neighboring historic sites.  One of the things that surprised me the most was their attention to St. Paul’s Cathedral. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of attention new buildings paid to St. Paul’s. Many buildings were situated so as to frame the view of St. Paul’s. The One New Change Mall left an opening so that when visitors ride the glass elevator, they are able to admire St. Paul’s all the way up. The “Cheese-grater” was given its famous slant so that it wouldn’t block St. Paul’s.

From Stonehenge, to the all the contemporary high-rises, the architecture I was able to experience over the course of one week was some of the best I have ever seen. This week is one that I will not soon forget!

Canterbury: a Closed-Off Cathedral

At all of the churches we’ve been to – St. Paul’s Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, and Westminster Abbey – the city has been organized in a way that highlights the church. Modern buildings in London are built in ways that frame St. Paul’s. Salisbury Cathedral is surrounded by a large green space, allowing open views of the cathedral. At Westminster Abbey there is a large plaza in front of the church, setting the church apart from the surrounding city.

At Canterbury, however, they seemed to go to every effort to hide the cathedral. After walking for a bit, we saw the top of the spire through an alley, but then it disappeared again. We saw part of it through the gate, but couldn’t see anymore without paying. At the cathedral gift shop, there was a single window with a view of the side of the cathedral. To me, it seems the town of Canterbury is doing all they can to keep the cathedral to themselves – only allowing those who have paid to see the interior access to see the exterior. Canterbury Cathedral is like a precious jewel that is hidden inside the town.

One of the few views of the cathedral through an alley

The view of Canterbury Cathedral through the entrance gate.

The view from the gift shop window.

Covent Gardens

Throughout the city there are many different levels of privacy. One specific example of this is at Covent Gardens. When you first arrive, you walk into an open, public square. This space was filled with bustling people, street performers, and plenty of families sitting around enjoying the day. On one end of the square is a market. Most of the market is under a roof and there are courtyards tucked in between the stores for people to sit and enjoy their purchases. The roof along with the courtyards help create a semi-public space, as the market is separated from the square but still accessed by many people. At the other end of the square is St. Paul’s Church. Behind the church is another square. This one, however, is much more closed off as it is hidden behind the church. I was amazed at the difference between the two squares. Once you walked behind St. Paul’s the noise of the street disappeared and the number of people drastically decreased, creating a semi-private space. Surrounding the square are many private residential houses. In just this small area of the city one can experience many different levels of privacy.

The square at Covent Gardens

Inside the market

The square behind St. Paul’s

Of all the museums I’ve been to, none of them have been as vast as the British Museum. When I first walked in, I fell in love with the central courtyard. I think Foster did a great job combining the old and the new. As I looked at the map, I was shocked to see the number of exhibits from all parts of the world. Never before had I seen such a large collection; I was excited to go explore and rushed off to try to see as much of this expansive museum as I could.

Unfortunately, part way through the museum, I decided that having such a large collection wasn’t necessarily a good thing. About an hour into my visit I walked into a room packed full of Egyptian mummies and coffins. Cases with rows of coffins filled the space, so much so that I couldn’t even count the number they had. I worked my way through that room only to walk into another room packed full of mummies. At this point I started to feel a little uncomfortable. Earlier we had been asked the question, “What does it mean to have all these artifacts taken from their homes and places in a museum?” For all the times I’ve been in a museum before, I had never really considered this.

I think museums are really important as they help people understand past cultures. Also, without museums, many artifacts may not be around today, at least they wouldn’t be in as good of condition. That being said, I think it is important to consider how the items were acquired – were they given to the museum or did the museum “rescue” them.

While the vastness of the British Museum was incredible and it was amazing to be able to see vases from China, carvings from the Parthenon, and a capital column from the Pantheon all in one place, I think the largeness of the collection took away the value of the individual pieces. When you get to the point where you walk past a two-thousand-year-old vase because “it’s just another vase”, I think that is a sign that the collection has grown too large for a single museum. It is incredible to have so many treasures in one place. However, it’s a simple theory of supply and demand – the more items there are, the less valuable an object becomes. When you walk into a room with a single mummy, you are amazed at what you are seeing. But, when you walk through a room where one mummy is packed in a case with five others, it doesn’t seem as important. I felt proper respect couldn’t be given to each individual treasure as it was more about showing off the largeness of the collection.

Rachel’s First Day

 

St. Paul’s Cathedral dome and nave

I chose to do this sketch of St. Paul’s Cathedral because I wanted to capture a moment that couldn’t be captured by a photo (partially because cameras weren’t allowed). Also, because of the height of the ceiling it would be impossible to capture the top of the dome as well as the floor in a single image. This sketch allowed me to examine the ways in which the floor, columns, and domes are all related – rather than looking at just the dome.

Details of St. Paul’s Cathedral

I also chose to sketch details found throughout the cathedral because while walking through, I noticed that even the simplest of items, such as the floor grates had an intricate amount of details to them. I think the combination of these many small details is what makes St. Paul’s such a breathe-taking piece of architecture.

It’s only the end of day 1 and part of me feels like I’ve been here for a few days because we’ve been so busy! The other part of me hasn’t even come to the realization that I’m actually in London!

Rachel’s Pre-Departure Post

These past few weeks have been a whirlwind! Between finishing projects for other classes, finalizing plans for our free time in London, doing laundry, and running to the store for travel-sized toothpaste, I’ve hardly had time to comprehend the idea that in just a twelve hours we will be on our way to London! Although I have been out of the country before, this will be my first time without my parents there to make sure I don’t forget anything or get lost in a foreign country – and I am honestly a little nervous. I cannot wait for the moment when I am seated on the plane and can breathe a sigh of relief as I drift off for a nice long nap!

With everything in my other classes beginning to wrap-up, and my to-do list growing shorter, I am able to take some time to gather my thoughts and emotions for this trip. The more time I spend packing, the more excited I get! I’m ready to experience another new culture and excited to have the freedom to go explore the city on our own time. I’m excited to be able to experience the many buildings I have been learning about the past two years. Along with my many classes, I am hopeful that taking time to sketch will give me a new appreciation for these spaces. My pencils are sharpened and I have plenty of pages waiting to be filled!

Rachel Schmitmeyer

Hello everyone! My name is Rachel Schmitmeyer. I am a second-year majoring in architecture, with a minor in design. I am from Fort Loramie, Ohio – a town of 1,500 that is about two hours west of Columbus. Some of my hobbies include running, drawing, painting, photography, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

With my parents, I have travelled to many US cities, as well as to Germany and Italy. These travels are what led to my interest in architecture. I have heard from many architecture students that London is a great city to study because of its combination of classical and modern architecture. I am excited to experience the city first-hand and seeing all the sites I have read about in textbooks. I believe experiencing these buildings in person will give me a better appreciation of the architecture and allow me to learn about the building in a way that I would never be able to by reading a textbook or sitting in a lecture hall. Besides visiting the sites, I am also eager to improve my sketching skills. I have always loved drawing and would like to be able to incorporate it more into architecture studies. I think this will be a great opportunity to learn how to sketch quicker and with more confidence.

This image was taken two summers ago when I went to Florence, Italy.