Squares & Public Spaces

One Last Time

It has been exactly a week since we left London. I feel like I had a connection to the city and it felt like home when I got there. It did not take long for my body and mind to adapt to local London time, but it took almost a week for me to get back on to Columbus time.
There were so many things that I really like about our trip, but one thing that stood out most is how we were able to walk anywhere or use public transportation system to get anywhere within a short amount of time. This stood out to me because I do not like to even walk across campus at home, but it is quite enjoyable in London. I walked a minimum of 8.5 miles daily during our stay in London. The option to utilize public transporation or walk from place to place has a very good impact our daily lives, and I think that we should start moving toward that lifestyle at home.
My favorite part of the trip was our long walk day across London. This was one of my favorite day because, I love walking around London and see how the scene, landscape, architecture as we move across the city. This was also a memorable day because my feet was in so much pain toward the end of the day because I have never walk that much in a single day, but the pain was totally worth it. I end up walking barefoot around the Princess Diana memorial to numb my feet so I can keep up with the rest of the group. Now looking back, I think I made the right decisions by walking in the cold water in order to see walk much more later that evening.

Prior to the trip, I was hoping to take the EuroStar to Paris for a day to visit some extended family and some old friends. Someone asked about this topic in class before I got to it and we were not allow to leave the country. It was a little dissapointing at first, but I got over it fast. Now that the trip is over, I am so glad that we were not allow to leave England. There are so much to explore within London alone, a trip to France is pushing for too much. I end up visiting Brighton for a few hours to see the Royal Pavillion and the coast of Britain. Then returned to London and contiuning to explore the amazing city. I felt very safe and like I was at home during my time in England, and it was a good feeling to have while abroad.
Overall, I think this trip was very successful for many reasons. First of all, the weather was very nice during our time in London. Secondly, we were able to adapt and quickly learn how to use the tube and other forms of transportation to explore the city. Lastly, and most importantly, everyone in our group was AWESOME! Hope everyone had as much fun as I did, and hope to go on at least one or two more trips with everyone!

 

Saying goodbye to London 10 hours before departure…

Capturing some art work before dinner on the last night

Contemporary Architecture

The whole trip has been special to me to a whole different level, but Thursday I finally got the chance to be up-close to my favorite style of architecture; contemporary. It was fascinating to be so close to buildings that I followed throughout their whole construction process. I was so intrigued and amazed by the inside out building. It was like seeing all the architecture rules being broken in a single design. The services for the building such as ducts, stairs, and elevators are located in the exterior in order to maximize space in the interior which I found super interesting and challenging. I was so curious to see how the building looks in the inside that I searched for more pictures, and that’s when it really shocked me. The inside of this building is as fascinating as the outside is. It has multi-story escalators criss-crossing in the center on the building as well as several large concrete columns in the center.
Another of my favorite buildings I saw that day was the Gherkin. It is a building that would take your breath away. The spiral lines on the design are truly remarkable. I watched an episode of the show megastructures that was about the construction of this building and it was pretty amazing to hear how it uses energy saving methods that allows for the use of power/electricity in the building. As well as shafts on the bottom that are creating a giant double glazing effect not only to allow ventilation to the building, but also add contrast to the design. Overall, it was really nice that all of these contemporary projects were located right next to each other. It gave me different perspectives of how different designs in this style of architecture work in many ways to create something so massive and spectacular for the city.

The Gherkin

Another view of the structure

Part of the Inside-out and the Gherkin in the back

Inside out building

The spiral lines on the design of the Gherkin

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

Day 6: A Day of Adventure

A view of the “Gherkin,” my favorite of the contemporary buildings.

Another view of the “Gherkin”

This morning we started a little bit earlier in order to see some different Banksy pieces around the streets and to make it up to Camden when the Horsestable Market opened. Seeing different Banksy pieces and learning about their meanings was a very awesome experience and it made me very interested in looking into more of their work. Camden was also a very interesting experience, as it was a center of counterculture. I loved being able to see a side of the city that was so different from what I’ve seen all week.

We ended the day by looking at some contemporary highrise buildings, such as the Lloyds Building and the Gherkin. These buildings were particularly interesting for me as they have very interesting structural design.  Being an engineerin student, I was intrigued by how the buildings were designed and constructed using various modern engineering techniques. Overall, today was another incredible day as I learned about many aspects of the city that were new to me.

Nic’s Second Post

In this post I wanted to talk about something I was disappointed with and somrsomet I was impressed by. One of the places I was disappointed by was Leicester Square. The area around Leicester Square is very lively with theaters, Chinatown, restaurants, and shops. While I thought the Lego Store was interesting, and M&M World might be worth looking at to get custon candy, I felt that the square itself was very Americanized, where I would rather see something a little more traditional British or a modern derivative of that. The TGI Fridays, Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, and Burger King seem invasive on this old London square. On the flip side, I was impressed by how well preserved the Magna Carta was at Salisbury Cathedral’s Chapter House. It looked like someone only wrote it years ago instead of centuries. It makes me wonder why the Declaration of Independence and Constitution in the National Archives in Washington DC are so washed out and barely readed, less the fanciful writing. The cathedrals themselves we have visited so far have also been quite impressive given all the details that make up those places and the technology used to construct them. This makes me excited to visit Westminster Abbey later in the trip.

Views on Zaha Hadid’s “skate”

The wood panels of the walls of the Aquatic Center.

Glass seethrough doors, metal railings. Lights on stairs showing through.

A look at metal, glass, and cement working together.

One of the parts that I was most excited for on this trip was visiting the buildings in Olympic Park after learning about their sustainable factors in sustainability class with Aimée. The London Aquatic Center was definitely worth visiting. The sleek curves of the building definitely remind the viewer of an animal gliding through water ever so smoothly. After being inside, I focused on the very stark contrast of materials and how they are able to come together and work so well. The wood panels that make up the walls continue to surprise me. I have never seen rectangular pieces of wood come together to make such curves. The wood and it’s dark color looks as if it’s metal which is also another material seen around the glass of the aquatic center. The use of class is very sleek, causing doors to act more like windows and have the whole building very open and being able to see everything. I’m sure this was even further emphasized before the tinting of the windows that occurred after the building was designed. Another feature adding to the light were strips of light on the stairs going into the seating area. It draws visitors to where to step by also contributing to the abundance of light.

Loraine’s 2nd day in London!

As we did our grand tour of the city of London during the second day, there was so many beautiful sites to see, but the one place that was very special to me was the Princess Diana Memorial at Hyde Park. After a long walk through the city of London, having the Princess Diana Memorial as the last place to visit during our walk was like having a cold glass of water after a great workout. It was such a peaceful moment just to seat down and admire the landscape and the design of the fountain as water flows from two high points giving you the feeling of cascades, after a long day of being in the city. The fresh air, the sunset, and the people just enjoying the view made it all feel so enjoyable and relaxing. As far as the design of the fountain, I noticed that the water swirls and bubbles before meeting at the end in a calm pool with the engraving of Princess Diana’s name alongside the back of the fountain. I also enjoyed the view it gives you facing towards the serpentine river. This memorial really symbolizes Diana’s power and vulnerability with the incorporation of 3 small bridges that gives you access to the center of the oval fountain. I felt all the bridges gave a sense of interaction so visitors can connect or have a more personal contact with the landscape; something that Princess Diana did as she interacted in such an incredible way with the people of England and all around the world. Truly an incredible memorial that represents Princess Diana’s life!

View of the landscape around (the fountain becomes the thin line)

The pool at the bottom of the fountain with the name of Princess Diana engraved in the back

View to Serpentine river from princess Diana memorial

Candice’s 3rd day

The third day morning is by far my favorate. We first sketched the centeral space in the British Museum before the gallery opens. The space is a great combination of modern architecture and traditional architecture. The curve of the roof structure gives the same elegancy with the temple front on the interior facades of the galleries, and the stairs surrounding the central drum like space reminds me of Polladian villas’ stairs on the front. It brings people in, not directly, on a trip around the center. And this is definitly a conversation between modern and tradition. The display in the galleries are fabulous. But it became quite ironic to me that all the treasures around the world is now at this museum while most of them are actually taken from the original country. I am glad that I can get a grisp of all thr cultures around the world within one single museum, but the more I think about how the treasures got here, the more sad and regretful I feel.

 

In the afternoon, we did a boat tour on Thames to Greenwich. The total symmetry of thr courtyard, the Qween’s house and the Observatory, which we didn’t get a chance to see, is overwhleming. Also the paintings at the Royal Dinin Hall is also appealing but it’s an other pity that we just got one glimpse of it. Greenwich is definitly a place worth staying for longer time and I am planning on visiting back！

A good combination of old and new architecture.

Parthenon Frieze collection

Man sketching the sculpture from Parthenon

A very modern, or contemporary bridge cutting into the temple front.

Post 3! – Emoree

Okay. So I think I get it, but I still don’t like it. Zaha fans look away.

The skate, tongue, manta ray, whatever you prefer to call the Olympic Aquatic Center, is lost potential. Don’t get me wrong, Zaha Hadid is the queen of busting architectural boundaries, but she also loses a lot of points with her materiality choices (i.e.using granite with curves).

With this center, the interior is thought provoking in good and bad ways. First, to have the big ceiling be swooping as she does really is amazing. It feels like we’re in a giant whale. But what doesn’t work for me is the kiddie pool side with a giant cement ceiling with droplet cutouts. The two styles mix in a really weird way.

The exterior, however, is another story. Yes, the project is beautiful from the Event Entrance side. The tiled curves give a lot of room for volume. The green patch on the back though…

It was a horrifying scene of dead plants and a literal patch of turf grass. May it have looked better in the beginning? Possibly. Does it look good now? No. Going along with the whale idea, it looks like the leftover brine from the whale’s teeth fronds. It feels as if Zaha thought, “How can I make this LEED certified? Oh yeah, let’s slap on some grass right here.” 

All I’m saying is that the upkeep could have been better, and the design could have been more cohesive between areas.

Day 1 (Patrick)

DAY 1

I was expecting St. Paul’s cathedral to be my highlight of Day 1, but the Barbican Centre surprised me with its alluring landscape and incredible architecture. I didn’t know much about Barbican before, but after walking into the area, it felt like a whole new world to me. The loud sounds of the city were drowned out with the sounds of water splashing, and the eclectic styles that previously surrounded us turned into a tight knit group of brutalist buildings. After learning about failed affordable housing communities in the US, seeing a similar type of community (though not necessarily low income housing) was inspiring, and exciting.

A facade of one of the many apartment buildings in Barbican, highlighting both the greenery and concrete and the way the building sits on the site.

A view of the major area of congregation in Barbican.

Most in our group left shortly after we split up, but myself (and a few others) stuck around and explored most of the area. Even not having seen what an apartment looks like, I would live there in a heartbeat.

Brut Force

Controversial yet powerful, sometimes a success yet often a failure, brutalism is a style of design that commands attention. Although related to the work of Le Corbusier in his housing projects or in a work like La Tourette, the style’s name was brought to critical attention by Banham in his discussion of the work of the Smithsons; therefore I consider the style to be distinctly English in origin. The style may not have the prominence it once had in new design, yet it brings attention to contemporary questions about monumentality, shadow, and urban housing. I hope to visit major sites of brutalist architecture around the London area to see what can be drawn from both loved and hated projects.

Lunchtime, Barbican, 3/10

Lunchtime, National Theater, 3/11

Days 1 and 2

National Theatre

The Barbican

Our first few days here we put our way finding activities into practice. After a short walk around the hotel to get adjusted to the new setting, we began our site visits. Throughout the past few days, we have managed to visit several sites including the Barbican which I was perplexed about at first. Upon entering the Barbican, I wasn’t really sure what made that particular area stand out from an architectural standpoint. When we got inside the Barbican I learned that this area was not just a housing complex but somewhat of a mini city.The Barbican houses a school, theater, library, restaurants and waterways surrounded by an array of flowers plants and other greenery.

On the second day, we made a brief stop at the National Theater, which also falls under the brutalist architecture category. This one looked much different than the Barbican in that it was lighter and had no real green space. The theatre also seemed to be structured in such a way that the focus was on the pillars as a vertical unit, rather than most of them laying horizontal like in the Barbican.

Taylor’s Day 1

Among many things that we did on the first day in London, I found Barbican quite interesting. The brutalist style of architecture usually comes off to me as very heavy and bold, but the way it was used at Barbican made it seem softer and more subtle. I think this had to to with the strong presence of landscape that was woven into the project. The large green spaces that line the plaza space and the plants on the building help to distract the eye from the large concrete mass that makes up the residential buildings. I also think that this development was a great way to incorporate residential areas in the city that have a since of privacy. Overall I think it was a unique project and I think that incorporating plants within the architecture is a unique element that helps blend architecture into the natural environment.

Barbacan

Day One: Done

Me at Barbican Centre, my favorite part of the day.

I just got back to the hotel to unwind a little after a long day of walking around London. We stopped at the Building Center first, which displayed some new and ongoing projects that utilize modern engineering technology. Next we took a double decker bus to Barbican Centre. I thought that everything about Barbican Centere was incredible, especially the brutalist architecture style.

After Barbican, we took a break for lunch and to look at the Museum of London. Unfortunately I had to cut my time short at the museum, so I did not get to look at everything I wanted to see. Maybe I’ll go back when I have some more free time. Next, our group walked over to St. Paul’s Cathedral which was absolutely breathtaking. The most amazing part of the cathedral was the view from the top of the dome which required a grueling trek up many flights of stairs. One other aspect of the cathedral that had me in awe the entire time we were visiting was the attention to detail on all of the surfaces, such as near the altar or in the crypt. Overall, today was incredible to say the least. I’m exhausted after walking all day though I’m extremely excited to see what the rest of the trip us in store.