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COVID-19 Trip

Visiting London was a dream come true to me. It’s definitely one of my favorite places that I have ever been to. Seeing all the architecture that we learned about and experiencing all the landscapes we learned over the past 3 years was definitely amazing. It definitely felt so different and even more prettier in real life. I felt like pictures cannot show the beauty of the architecture. I loved everything about London (Except the part when my phone got stolen). My favorite part is that I got a chance to travel with my best friend and also studio partner and go to our favorite buildings together. I got so many ideas from all the towers and building we saw, I wished that studio stayed the same way to actually reflect all the ideas I saw. Even with all the things that was going on, we kept on going and experiencing all the places we planned on going to. I really appreciate all the offered Aimee and Troy put to make it possible to all of us to keep the trip as planned. I also hoped that I still have my phone to post some of the pictures I took. I cannot wait to go back to London and experience it in a different way.

Conflict in Architecture

For one of the last blog posts for this trip I thought it would be nice to reflect on the experience. Coming to London I was riding this high of leaving for spring break. I was in a state of excitement because I knew I was going to turn 20 in London whilst also just leaving mid review on high hopes. I was excited to see St. Paul’s, Tate modern and the general city context. For the most part I was very fulfilled by this trip. That being said, in the midst of the trip our academic semester was put to a halt due to the Coronavirus. So as the trip progressed the pandemic began to morph our classes to become online and to start us on a process to leave the university. For me, this conflict made me wonder and reflect on architecture that is created from conflict. An example being north Ireland within the years of 1960-90. During this time the country was under siege but the city Belfast was still developing and the city’s architecture reflects that. In the case of London you can see much of the architecture around St. Paul’s. During WW2, St Paul’s was protect by people constantly however the aerial surrounding it was completely destroyed. Due to this the architecture around the cathedral was birthed out of conflict.

 

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A Take On Stonehenge

Our visit to Stonehenge was one thing that I looked forward to the most out of everything we had planned on this trip. When we arrived at the parking lot, the stones were nowhere in site, but a short bus trip down the road revealed the stones slowly as we went over the hill. It was a windy and rainy day, but that did not stop me from taking in the amazing view of the stones that stood in front of me. In my sketch I wanted to capture the massing of the stones and how they relate to each other in size and shape. I also wanted to capture the different shades of darkness, which included shadows and natural darkening of the stones. Luckily I had a lot of time on the site and I was able to capture most of the details with out having to use a picture. Finishing the sketch on site meant I had to sit in the rain to get it done, but it was worth it!

Moss Overload

I feel like visiting Stourhead is a right of passage for us landscape architects. It is a truly unique example of life imitating art and of course an overall breath taking view from all angles. Being me, I always tend to gravitate towards the smaller things that make up the larger whole and at Stourhead, there was no shortage of moss covering the different fabrics of the landscape. The bright green clumps, once food for dinosaurs, has now canvased these damp and shady environments on a massively intriguing scale.

Tree base at Stourhead covered in Stegosaurus food.

On almost every tree, you could see the army of bright green soldiers slowly leeching its way over the knees and up the base. Pushing your hands down onto it and feeling the soft complexion of what lies at the surface and below is like pushing on a pillow. The moss makes all the difference in that it is a high contrast addition to what inhabits its surroundings.

Oculus inside the grotto at Stourhead.

Small Moss Covered Grottos

Stairs leading through small moss covered grottos

Larger grotto covered in moss with a bench.

Rocks, they are already a cool rustic structural part of Stourhead. Used to form all of the grottos and cave like formations, which in return create these microclimates perfect for sustaining our little green friend. The moss all over these rocks are in combination with other creeping ground cover species that only add more detail to the contrast between the stone and the moss, now there are darker green plants to further establish the explicit call out of the moss.

One of many signs at Stourhead making sure we take care of ourselves.

Where the Royals have Been

I’ve been obsessed with the Royals ever since I can remember. My love for Queen Elizabeth was obvious because we shared the same name, so much so that I wrote her a letter when I was little and was lucky enough to get one back from her “lady in waiting”. Being able to be inside of the place where she was coronated, being able to see the coronation chair, and walking that same ground was so amazing to me. Also being able to be in the same place where Kate and William recently got married was so amazing, from watching it on TV to actually being in that same room they were once in.

Even though we couldn’t take many pictures of Westminster, there were so many interesting things inside of it. I personally loved the way that it was a constantly changing church. The way our lovely tour guide described it as, things are constantly being added so we are not frozen in a gothic time, but rather be more dynamic. I really liked this concept because many times I am in a gothic church, it sometimes does feel a bit frozen in time. Not that some architecture shouldn’t be completely preserved in the completely original form, but I think it’s important to remember to stay dynamic and understanding as the ages pass.

Inside of the chapter house at Westminster

For our museum of choice, we went to Tower of London and saw the Crown Jewels, another very important part of the Royals that I was beyond excited to see.

White Tower at Tower of London

Frightening Traitor’s Gate at Tower of London

A Willingness to Change?

London continues to amaze. I have been afforded the opportunity to visit some culturally and historically rich sites of England. These sites included Stonehenge, Westminster Abbey, and Tower of London. After all sites had been visited, I think the idea that stuck out the most to me was the idea of change. The Blue Badge Tour Guide at Westminster Abbey indicated that the church was a combination of years of ideas with no original plan. He elaborated that even though Westminster may appear to be finished, they will continue to update the architecture to fit current needs. I found this idea that they would be so willing to change the building as seen fit instead of freezing it in its current time period very unique. The openness to change was quite different than what I experienced in Stonehenge and Tower of London. Stonehenge had had an unfortunate history of vandalism before it became a much more regulated area, but as a result, Stonehenge never seems likely to change. The historical preservationist organization that cares for the structure seem to have frozen it in place with only additions and changes to infrastructure around the site. This idea seemed more normal as that has been my general experience. When going to museums like the Tower of London, the pieces within seem to be static and unlikely to ever change. The whole idea of willingness to change was extremely surprising to me, but I am glad that the people of England and its visitors will have spaces that make sense for current uses instead of outdated purposes.

West works of Westminster Abbey. Latest additions include 10 small statues above doorway.

Stonehenge: A Complete Mystery of Use

White Tower within larger Tower of London fortress

Day out of the city.

On our visit outside the city yesterday, i was so exited to see Stourhead. It’s been the place that I want to visit ever since my freshman year. I was waiting for that day. I was hoping to spend more time on it and do a sketch there, but the weather didn’t go right. When we first entered, I saw the painting becoming real. That was very interesting, and so mush better than I imagined. My favorite part was the grotto, it was so much bigger than I thought. And the view from the opening was amazing. I loved every detail about it, and how beautiful this landscape is.

Going to the next stop, Salisbury Cathedral was the most beautiful place in the day trip yesterday. I loved the Cathedral and the town. It was also bigger than I thought, and it has so many details that made me just look at it nonstop. I loved the town as well, it felt like a place I want to live in, so relaxing and small and active. The smell of the bakeries and how old the buildings was, I think it was prefect for a day out of the big city. I wished we spent more time on it and walk more and experience everything about that place.

View from the nave of Salisbury Cathedral

Reflecting of the wall to the fountain in the middle

Details of Salisbury Cathedral.

View from grotto to the landscape

View of Stourhead

My First Days in London!

Having experienced so much within a few days, I can’t just pick one favorite place I’ve been to. Walking through Barbican and experiencing the brutalist architecture was very interesting to me. I always thought brutalist architecture was harsh and ugly (oops). However, walking through Barbican really made me appreciate the simplicity behind the structures. My favorite parts were definitely the green spaces and water features. I also really liked the lecture before hand. I thought it prepared me to admire the meaning of the structures before I walked through the scene again. Understanding why a designer used a different texture of cement helped me notice more details.

Barbican Apartments With Greens!

I also really enjoyed Saint Paul’s Cathedral. This cathedral, along with Salisbury cathedral, was on the top of my list and it definitely lived up to it’s expectations. Comparing the surrounding architecture to this cathedral is like trying to compare the size of the moon to the Earth. It was massive and impressive. I felt tiny walking inside and I felt like I was flying when I went to the top of the dome. The details inside of the building were amazing as well. My favorite part of the inside was the quire. I really like the contrast of the dark wood with the gold everywhere else.

Interior of Saint Paul’s Cathedral.

Another fun moment I experienced was sliding down the Twizzler at the Olympic Park. It was funny that we had to use the helmets and arm pads but I had a lot of fun going down the slide.

The Twizzler!

Kamilla Wieckowski

Latifa’s blog post 1

St. Paul’s was my favorite place to visit so far. I was so exited to visit it ever since I started architecture. It was very nice to visit St. Paul’s on the first day. I knew it was going to be a beautiful building, but when we walked out of the underground station and I saw it, it took my breath away. I was very impressed with the exterior, and the details. I stayed there looking at it for the longest time, just because I couldn’t get enough of how perfect it was. It looked way bigger than what I imagined it, I took me time to go around it.

When I went to the inside, it looked so much better. It was hard to go up the stairs, took me a while to get there. But after seeing the view it was definitely worth it. I loved how we could see all London with different types of architecture, which it also helped me get inspired with the next studio project we are working at. Even though we viewed London in so many different, St. Paul’s was my favorite view out of all of them. I think the way going up to it would be part of the reason why it looked that way. Going up in these small steps to a very pretty view at the end, it’s like reward at the end of the experience.

St. Paul’s dome from the inside.

View from top of St. Paul’s to Tate Modern

St. Paul’s from the top of the New Change Mall.

Latifa’s Pre Departure

 

I am super exited to be in London in few hours! I cannot wait to arrive there. I have been waiting for this day for so long, and it’s finally here. I have so many place in mind to visit, there are places that I am most exited to visit then others.

The first place would be St. Paul’s Cathedral. I am super exited to walk in between the domes, hopefully it is not scary, but even if it is, I really want to experience the feeling. I also wants to see the inside of the cathedral and the beautiful details of the architecture.

The other place would be Kew Gardens, especially the palm house. I hope the weather would be good to walk around, but I am so excited to take pictures of everyone there, also walking on the glass bridge. It’s going to be a different experience.

Another would be Olympic village, the most exited thing about that is the slide. I have being watching YouTube videos about what is it like to go down that slide, and I cannot wait to try it myself.

I am so exited to visit food markets, I think it would be something very interesting, and exited to try different food.

Latifa’s Bio

This picture of me taking by my fave person Nasra!!

This picture of me taking by my fave person Nasra!!

Hi my name is Latifa, I am a Junior, majoring in Architecture and Arabic, with a minor in City & Regional Planning. I like traveling and learning about different countries and cultures. I’m originally from Iraq, I have been living in Columbus for 11 years. I have traveled to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and recently to Amsterdam. Architecture has always been a dream to me, and I finally made it this far. I’m going for an internship to Dubai this summer, I am super exited to finally practice architecture in real life.

I am super exited to go to London and see everything we have been learning about. This trip would help me with viewing the world differently, and with learning more about architecture.

Bio

Hi I’m Casey Whalen. I am an architecture major and I am considering a minor in environmental engineering. My home town is Avon Lake, Ohio, which is a suburb on the west side of Cleveland. I graduated from Avon Lake High School where I played soccer and ran track. Other hobbies of mine include art, mainly 3D art such as ceramics, and reading. When I’m not doing any of those activities I’m most likely watching Netflix. I love my hometown because I have a large extended family that all live close to each other, so when I’m home I get to see my family all the time. Being far from my family is the biggest change that I felt at OSU but I love this school and the campus! I am very excited to go to London because I have never been out of the country before. In London I am most excited to see Stonehenge because the mystery of it fascinates me and I am excited to get a real sense of its scale when we see it in person. I am also excited to see St. Paul’s Cathedral because I really love the architecture and ornamentally of historic churches.

Me in Chicago this past summer.