Author: Xhoana Nikolli

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   It has been only 48 hours since we came back from Chile but somehow feels like a distant memory. I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to visit Chile, a country that I would not be able to travel to if it wasn’t for this study abroad program. 

   Before I traveling to Chile I told my self that I would need to “be comfortable with being uncomfortable”. When I landed there I found my self feeling more at home in Chile than in Ohio. Parts of the city felt like I was back home in Europe. I think most of the people in the trip felt the same way because I would catch them referring to the hotel as their home. I think this is because the people there were so kind and patient even with our high school level Spanish. 

   My favorite thing from Chile was their attitude towards architecture and social spaces. Their architecture was so vibrant and unique. It was different for the US and it was different from their neighbors. The difference from house to house in the same neighborhood is what gives the Chilean architecture so much richness. As for social spaces and streets, I think that it has more to do with their culture than city planning and landscape. No matter how hard we try to imitate those in Ohio, sadly it would not have the same success as in Chile. 

   Now I am sitting in studio, my second home. I’m trying so incorporate the things I learned in Chile into my studio project, while reminiscing about the sunshine, clear skies and 80degree weather. 

Oh and BTW my goal in Chile was to meet a llama and I’m happy to say that I did 🙂

Light and Perception of Space

Blue glass at church

Light at monastery

Light above statue at Pre-Colombian Art Museum

    Some of my favorite buildings that we saw on this trip were the monastery, the church, the pre Colombian art museum. A common theme in these buildings was the play of light. Each one of these buildings created three completely different atmospheres using unique techniques. 

    The Pre-Colombian Art Museum is a dark space due to the black painted walls. In the basement, the architect light the space with artificial lights. He was very particular in choosing the color, type and intensity of light. On the handrail he used a continuous light to take people down to the basement. Above the statues he used artificial light that was reflected on wood to soften the harsh light. These materials and lights allowed for a dark and heavy space.

   The Benedictine monastery is the complete opposite experience of the Pre-Colombian Art Museum. The monastery is made of a series of planes that are pulled apart to allow for light to come through. In some instances, like in the side walls, 4’ of the bottom wall is pulled in creating a slip for light to get in. The entire space is white with sublime light washing over the interior of the building and showing Gods’ presence. 

   Lastly, the church at the university used a combination of natural and artificial lights. They used artificial light on the floating roof and angled slits on the wall to bring in natural light. Additionally they used colored glass to transform the natural light into a intense blue light. This church also had a sublime effect but it was created more by the color than the puncture of light through the space. 

Extended precedent analysis

View from the campus

View from Main Street

View from building across the street

I was very exited to visit the innovation center by elemental, especially because someone in my studio just did a precedent analysis on it. When I first learned about the building the most intriguing thing was it’s monumental look. When I saw the building in person I was pleasantly surprised by the facade. The concrete was not one continuous smooth surface. Instead it expressed the texture of the wood formwork. The grain of the wood softened the look of the harsh concrete while the connection joints of the wood pieces created a textured effect. The floors of the buildings are exposed by the joints of the formwork. When I walked inside I was surprised at how small the atrium was. The floors were straightforward with the elevator core in one side and offices/work space around the atrium. The special part of the building for me were the triple floored balconies and its iconic look. That is why for my sketches I was more focused on how it looked from different spots on campus. 

Pre-Colombian Museum

 

 ETFE

Art installation/telephone wires

 Map

 Stair

My favorite building that we visited today was the PreColombian Art Museum. The entire building is full of surprises that begin with the front facade. It’s is a neoclassical facade meaning that it uses principles of antique architecture while continuing to pursue forward thinking as new inventions. The front facade has a huge contemporary, glass door that gently connects to the old architecture. Radic does a great job of preserving the old architecture while using extremely progressive pieces like ETFE to enhance and change the perception of the space. 

I really appreciate Radic’s attention to the small details. They are very easy to spot on the stairs. The stairs are a mate black with light under the handrail which illuminates the edges and guides you into the dark basement gallery. On the higher floors the stair touches the wall and the and the handrail is displaced from the wall while on the lower floors the stairs themselves are also offset from the wall. The layering of these illuminating spaces gives the space depth and create a sublime feeling. 

Layering and levels of transparency are another big theme in this building. They can be seen as soon as you walk into the building and see the double layers of ETFE that filter in light but also allow for a abstracted view of the buildings above. This is also seen in the pop out map on the stairs that is overlaid with red outlines of the specific areas. The display cases were extremely elegant in the way that they seemed to cantilever off the ground. The display case and well as the inside stands that held up the vases are made out of glass creating an airy/ floating feeling. The layering effect used by the architect is also found in the new art installations. There was layering of colored fabric, layered transparent screens in which light was being projected on and what was probably not intentional but I really liked was the layering of the strings holding up the colored and the telephone wires connecting to the surrounding buildings.The art that is influenced  by the architecture brings attention to these architectural details that could easily be missed. 

Pre-departure Post

I put off writing this until I got to the airport because I could not believe that the day is here. It has been an hectic semester so I can not wait for a well deserved break. I hope that this class will be very educational but relaxing as well. I can not wait to escape this cold weather and enjoy some sunshine!

The thing I’m most exited about is finaly getting to visit the buildings that we’ve learned so much about. I can not wait to make my own observations of the buildings. I am also looking forward to the free day. I still don’t know what I will be doing, but I am excited to find out what interests me most.

I am looking forward to being surrounded with the Chilean culture and language. I will have to wait and see if my high school Spanish classes paid off. I know that I will have a bit of a difficult time due to the language barrier but it will be fun trying to figure out how to communicate through signs and pictures.

Ps. I am the most exited about the possibility to see or get to pet a llama. Because architecture is great and all that but the llamas would definitely be the highlight of this trip!