Author: Nick OBrien

Back to Reality

My experience in Chile was everything I had hoped and more. I can say I definitely received the culture immersion that I had desired and included everything from language to food. This was especially apparent when I walked into a restaurant for lunch the first day and nobody there spoke any English. I will say, the Chilean people were very patient with us “Gringos” and our broken Spanish. Also, I noticed a large part of Chilean cuisine was either very meat or fish heavy, this was fine by me as I am relatively open-minded when it comes to food.

The one thing that really stuck out to me about Santiago and Valparaiso was their proper use of all the land available to them. Santiago was the most expansive city I have ever seen, I don’t think I was able to see all the way to the end of it even at the top of the Costanera Tower. And in Valparaiso, with the steep landscape, they were able to build up to use all the space they could in a very dense landscape.

Even with all this dense urban environment, the idea of a natural landscape was never lost on the Chilean people. This is an idea that I think needs to make its way to America more, it seemed like everywhere I was in Santiago, I was only a short walk from the nearest park. There were numerous parks all throughout the city, some with wide open areas, and some with much more condensed space. The important thing was that there was a space for everyone’s wants and needs in these parks.

Plaza de Armas; Creating Sketches and the Importance of Spaces.

Diagram of trees in Plaza de Armas.

Diagram of benches in Plaza de Armas.

Sketch of the aerial plan of Plaza de Armas.

When you are immersed in Plaza de Armasa, it is difficult to understand a layout of  the space. I found it very difficult to put what I was seeing onto paper. That is why I chose to take this sketch on in various steps. By breaking it down I was able to further understand the design of the plaza’s vegetation. As noted in class, the major organization in the plaza is a 8×5 grid of palm trees. But to further emphasize the importance of the plaza, there is a change of elevation coming from the streets up to the center of the plaza where most of the shade is. The fountain in the middle of the plaza also is the main focal point in the plaza, but there also is a gazebo on the x-axis coming from the fountain that is important as well, as it a unique presence in the plaza that provides a unique space for activity. Overall, the plaza provides many spaces for everything from street performances, to relaxing in the shade and is very successful at it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Critiquing Public Parks and their Draw to Locals

My idea of public parks is that they are areas where people can gather and relax or play sports and games. I wanted to analyze the Infant Park and Bicentenario Park and their effectiveness in creating spaces welcome for activity as well as relaxation and overall usefulness.

Overall, I believe that the Infant Park is more successful in creating a welcoming environment that is welcoming to small children and adults alike. The water spheres were a neat area that kids can both run around in as well as sit down and relax. I even saw a local girl sitting on top of one of the spheres as chaos ensued around her. There is also seating nearby so the adults can closely supervise their kids. Even when walking through I stuck my hand in the water and enjoyed the mist this area was creating on a hot day. The wooden houses are a great example of where kids can go to relax. They are relatively private in the way that the slats have a very thin opening in between them. They are also small enough so that only kids can comfortably occupy them. This acts as almost a sanctuary for the kids from their parents. Finally, the slides in the park are easily enjoyable for people of all ages. Most of the people in our class tried out a slide as well as a parent who was there with their kid. The best part of this playground was that although there are some age restrictions, there were still areas that older kids and parents could enjoy as well.

Park Bicentenario, although a very nice space, was less successful in creating a space that was enjoyable for everyone. There was a lot of occupiable space, but it was mostly flat and difficult to let your imagination run, unlike in the Infant Park. The playground sets in Bicentenario are also very similar to American playgrounds where everything is pretty much scripted. This also conflicts with letting kids imaginations create activities in a space. I also believe the fact that is right next to a street but isn’t completely enclosed is a deterrent to parents to let their kids run around in this park. The Infant Park doesn’t have that problem as it is completely enclosed.

Overall, both parks are enjoyable spaces. I think the Infant Park was more active than Park Bicentenario due to the fact that it is more catered to kids. But I also believe the space is organizes better and more conducive to activity due to how it was designed. The designers knew that not only would kids be coming, the parents would be coming as well and they did a very good job including the parents in the design of the park . Park Bicentenario was less busy because it was very open with little shade. In a hot climate like this, shade is necessary for people to visit a park during the summer. Both parks are successful, I just believe that more can be done to help make Park Bicentenario even more successful.

Water Spheres at Infant Park

Small Wooden Houses at Infant Park

Water Landscape in Park Bicentenario

Highway Immediately next to Park Bicentenario

Small Playground Set in Park Bicentenario

A Trip to the Past Through Art and Architecture

My sketch of the statues in the Precolombian Museum

The main attraction in the Precolombian Museum in the newly renovated underground gallery space, designed by Smiljan Radic. When entering the lowest level, there becomes a very clear emphasis towards the left end which contains these statues. This hierarchy is created mostly by light. The room is very dark, except for on the end above these statues. This light draws your eyes to the sculptures. I found it especially interesting that the light cast shadows on the figures to create features like their eyes. These shadows really emphasized that these abstractions were meant to represent people of the Rapa Nui culture, and their use of protruding and sunken areas was truly amazing for the time period they were created.

Nick’s Pre-Departure Blog Post

We leave in less than 48 hours. I never thought the day would come, it felt so far away when we returned for Spring Semester. The warmth and the sun are almost calling my name as we continue through yet another grey Ohio winter.

I am looking forward to not only seeing beautiful and creative works such as the Costanera Tower, Mestizo and the slide park but also to be immersed into a totally new culture. I am not only excited about the architecture, I am also very excited to eat new food and (attempt to) put my 4 years of high school Spanish class to use.

I am nervous about my sketching, as it’s not totally where I was hoping it would be at this point. Hopefully I can figure it out on the fly, and I am looking forward to the constant practice and hopefully some improvement. What I can’t capture with my sketching I will definitely try my best to capture with a picture at least.

I am going to be the first person in my family to travel to South America, and I can’t wait to have stories and new experiences to tell them when I get back home.