Barcelona

I haven't had a real break for Easter since high school. My memories of Easter for the past seven(?) years has been stressing out about schoolwork while trying to enjoy some Easter celebration or another. This year I got a real break. Four days with no responsibility other than to be a good architecture explorer. My place of choice was Barcelona. 

There's really too much to say, so I'm just going to let the pictures speak for themselves, but my general impression of the city was that of warmth, both in terms of temperature and ambiance. Being in Barcelona makes the streets of Paris seem cold, especially since we haven't seen a day without rain since before Easter. 

It was also impressive to see the types of forms Gaudi was able to create before all the digital technology of today.

Casa Batllo, Gaudi 

Casa Batllo, Gaudi 

Casa Batllo, Gaudi 

Park Guell, Gaudi 

Park Guell, Gaudi 

Park Guell, Gaudi 

Park Guell, Gaudi 

Sagrada Familia, Gaudi

Sagrada Familia, Gaudi

Sagrada Familia, Gaudi

Barcelona Forum Building, HdM

Parc de Diagonal-Mar, Enric Miralles

Parc de Diagonal-Mar, Enric Miralles

Parc de Diagonal-Mar, Enric Miralles

Beach between the Form and the Fish

Fish, Gehry

Old Town

Santa Catarina Market, Enric Miralles

Santa Catarina Market, Enric Miralles

Barcelona Pavilion, Mies

Joan Miro Foundation, Sert

Barcelona Cathedral

There was a morning where I decided to wander without a map in an area outside of the usual tourist territory. I went for a walk in the mountains to the north. Really great experience. Saw a woman walking her dog and saying hello to all her neighbors, children playing in the street, and an old man pruning a tree. Would have liked to take a pictures if I hadn't felt uncomfortable with interrupting his tranquility. I was reminded of going on walks with my grandmother in the mountains of Taiwan where she lives, where everyone knows each other and there's a strong sense of neighborhood. Instead of taking a picture of the man and his tree, i took a picture of one the neighbors' doors... 

These were the most enjoyable street musicians I've heard since coming to Europe. I was pretty amused when the guy brought his enormous bass onto the train and started plucking out a beat. I really enjoy street music here. It's generally more cultured than what one gets in the states. A lot of classical music; I've seen brass players, violinists, pianists, woodwinds... Is it the culture here or that the street performers are actually of a higher class? And yes they perform on trains. The first time this happened I thought there was music playing over the speakers on the train, but later realized it was the performers when they came around to collect. 

Gothic Quarter

The chamfered corners of the Barcelona block really threw off my rhythm when I first arrived and went to my hostel. I'm used to mindlessly following the surface of the buildings to my right or left in order to go straight, but in Barcelona, this habit would end up with me walking in circles around a block. I didn't actually do this, but intersections made me think about the way I'm used to walking around a city. 

If I were to go back to Spain, I would want to travel with someone else. It felt like a place to be with others. (Especially when restaurants put two straws in your sangria when you're the only one there...) I did, however, meet a really fascinating traveler from Turkey, an architect from Chile, a family from France, an irritating couple from China, and some very helpful Catelonians, so overall not a lonely venture.

Promenade Plantée à Bois de Vincennes

Spring happened a few weeks ago, and now I'm back in my winter jacket. Meanwhile here's some beautiful photos to remind us all of how miserable it was outside for most of this week.

I took an amazingly long walk from Bastille to the Bois de Vincennes, elevated up on the promenade plantée. This was described to me as the 'high-line' of Paris. Both the High Line in New York and the promenade plantée are linear parks created from old unused elevated rail lines. Paris' was the original.

The biggest difference to note was that the high-line was made to be extroverted, to walk along and watch the spectacle of New York City life down below. Promenade Plantée was much more self-engaged, an escape. It was often difficult to see the city to either side. Two ways to think about a park.



At the end, after 3 miles of walking, is the absolutely enormous Bois de Vincennes (Vincennes Forest). It's three times bigger than Central Park in New York and was originally a hunting grounds for the kings of France. Walking along the lake reminded me of the sunset my studio enjoyed together by the lake in Beijing last semester.

Notre Dame de l'Arche d'Alliance

Church designed by Architectural Studio, completed in 1998.

The metal 'netting' which starts inside and extends outside of the church is supposed to provide a transition between the church and its urban environment. I don't buy it, but I liked the way the colors from the stained glass windows were reflected off the grid on the interior.

First time seeing a contemporary take on the stained glass window.

The church is held up on pillars to symbolize the ark of the covenant. Underneath and around the volume was a rather nice park where there were people relaxing, reading, and children playing.

Ecole des Beaux Arts

I'm wondering how many people outside of architecture, art, and art history know about the École des Beaux-Arts. It was the most prestigious school for art and architecture back in the day and is the originator of much of what is architectural education today. It was fantastic to see.

The place is something of a museum while at the same time a school. I'm thinking this is a result of how they used to teach, by studying examples of antiquity. There are statues and cornices and paintings scattered throughout the school. Random corridor, statue. Stairway, statue. Courtyard, statue. Awesome.

The area around was nice to see as well. Stopped in a bunch of clothing boutiques to be frightened off by the prices, and tried macaroons at both Pierre Hermé and La Durée, the macaroon rivals of Paris. Pierre Hermé won.