Culin Thompson - Study Abroad Germany - Czech Republic - Italy Spain - France - England Summer 2015
6 Weeks Architecture + Urban Planning
Program Itinerary May 31 - June 4: June 5 - June 7: June 8 - June 11: June 12: June 13 - June 15: June 16 - June 19: June 20 - June 21: June 22 - June 27: June 28: June 29 - June 30: July 1 - July 5: July 6 - July 8:
Berlin, Germany Prague, Czech Republic Berlin, Germany Hamburg, Germany Munich, Germany Venice, italy Florence, Italy Rome, Italy Terracina, Italy Barcelona, Spain Paris, France London, England
Brandenburger Tor Berlin, Germany Constructed: 1791
Triumphial Arch Completed in 1791, the Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate) was built on the site of the former city gate marking the beginning of the Unter den Linden. The monumentality of the gate echos the militaristic and brutalist nature of German culture. While visiting the gate the kickoff for the UEFA Championships was hosted surrounding the gate providing an interesting scenario in which the gate and surrounding streets were utilized as a public pedestrian zone (seen below).
Berlinner Dom Berlin, Germany Constructed: 1454
Light & Contrast Berlinner Dom - the Berlin Cathedral - is marked by natural light and a striking contrast of spirtual architecture and statuary against the harsh and brutal architecture of soviet-occupied Berlin. The large painted dome is topped with a clearstory window allowing additional natural light into the heart of the Cathedral.
St. James Cathedral Prague, Czech Republic Constructed: 1400’s
Baroque Prague was an incredible city characterized by a wide spread of architectural styles. St. James Cathedral was a beautifully crafted baroque Cathedral in the center of Old Town Prague. The stripped simplistic front facade topped with molding emphasizes the large-scale ceiling frescoes and interior sculptures and paintings on the interior of the Cathedral.The unfin-
ished architectural forms such as the exterior columns highlight the beautiful frescoes which dominate the interior of the church. In comparison to the other churches visited during the trip, St. James Cathedral featured bright colors and vibrant, ornate details.
St. Vitus Cathedral Prague, Czech Republic Constructed: 1344
Juxtaposition St. Vitus Cathedral was constructed within the complex of the Czech Republic Catle and embodies the different architectural styles and characteristics of Prague. The gothic front towers contrast strongly against the centralized clock tower - seemingly designed within Baroque or Rococoo inspired stylistic elements. The interior of St. Vitus Cathedral, in stark con-
trast to St. James Cathedral (the other main cathedral in Prague), is plain and gothic in its style. The stone arches and vaults structually support (alongside the buttresses) the thinned exterior walls filled with stained glass windows letting in natural colored light. This colored light fills the interior volumes of the church, lighting the floor and creating a magical experience while one attends service or visits the Cathedral.
While in Prague I additionally had the opportunity to attend church service inside of St. Vitus. A bird was inside of the church during the service and seemed to echo the chants and prayers of the monks and churchgoers attending service and worshiping inside of the space. The large vaulted ceilings inside of the nave of the cathedral created an awe in which one feels the omnipotence of Heaven
and portrays the vertical ascention one experiences to the afterlife.
Berlin Olympiastadion Berlin, Germany Constructed: 1936 Capacity: 74,475
Axial Emphasis One of the strongest identities in Nazi architecture was a sense of monumentality and the highlighting of the axis within urban planning and urban design. The design of the Berlin Olympic Stadium highlighted this strong central axis within the park’s design. This axis runs from the central plaza, through the central entrance towers, into the stadium, and through the stadium to the bell tower.
Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Berlin, Germany Constructed: 1936
Place of Terror The immediate feeling and sense when walking in the front gate house of Sachsenhausen was terror. A feeling of darkness, oppression, and terror strikes one and emotions take over. The barren and void yard with gravel traces of barracks, surrounded by guard towers and tall fences produces a feeling of entrapment and oppression in which individuals wander solmenly around the yard aimlessly not knowing what to look at or for.
Munich Olympiastadion Munich, Germany Constructed: 1972 Capacity: 57,450
Stadium for Democracy Munich’s design for their Olympic Stadium - in striking contrast to the Berlin stadium - highlighted the idea of equality, democracy, and non-monumentality. By building the stadium into the ground instead of monumentally developing it above ground, the design referenced Greek amphitheaters built into the hillsides.
Allianz Arena Munich, Germany Constructed: 2005 Capacity: 71,137
Modern Machine Built in 2005, the Allianz Arena in Munich was the newest area I visited. The area features 2,875 ETFE panels which comprise the facade of the stadium. Designed by Herzog & de Meuron, the building illuminates to proudly display the home team (red
for Bayern, blue for 1860, and white for the German National Team). Though the building features modern technology, it still required steel gate modification to reduce the Venturi Effect from drafts entering the stadium at the gate level (seen on the right).
Venice, Italy Founded: 421 Population: 260,060
Frozen City Venice was an incredible location due to its unique property of being nearly frozen in time - its water channels prevent cars and therefore streetlights, airplane noise and other modern day polluters are rarely seen or heard within Venice proper. This experience, coupled with the piazzas and squares scattered throughout the city created a city of true urban design at the pedestrian scale.
Piazza San Marco Venice, Italy Constructed: 800-1100
City Square The Piazza San Marco is perhaps one of the most influential public zones in the world - serving as the principal port and method of trade for the city-state of Venice in its historical presence as a center of trade. While in Venice I had the opportunity to sit and study the square, including how people utilized its different zones and began to migrate throughout the public space. One of the first initial observations I encountered was the fact that due to its historical significance and culture, the draw of tourism had manipulated how the square was first designed to be occupied. This created what I describe as clusters, or crowds of individuals either observing the square or resting and occupying the public zone. These clusters, however, rarely congregated in the middle of the plaza. They gathered for the most part around the corners of buildings, in front of the Cathedral,
and along the edge of the square nearby the cafes and restraunts. This allowed for pedestrians walking through the square to utilize the central passages if they desired to, however, I observed that as one approached the Cathedral the individual began to favor a specific side of the square rather than continuing down the central axis of the main square (see diagram to the left). When turning towards the water, however, the axis became much smaller and as a result individuals walking through to the waterfront began to utilize the central passage oncemore. I credit this fact to the termination of the axis at the Cathedral and the natural tendency of persons to migrate towards a terminus - despite the area or size of the passageways.
Fondazione Querini Stampalia Venice, Italy Founded: 1869
Perspective & Detail The famous Italian architect Carlo Scarpa designed the Venice location of the Fondazione Querini Stampalia. The renovated building features a heightened sense and focus on water - as the flooding of venice created the necessity of a design solution to move and prevent water from destroying artwork and installations within the
foundation building. These design features include trenches, steps and retaining walls both inside and outside of the building in order to address and prevent water damage. The detail work of the building additionally featured strong lines of axis in both the vertical and horizontal directions. This
strong sense of lines of axis generated strong perspectival views of which the artwork framed. Though the detail work by Scarpa involved a tremendous amount of thought and design thought, the construction of the spaces did not live up to the potential of the design. Numerous axis
lines were not parallel or did not match to the level of construction required to complete a building designed with the level of detail to which Scarpa desired.
Trenches and retaining walls allow water to flow in and out in an easily directed manner.
Strong horizontal and vertical lines emphasize detail work in design, while the tops of the stone panels do not match the level of detail construction required.
Duomo di Firenze Florence, Italy Constructed:1436
Innovation Similar to the gothic arches in St. Vitus Cathedral, the interior of the Duomo di Firenze features simplistic, gothic styles in which the walls are stripped of most ornamentation and allow in natural light. Perhaps the most impressing feat of the design
of the Duomo was the lack of understanding, engineering, and preparation in its construction. Constructed purely off of intuition and experience, the Duomo is an engineering feat and wonder.
Rome, Italy Founded: 753 BC Population: 2,900,000
St. Peter’s Basilica Vatican City Constructed: 1506-1626
Ascention
I truly believe that pictures and sketches cannot express the beauty and experience of being at Vatican City. The second I stepping into the outstretched arms of St. Peter’s portico, I experienced something I’ve never felt before and became awestruck in a manner unfelt elsewhere on this trip. The pure craftsmanship of the stonework, the beauty in the fine detailing, marble patterns, cuts, and
lines all converge to create an atmosphere of spirtuality and reflection within a space that can only be seen in person to truly comprehend. The amount of natural lighting, intergration of the numerous dome structures, statuary, sheer volume of space alongside the spirtual significance of St. Peter’s and Vatican City create a true wonder in my eyes.
Pantheon Rome, Italy Constructed: 118-128
Innovation The Pantheon is truly a marvel of technology, construction and innovation within architecture and design. Utilizing concrete within the Ancient Roman Era the Pantheon displays the advancement of the ancient romans. The occulus at the apex of the roof allows in light and displays the relationship the Roman Church previously housed within the building held with the stars and heavens.
The size of the dome structure was amazing one of the largest concrete domes in the world. One notable fact I found when visiting the site was the slope of the floor. Peaking at the center under the occulus, the floor slopes downwards towards the edges of the building where drains are located to drain the water out of the building.
Colosseum Rome, Italy Constructed: 70-80
Piazza del Campidoglio Rome, Italy Designed: 1538 Completed: 1940
Perspective Designed by Michelangelo, the square is bordered by Renaissance designed architectural facades and serves as the governmental center of the city of Rome. Perhaps the most interesting feature to the square, in my opinion, is the fact that it does not take a rectangular shape, but rather adopts a polygon. This allows a forced perspective viewplane out from the center of the square down the stairs and to the rest of the city of Rome.
The congruence in design of the three buildings bordering the square allows a continuity to be formed - uniting the square symbolically as a united city between the 7 hills of Rome. The central building features a clock and bell tower - symbolically relating the building to the level of importance churchs hold with their towers. This raises the importnace of the level of democracy within the Roman and Italian governmental systems.
La Sagrada Familia Barcelona, Spain Designed: 1882
The initial foundation and basement church were laid and constructed in a Gothic style - upon which Gaudi changed when appointed as the architect.
Parc Guell Barcelona, Spain Constructed: 1914
The Louvre Paris, France Constructed: 1546 (palace) 1989 (pyramid)
Distraction I believe the Pyramid at the Louvre is a phenomenal addition to the museum. Its glass simplicity allows the design to softly juxtapose the classicism of the Louvre Palace behind the design while still allowing a sense of modernism and independency to be adopted. It provides an illuminated entrance and
globally recognized symbol for the museum to adopt. Perhaps the most frustrating portion of the Louvre was the addition of seeming temporary shelters at which tickets are sold - bright red boxes placed without any consideration to the design of the Pyramid or the Palace.
Villa Savoye Poissy, France Constructed: 1929-1931
Distraction Studying the Villa Savoye in classes it was built up to be a masterpiece of architecture which stood the test of time against decay and importance. When visiting it in person, however, I became very disappointed with the product that was in front of me. The Villa has fallen into disrepair. The most frustrating point of the building is its lack of visual stimula-
tion in any of the elevational views. Studying the building it seemed grand and perfected from every angle, however lines did not carry over, grid patterns were broken, and the overall experience of the building was limited by its simplistic nature and lack of surrounding environment.
Biblioteque Nationale de France Paris, France Completed: 1996
Public Use The new national library of France is an incredible complex. The complex features a lush green forest in the center surrounded by four towers containing offices and stacks of books - offering views of the surrounding Paris skyline in all directions. The green forest space is surrounded by a boardwalk which seems to melt
out onto the streets offering places for Parisans to sit, talk, eat, or even skateboard. The use of grill as an accent on the facades and the push of the staricases to the edge of the towers creates a highlight emphasizing the verticality of the design.
Arab World Institute Paris, France Constructed: 1981-1987
Centre Georges Pompidou Paris, France Constructed: 1971-1977
Fondation Louis Vuitton Paris, France Constructed: 2008 - 2014
The Shard London, England Constructed: 1506-1626
Funny Pictures Europe Summer 2015