Vienna 10.18.07

Got to Vienna on Asti's birthday and ate indian food to celebrate (all we could find,
nothing against indian food, we loved it).


Ferstel Passage, much more stately and formal then the ones in Prague. Announced at the street with a colonnade, this set of linked courtyards has shops and access to offices. A skylit corridor leads to a small hexagonal atruim.


Directly linked to this small interior open space is another deep double colonnade to
the back street, a well lit stair to offices, and another stair and set of atrium that were
closed (too early).


Back at the corridor, a small side access leads you to another outdoor room with a
modern glass stair, then out to another larger courtyard with shops and restaurants.





Donau City / UNO City

Perfomance Hall - extension to Stadium and Ice Ring

Leopold Museum Stair

Gasometer - 4 old gas tanks were renovated to residential - mixed use. A crinkled tower leans on one of the tanks, a shopping mall extends throught he 2nd floors of each cylinder and links up to a new cinema complex (not shown because it was ugly). A new subway station was added at the main entry. As much as I liked the grassy berms, I think the project would have been more successful and vibrant if it had opened up a continuous street facade: otherwise it seemed kind of dead. However, in all it was a well done redevelopment.

Wagner's Postparkasse bldg.

Hunderwasser Haus

Herzog & de Meuron bldg? I can't wait to work on a project that can afford two full skins of glass. I'll hold my breath 'til then.

Vienna was freezing, slightly. Mom looked it up: 34 degrees with the wind chill factor. Its hard to sketch in the cold. It makes each line extra squiggly. On the up side, crowds are small. Last day with Mom and Dad in small university eat, down the road from our hotel.

Prague 10.14.07

Our first long train ride from Berlin to Prague. Not so long actually, only about 4 hours, but a nice break from flying. We whizzed by this station in Germany. I forgot the station name, but this is pretty close to what I had in mind for my competition entry: a large, welcoming, repetitious structure with a luminous canopy. l wish I had this as a precedent earlier. I usually wince at fabric-tecture due to is tendency to just show off it's warping capabilities, but I like this example in particular because it's used in a way to facilitate the larger space, not dominate it.

Mom and Dad, reading my list of sites to study, broke the bank and traveled exactly half way around the world (from Hawaii) to tag along in Prague and Vienna. They actually wanted to test out how bad jetlag could get, but they kept up with us on our hike from Staro Mestske to Prazsky Hrad (Prague Castle), and back. The view of the Castle's outcroping buildings: the terracotta tile roof shapes tell the story of the area's patchwork evolution; Charles Bridge and the old town in the background. With warm and sunny weather and a great view, we topped off a long walk with a round of Pilsner Urquells (water with bubbles for Asti).

Municipal House, with decorations by Art Noveau artist Alphonso Mucha. He did a bay of stained glass at Prague Castle as well. The Mucha musuem revealed his success in Paris and his devotion to his country with the Slav Epic.

Staro Mestske Namesky, Old town city center square. Aside from it's character of perimeter buildings, this square is also memorable for me because of it's large uninform layout, with smaller pockets of openspace allowing for a small grid of trees and shade, restaurants, and....

the collection of lemmings (myself included) on the hour to watch an astronomical clock do what??? (Nobody understands the clock, not even the tour guide on the left with the microphone and speaker strapped to her chest). "yeah but, its cooool."

Deer Moat Passage (tunnel) near Prazsky Hrad. Very nice.

In Prague I got a taste of the passages (Pasaze) that are somewhat hidden in the dense fabric of the Old Town. Some are more straight forward than others, leading into a courtyard lightwell, not far off other tight knit city old towns.

Others, unassuming from the street, twist and lead you into little gems, then perhaps into a nicely kept garden.

The largest set of pasazes are near Vodickova, the most interesting of which is centered around an upside down horse. Sadly, most of these passages have not seen their full potential, usually filled with sub-prime shops and cheap eats. Vienna and Lyon are said to have their own versions of the passages.

Kampa Musuem. The interior of this stair has a kind of M.C. Escher like feel as it dynamically links the two existing buildings with different floor heights. I wish they had made more of an event out of it though.

Fred and Ginger, Ed and Karen.

Berlin 10.10.07

Of course, I can't take all the credit. My wonderful wife Asti is more half the reason we are still keeping a good pace here on our trip. I think I'd still be lost in Helsinki if it wasn't for her dilligence and level mind to keep me in check. So for Berlin, at the very least, she is going be blogging this entry. Only a token for all the work behind the scenes. Plus, I am falling behind.- Mark

Asti:
After a whirlwind of fast paced travelling through Berlin, Prague, Vienna & Zurich - we finally found time to download photos and update the blog (with proper wireless connection).



Started Berlin by visiting the Bauhaus Archiv Museum by Gropius. A portion of the exhibit area was closed for restoration, only the ground floor has exhibitions on Bauhaus greats - among them Gropius, Mies, Jacobsen, Kandinsky, Klee, Bauer. Luckily there was also a temporary exhibition on the competition entries for an addition to the Bauhaus Archiv. All very interesting proposals, the winning entry was from SANAA (Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa) with their cool glass 'box'.



Nearby, we visited the Scandinavian Embassy complex. One of the buildings is actually open for public and has exhibit areas. This time highlighting Norway's western coastline, see link for more info http://www.turistveg.no/. Norway is definitely next on our list!


Hansaplatz Interbau Housing Development - Tiergarten. Various projects by International Architects: Aalto, Taut, Jacobsen, Niemeyer, etc.



On our must see list: Reichstag Dome, Bundestag Archiv, National Gallery.


Libeskind's Jewish Museum, on the right is the new courtyard canopy.


A highlight of our Berlin visit is the Berlin Mauer 'Church of Reconciliation' - which was built along the 'wall', a serene yet powerful space. Wood slats and rammed earth made of the old church ruins.



We took the train from the Hauptbahnhof - the largest train station in Europe. Amazing, high speed rails, local trains, underground rails and buses all converge in this station - and they threw in retail and restaurants while they're at it... We hope San Francisco will get it's transbay terminal to rival this one...

Copenhagen, Denmark 10.04.07

Central Station. Transit in Kobenhavn is excellent, with regional trains, S-trains (local), and expanding Metro (subway), and bus network.

We were in luck, not only blessed with nice weather, but there was an city-wide architecture 'campaign' exhibiting the new architecture and revitalization of the Copenhagen, going on until the 21st of October: www.copenhagenx.dk



Rundetarn (Round Tower). 7 floors, dizzying.


Radisson SAS Hotel, Arne Jacobsen


Opera House, Henning Larsen.



Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Vilhem Wohlert.
Exhibitions of Cecil Balmonds of ARUP and Richard Avedon (portrait photographer) were particularly intriguing.


Statens Kunst Museum Extension


The space in between: "Black Diamond" Library; Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Extension; Old Torpedo Hall converted to Housing; IT University Business School.



A forum by IFHP Ranko Radovic, at AkitektSkole, in Holmen area, held an international student competition titled "Futures of Cities": http://www.ifhp2007copenhagen.dk/, image of 1st prize's model on the right.



Orestad Highschool, 3XN. The concept was to break away from traditional classrooms and lounges towards a more flexible and open way of learning. Four "study zones" with a central staircase and foyer provide physical and visual connections, facilitating an interdisciplinary approach. Conceptually this was similar to my Thesis project, only more cohesive...and built. Ka-ching, ex-pensive!



Gemini Towers, MVRDV. Units are added to the exterior of old soybean factory silos. Really cool interior!




Various projects in Orestad Neighborhood.



Ouch... VM Housing.



Student Housing, ITU, Lundgaard and Tranberg. Idea is based on a traditional type of chinese village. Clad in copper, the rooms are on the outer ring, w/ common spaces facing the green courtyard. Not super efficient, but super interesting.




Ahh, tired. Relaxing in Amelienborg in between a long day.

Stockholm, Sweden 09.29.07

More text, at the request of mum. Sorry for the bad grammar, no spellcheck.


Arrived at the Central station, quite daunting at first, with a complex underground connection between the regional bus system, train, and the Stroget Torg (plaza - center image). It is nearly a quarter mile long which also ties into the main commerical galleria and Kulturhuset. The multi-level plaza is a dynamic open space especially imagined full of people. The sculpture in the center of the plaza fountain was the original design, but was too expensive (this is a picture taken from an exhibit at the Architecture Museum). The Central station (left) is roomy enough for a temporary tennis match promoting the professional circuit happening that weekend. James Blake was the most notable entrant. On the right, more chanterrelle mushrooms and berries. mmmhh



Gamla Stan, the old town. Story goes, a small town frustrated with constant raids, floated a log with all their valuables and vowed to start a new home where it landed. "Stock" means "log" in the old language, so I'm told. The island was packed w/ tight streets and colorful stucco buildings, so tight that the streets and alleys became their open space. Small nooks in the street fabric allowed for the occasional tree, dramatically more special in such a context. Sequence of small alleys near our hostel.



Milles Garden's new gallery. Carl Milles museum for his bronze sculpture collections (not shown).



Skogskyrkogarden: Crematorium and Woodland Chapel, E. Gunnar Asplund. I altered the first image to distill the experience of the dark plane above with rustic oculus and vibriant green landscape in the background. The procession up to this point is also integral in experiencing this space. Chapel, golden rectangle?



Asplund Library (Stadsbiblioteket - City Library), unfortunately these pictures don't do the building much justice. Competition link for the library expansion proposals: http://www.arkitekt.se/s21087, ehh?



A residential tower at Hammarby Sjostad neigborhood (eco-town), and stair at Tekniska Hogskolan University Library