this past week has been a sort of blur. we have been pushed and forced to interpret a site and develop a layout plan rather quickly. for me as a landscape architect, this design structure is fairly new. typically i spend many weeks developing a comprehensive, cohesive master plan (layout plan). in this realm, the architectural competition realm, i have been asked to quickly develop a layout so we can then focus on architectural specifics. this has been a challenge and an adventure for me. i do however, understand that this site is fairly small in comparison to other urban and regional plans developed in past courses.

about the madrid, toledo, bilbao trip: i really enjoyed seeing the various urban patterns of spanish cities. there was a distinct difference between madrid, toledo, and bilbao. in madrid, there was a clear divide between old and new city. the fairly organic growth of the old city sharply constrasted with the structured grid pattern of the new urban fabric. toledo, nestled adjacent to the tajo river is a UNESCO world heritage site. other sites of this stature include the great pyramids of egypt and the great barrier reef in australia. unesco encourages the identification, preservation, and protection of such sites. toledo is a must see when traveling to spain. bilbao was an amazing city to be in. it is situated along the nervion river. the presence of water within the city is never forgotten as the inhabitant and visitor are continuously urged to move back and forth from side to side. the greatest site for me was the guggenheim museum designed by frank gehry. gehry has always been a design hero of mine. i remember loving his work and then questioning the metal exterior. upon seeing the structure, my feelings were again flopped. the building was beautiful in every since of the word. the spaces created outside and inside engaged the visitor and never left them on idle. it is truly a magnificent piece of architecture.