As we have explored the city of Barcelona, we have looked at and studied many landmarks and important buildings. While some of these seem to fit into the city better than others, I have found all of them to be important to the identity of the city. When someone sees for example the Torre Agbar or Sagrada Familia, they know immediately that it's Barcelona. When we went to the rooftop of the library to see the water deposit, we could see almost all of these landmarks on all sides. The mountain with Tibidabo is always visible to one side with the sloping land down to the sea on the other. The Torre Agbar didn't look too far away and the Olympic buildings always stand out on the coast. I think that that is one of the best parts about Barcelona; you could be lost, but there will always be something that you can see to compare your location to. Sarah and I went on a walk one day to just wander around and having no idea where we were going on side streets, ended up at Plaza Reial. And yesterday, while exploring with some friends, we took a random metro stop and got off to explore the area. We really had no idea where we were going, but we found a delicious bakery, an architecture firm, and Diagonal, helping us to find our bearings. We came upon old buildings with tiles and stucco directly next to new buildings made with glass facades. This is another favorite aspect of the city: the mixture and coherence of the Barcelona architecture that gives each street character and life.

It is these random outings that I think help me to learn more about the city. I hope to do more of it in the future because it was really fun to just explore the city more by taking random streets and alleys through the city.

perception

as we have visited various sites and works, i have tried to analyze quite thoroughly the spaces created by each. we have visited extreme architecture and simple layouts, each with its own fan base and purpose.

i think perhaps the most profound place yet visited was the water deposit at palau fabra. this place previously served as a military compound with housing and offices. it has recently been converted into the main campus of a university. the water deposit consists of a large structure with a pool on top of it. the pool was positioned on top of the structure so that gravity would provide the water pressure needed. it is a simple and ingenious solution. the supporting structure has been converted into a very unique library while the roof top pool area is a sort of plaza.

what intriqued me was the amount of enjoyment this rooftop plaza gave to our class. this was probably the most enjoyable and accepted site we have visited, yet it was the simplest. as you arrived the plaza through a winding staircase, the light from outside filtered through windows and the door at the top. you stepped out onto the roof and could see for miles. there was maybe a 10 foot strip around the pool to walk on. at the time the pool was drained so we could jump down into it. lily-pad-like structures would have otherwise granted us access from the outside of the pool to the central landing. this space contains very few elements yet was so complex in human interaction. there was the upper level surrounding the pool and the lower level of the pool itself. we all enjoyed jumping down into the pool. there was the outer edge and then the central landing area. we all ventured from one space to the other.

this place further supported a belief of mine. the most successful spaces are not radical and extremely complex designs. they are the simple spaces that human beings relate to. they are simple spaces positioned within a complex context (ie a city). humans want to feel comfortable and they dictate a space for the most part. the roof top space was simple, yet positioned in a complex city network. we determined the use and we determined the activities. we were left alone by forced, designed purposes and allowed to wonder and experience a space as we wished. the programming was set up by us and not some artificial design.

of course there are times when complex interventions may be necessary, but for the most part the complexity lies within the users, not the design. what we really need to do is to design for the user and not for some visual elegance on a piece of paper. perception is key.

No more wasting time

One thing that I regret from the time that I’ve been here is that I haven’t spent enough time getting to fully take in the city. After reading through several of my colleagues’ blog posts, I have realized that there are several events and activities that I had no idea were even occurring around me! I saw the stage set up in Plaza Reial as I walked by it on my way to studio last weekend…but unfortunately I never saw anything happening on it. Apparently there were puppet shows for children and several bands playing… somewhere else there was even some sort of drumline parade that I missed!

I know that we will have free time once classes are over to explore, (though I had planned on taking some trips to other countries during that time to take advantage of the fact that I’m already in Europe) but I don’t want to miss out on what is happening around me now. These everyday experiences of the culture are just as important as all the beautiful places we have gotten to see as a class. If that means less sleep for me because I have to work in more time to wander, well, that’s just what I’m going to have to do. Life is too short... I can't waste time.

Culture Out the Ass

Barcelona is chock-a-block full of museums. It's a very "artsy" city. The closest to our residence is the MACBA designed by Richard Meier. It's White.....big surprise. The modern art is...interesting, to say the least. However, The best part about it is that every now and then they have free exhibition opening parties. There are live bands, avant-garde art, and open bar! It makes me feel so cultured to be here.

Friendly Barcelona

The title is obviously suppose to be ironic. Since arriving here the most underused words I have heard are gracious and de nada. It is tough to go out at night without getting harassed by the strangest and otherwise most worthless people. I love this city and I love walking through it because there is never a time when I don't notice something new. I just wish that there were not so many people out on the streets ruining an otherwise amazing experience. The other day at 1 in the afternoon I saw a drunk man going to the bathroom right in the middle of placa de catalunya. I was rather sheltered from city life before I came here and I knew I would be rather overwhelmed at first, but this city seems to have more then a few problems with its street activity, especially at night. To end it on a positive note though, today I watched a man in a wheelchair get helped over a doorstop by a random stranger walking down the street. It was one of the first kind deeds I had seen since arriving here and it made me a little more optimistic that there are some nice people in this city.

I have not written in here for a week now because I really did not have anything to write about, due to the fact that we have been imprisoned in studio for seven days at least. Do not get me wrong is a cool place, I love it, but I feel like the days are just sprucing through and everything is going by so fast we are not enjoying it.

Something happened today though, it started early in the morning when we were coming back from the club(I decided to start off my weekend yesterday due to studio suppression of the past 265 hours). The club closed at three and the metro was still closed, so we were going to take taxi. Then I remembered Josh, how he wouldn't get on the metro because he was missing a big part of his day and of such beautiful place into a hole in the ground. So we walked home from the Olympic Village, I realized it was the first time, considering we have been here for a month and week that my feet touched the sand, and the second I actually took time to look at the stars.

Anyways we got back home, went to sleep, woke up for class (liza was sick) so I put on some clothes and left. I got to studio to realize that there was no one there but Kathryn, there was no way, today was my first day early to class! So I head on out and decided to go to the pharmacy try to see about the antibiotics. The guy lectured me for about fifteen minutes about how she should have finished them, and then me and Nick headed on to studio.

In studio, prof. Costa gave a lecture, which was awesome. About the early history of the city and its layers. From the Roman colony, the first expansion, the addition of the Raval to Cerda. I came to realize how la Rambla used to be one of the limits of the city, a part of the city wall. And that it is actually the main road that divides the old city, I always thought it went east to west, and today 4 weeks after being here I realized is not.

So after class, I went to the art store, and as I was walking there I decided I was just gonna go see what he was talking about. So I ended up walking for 2 hours. I walked along the main axis of the first city. I saw the city in a completely different way, from the main plaza, the cathedral, the palace, I went to Santa Catherina and the back neighborhood. This neighborhood when Kathryn talked about it, she said it was new and the market was trying to bring people into it. I had never even seen past the market. Anyways, is beautiful, is all these new apartment blocks, they are all different colors but they have the old buildings as well, sometimes they intermingle one beside the other, sometimes within them. It is definitely more local as well. I sat on a parc for a while and just drew, it felt so nice, getting away from the camera. I have taken 1006 pictures since we have been here, and today I felt like I was actually really looking at a place more than just an object.

So I guess after this long book that I just wrote what I am trying to get at is that we have been so rushed to look at stuff, to go to all these places, we don't really pay attention to how we get there or the details. We see and don't look, and we are missing the stuff that really make this city so wonderful.

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• Turkuaz is, afterall, a decent substitute for A La Turka.
• Potluck was a lot of fun and we need more of those.
• Mills brings food to the table.
• Mills can also jam out on the guitar.
• Balancing studio and living in this new city is a weird feeling.
• Every new area you see, you realize how diverse this place really is.
• And that makes you not want to sit in studio.
• But at least Spanish is almost over!
• I love going higher up in altitude (like Montjuic on Thursday), because it gets quieter.
• Thank god for cameras because that's the only way I can track this blur of a journey.
• Can't wait for Amsterdam.