Riot in Plaza Universitat!!!

A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized by disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence, vandalism or other crime.

Here are riot pictures that occurred in Plaza Universitat. The problem is a little hard to explain but I will try my best. The university has changed the way they give their degrees. Now they have to study more in order to get the same degree. For example: If I want to have a bachelor in architecture in the states I have to study for 4 years. Now it suddenly changed that in order to have a bachelor in architecture I have to study 6 years. It got changed for the entire university, not only one subject.

Aquí están las imágenes de disturbios que se produjeron en la Plaza Universitat. El problema es un poco difícil de explicar pero voy a intentar lo major que pueda. La universidad ha cambiado la forma en que dan sus grados. Ahora tienen que estudiar más para obtener el mismo grado. Por ejemplo: Si quiero tener una licenciatura en arquitectura en los estados que tengo que estudiar por 4 años. Ahora de repente cambió a fin de tener una licenciatura en arquitectura tengo que estudiar 6 años. Esto ha cambiado para toda la universidad, no sólo un tema.

Girona

Girona (Catalan: Girona IPA: [ʒiˈɾonə]) is a city located in the northeast of Catalonia, at the confluence of the rivers Ter and Onyar. It is the capital of the province province of the same name and of the Catalan comarca of the Gironès. The recorded population in 2005 was 86,672.

On Tuesday we went to Girona in a class trip. We took a bus and went to see the older city and a firm called RCR, which has some amazing projects. A book by this firm is in order. We also saw two of their projects: a park and a restaurant.

El martes fuimos a Gerona. Tomamos una guagua y fuimos a ver la ciudad y una firma de arquitectos llamada RCR, el cual tenia algunos proyectos bastante interesantes. Debería comprarme alguno de sus libros ya que sus proyectos no están en su pagina de Internet. Vimos dos de sus proyectos: un parque y un restaurante.

Is this real? Rioja!

La Rioja is a province and autonomous community of northern Spain. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, and Nájera.

The day after going to Bilbao, we took a bus and went to Rioja. Awesome. Rioja is famous for the wine. So guess what we did. We went wine tasting to three famous wineries created by famous architects. Only two of the buildings stand out as stunning. The Calatrava Winery and the Hotel by Frank Gehry, which is next to a winery. The Frank Gehry Hotel was much like the Guggenheim, maybe because it had similar materials. It was still stunning to see the colors and the undulations of the building. The Calatrava Winery I think was my favorite. It is a very simple building yet it has a big impact in the eyes of a visitor.

El día después de ir a Bilbao fuimos a Rioja en guagua. Estuvo brutal. Rioja es famoso por el vino. Así que adivina que hicimos. Fuimos a probar vino en tres edificios famosos. Dos de ellos me vienen a la mente en este momento: El hotel hecho por Frank Gehry y La Vi~a hecha por Calatrava. Dos edificios que están fuera de época. Son muy adelantados. El hotel hecho por Gehry es muy parecido al Guggenheim, pero con algunos colores diferentes, aunque tiene el mismo material. El edificio hecho por Calatrava fue de mis favoritos. Es un edificio muy simple, pero con un gran impacto en las monta~as.

Welcome to Bilbao!!!

Bilbao is the largest city in the Basque Country in northern Spain and the capital of the province of Biscay (Basque: Bizkaia). The city has 354,145 inhabitants (2006) and is the most financially and industrially active part of Greater Bilbao, the zone in which almost half of the Basque Country’s population lives.

Well we went to Bilbao and let me tell you it was awesome. We got to see a lot of modern architecture, as well as the old city. We got to see one of Calatravas Bridge, obviously the Guggenheim Museum by Frank Gehry, and the Airport extension made by Calatrava. These three buildings were absolutely outstanding. The Calatrava Bridge got some complains though. A citizen from Bilbao approached me and said that it was not a well-designed bridge because the material was getting oxidized, and also because the floor is made of glass, people tended to fall a lot when it rained. The bridge also has an extension made by another architect, which Calatrava is trying to sue because it destroys his architecture. The Guggenheim was amazing. Gehry knows how to thing outside the box. Before coming abroad, I was not a big fan of Gehry, but know my mind is changing slowly.

Pues otro viaje que hicimos fue a Bilbao, y déjame decirte que estuvo tremendo. Vimos muchos edificios modernos, al igual que la ciudad vieja. Vimos el Puente de Calatrava, el Museo Guggenheim y la extensión del aeropuerto hecha por Calatrava. Estos tres edificios me dejaron boquiabierto. El Puente de Calatrava no se gano el premio novel. Un ciudadano se acerco a mi y me comento que el puente tenia dos vallas. No era acero inoxidable y que el material del piso era inapropiado. El Guggeheim estuvo tremendo. Gehry si sabe pensar fuera de los parámetros y reglas. Antes de venir a Barcelona, no era un fanático de Gehry, pero tengo que admitir que estoy cambiando lentamente.

Some of my sketches!

Here I give you some of my sketches. Through the semester I feel I have improved and I have learned to enjoy it greatly. So much that it became my favorite class.

Fred and Ginger...cool guys...

Frank Owen Gehry, CC (born Ephraim Owen Goldberg, February 28, 1929) is a Pritzker Prize-winning architect based in Los Angeles.
His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions. Many museums, companies, and cities seek Gehry's services as a badge of distinction, beyond the product he delivers.

The building actually looks much better in person. No lie. I was not a big fan, but it is very interesting and admirable.

Next Stop, Praga!

Prague (IPA: /ˈprɑːɡ/, Czech: Praha (IPA: [ˈpraɦa]), see also other names) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Its official name is Hlavní město Praha, meaning Prague, the Capital City.

Right after Turkey, we went to Prague. This was also amazing, especially because we meet with other students from the Rome program (Ryan, Dean, and Mat). We all had a blast. We went to the National Museum, the Progue Castle, which is the biggest castle in the world, and the Tyn Church. The Progue Castle was astonishing, the size and the unique architecture. We had a chance to see the changing of the guards in the castle. The food was especially good. In Prague we also had a chance o experience the nightlife, something we did not get to do in Turkey. The National Museum was also amazing because of the prehistoric animals. It was not just paintings. Too see Progue was another good choice.

Después de Turquía fuimos a Praga. Este viaje también fue espectacular, especialmente porque nos reunimos con otros estudiantes del programa de arquitectura de Roma (Ryan, Dean, y Mat). La pasamos de maravilla. Algunos lugares que fuimos fue el Museo Nacional, el Castillo de Praga, y la Iglesia Tyn. El Castillo de Praga fue espectacular en tamaño y en la arquitectura. Aquí tuvimos la oportunidad de ver el cambio de guardias dos veces. Una diferencia que tuvimos en Praga fue que pudimos pasar algún tiempo en la vida nocturna, algo que no hicimos en Turquía. El Museo Nacional fue tremendo gracias a que no solo eran pinturas sino que tenían animales prehistóricos. Ir a Praga fue una Buena decisión.