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.

Welcome to Turkey!

Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in western Asia and Thrace (Rumelia) in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe.

In the spring break a couple of friends (Alex, Jenna, Scott, and Metzler) and I went to Turkey to see and experience a culture closer to Asia. We certainly got an experience, that’s for sure. We got a Turkish bath that consists of you stripping down and getting a shower by a guy (if you’re a guy) or a girl (if you’re a girl). The guys had the privilege of wearing a little towel, but the girls, well, not so much. Of course it was communal showers, so you could see how your friends got showered and scrubbed down. It does not sound fun, but it was an amazing experience. We also went to see Haghia Sophia and the Blue mosque, as well as the city and the bazaar. The food was also great.

En la semana libre que tuvimos a mitad de semestre, algunos amigos (Alex, Jenna, Scott, y Metzler) y yo fuimos a Turquía para poder tener una experiencia mas cercana a Asia. Definitivamente la tuvimos, sin duda. Fuimos a los baño turcos el cual consiste en quitarse la ropa y dejar que un hombre o una señora te bañe. A los hombres los bañaba un hombre y a las mujeres, una mujer. Los hombres tenían el privilegio de usar una toalla, el cual era muy pequeña, pero no me quejo ya que las mujeres no tenían nada. Era en un baño comunal. Por supuesto, un lado para los hombres y otro par alas mujeres. No suena muy divertido pero lo era. Fue una experiencia inrequesedora. También fuimos al Ayasofya y a la Mesquita Azul, al igual que otros lugares en la ciudad como el “bazaar”. La comida también era muy buena. Fue una experiencia única.

VIP @ Sagrada Familia!

The Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família (official Catalan name; Spanish: Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia; "Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family"), often simply called the Sagrada Família, is a massive Roman Catholic church under construction in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Construction began in 1882 and continues to this day.

Our history teacher, Cece, took us to see the great and famous Sagrada Familia. I believe it to be one of the best buildings created. Not because of the size or the time it has taken to built, but because of the theory and thinking behind Gaudi and the current architects. When the Sagrada Familia was being designed by Gaudi, he thought of it as been a tree. Gaudi was an architect that enjoyed studding nature. The interior of the church is purely based on tree forms and branches. It is breath taking. The advantage of going with our history teacher is that she found us passes to go were they are currently building. It was a real privilege to go 120 meters up and see were they are currently starting to build the middle tower (or so I think is). Also, we got a tour with one of the architects, and he knew quite a bit of the project.

Nuestra maestra de historia, Cece, nos llevo a la grandiosa y famosa Sagrada Familia. Yo pienso que es uno de los mejores edificio creados en la historia de la arquitectura. No por el tamaño ni por el tiempo que ha tomado construirla, sino por el pensamiento detrás de Gaudi y los arquitectos presentes. Gaudi saco todas sus ideas de los árboles y las ramas de ellos. El era un arquitecto que le gustaba estudiar y apreciar la naturaleza. El interior de la iglesia es puramente diseñada en árboles. El trata de imitar un bosque. Una ventaja de ir con nuestra maestra de historia fue que pudimos ir al área de construcción. Fue un privilegio por ir al tope de la iglesia el cual son unos 120 metros. En estos momentos están construyendo la torre central y nosotros pudimos apreciar como pasaba. También tuvimos una pequeña introducción a lo que esta pasando actualmente en el proyecto ya que nuestro guía era uno de los arquitectos que esta trabajando en la iglesia.

Calatrava is awesome

The Alamillo Bridge in Seville, Andalusia (Spain) spans the Canal de Alfonso XIII in Seville, allowing access to La Cartuja, an island between the canal and the Guadalquivir River. The bridge was constructed as part of infrastructure improvements for Expo 92.

The Calatrava bridge in Sevilla is absolutely stunning!

Best trip of my life!!!

The Alhambra (from Arabic الْحَمْرَاء = Al-Ħamrā', literally "the red one"; the complete name was الْقَلْعَةُ ٱلْحَمْرَاءُ = al-Qal'at al-Ħamrā' = "the red fortress") is a palace and fortress complex of the Moorish rulers of Granada in southern Spain (known as Al-Andalus when the fortress was constructed during the mid 14th century), occupying a hilly terrace on the southeastern border of the city of Granada.

So I kinda missed a week because we went into what I can call THE BEST TRIP OF MY LIFE!!! We went to Madrid, Cordova, Granada, Sevilla, and Merida. This has been the best trip of my life, no doubt. We went to different Museums and parks, but the top three places that impressed me were Calatravas bridge in Sevilla, Alhambra in Granada, and the gothic church in Sevilla. These would be the best places to visit. If I had a chance, I would definitely go back to this places. In Alhambra we had a little picture feast. Enjoy.

Derive to this park

Well this week I decided to go searching for a park that I could write on. I went in the night just to see how well illuminated it was and how safe it was. The park is located between Carrer Francesc Perez-Cabrero and Carrer de Ferran Agullo. It is basically all green with small walking areas and a kids playground. During the night the playground does not look that safe. It is all dark and spooky. I went with two friends and they told me they wouldn't go alone there. The children appeared fine. They were having fun with their parents and other children as well. As you can see from the pictures, the park is relatively big, so it can be dangerous at times. I recommend going to this park during the day. The nature is also abundant.

Pues esta semana decidi ir a visitar a un parque para escribir un poco en el blog. Fue por la noche para ver cuan iluminado estaba y cuan seguro es. El parque esta localizado entre Carrer Francesc Perez-Cabrero y Carrer de Ferran Agullo. Basicamente es mucha vegetacion con areas de caminar y un lugar para que los ni~os jueguen. Por la noche el lugar no es muy seguro ya que la iluminacion no es apropiada. Es bastante oscuro. Cuando fui, fui con dos amigas y me dijeron que ellas no volverian solas por la noche. Los ni~os parecian estar bien apesar de la oscuridad. Los ni~os se sentian bien ya que sus papas estaba alli. Como pueden ver por la foto, el parque es bastante grande, pero esto lo hace peligroso porque hay muchas esquinas con poca vigilacia. Yo recomiendo ir a este parque por el dia. La naturaleza hace a este parque esencial en esta ciudad tan poblada de edificios.

Ow snap, Casa Mila is insane!!!

Casa Milà, better known as La Pedrera (Catalan for 'The Quarry'), is a building designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí and built during the years 1906–1910, being considered officially completed in 1912. It is located at 92, Passeig de Gràcia (passeig is Catalan for promenade or avenue) in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

So this week went by even faster than the last one. I guess its because I liked it so much, so thats a good thing. Anyhow, remember the project I talked to you about last week? Well Sophia the critic loved it, and hopefully we all get a good grade.

On other note, some friends and I went to the Casa Mila by Antoni Gaudi and it was incredible!!! The undulations, the structure, the ideas, and materials were all stunning. After going to the house, I want to go to Sagrada Familia even more.

La semana se fue mas rapido que la anterior. Me imagino que es bueno porque significa que la pase muy bien. Pues se acuerdan del projecto que les hable la semana pasada? Si, pues a nuestra maestra le encanto. Espero que saquemos una buena nota.

En otra nota, fui con unas amigas a Casa Mila por Antoni Gaudi y esta super brutal. Las ondulaciones, la estructura, las ideas y los materiales son inigualables. Ahora si tengo muchos deceos de ir a la Sagrada Familia.

Its just getting started

Barcelona (Catalan IPA: [bəɾsəˈlonə], Spanish IPA: [baɾθeˈlona]) is the most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, with a population of 1,615,908 in 2008, while the population of the Metropolitan Area was 3,161,081.

Barcelona first week has passed and it has been amazing. The people, the street, the language, everything is great. It has been going real slow, yet fast at the same time. Slow because we are still settling in our apartment, but quickly because we are enjoying it a lot. We have been working on our first studio project which was divided into groups of 5 people. The idea was to create an elevation of the entire Roman wall which was created about 2000 years ago. As we drew the elevation, we also had to take note of the time, openings, material and detail. Today, we got together in studio and all the groups meet in order to organize the entire wall and the plan of the old Roman city. Hopefully our critic enjoys the work.

On other note, three of us have started Catalan classes which is very interesting. I have never taken a second language and learning it form nothing is very complicated and sometimes frustrating. I want to know it already. It is fun though, our teacher is very energetic and makes us sing in Catalan, and let me tell you, its pretty funny.

update: I would like to tell how the actual first day went. First, we got to the airport and I had a massive hangover from the night before and flying with it was not fun. When we got to the airport in Barcelona, we waited for 2 hours for some friends who never arrived because they did not know how to reach us even though we agreed on a meeting place. After waiting for a while, we got a cab and somehow managed to fit 8 bags in one car, but not for far because on the way to the studio the cab blew a tier. Houly. That was horrible, specially when it rained while he changed the tier in the middle of the avenue. We had to take all the bags out and it was a mess. After we get to Plaza Universitat, I somehow figured the way to studio. It wasnt easy to use a map and carry two bags in the middle of the rain, but I didnt get the four of us lost. We reached studio and it was not the best place but I works. We almost got pick pocketed in the studio because of two guys that came in at the same time and we did not notice because we were not aware of who was or was not supposed to be there. I thought they worked there. After that little experience we went to the apartment, walking, again. There we found it was nice yet cold just because one of the heater did not work. Long day, but great. A lot of complaining, but I would not want it any other way, besides, it makes for a great story. Oh yeah, the next day the bathroom door nob broke and we could not shower for two days until we found a screw driver.

La primera semana en Barcelona a pasado y esta de maravilla. La gente, la calle, la lengua, todo es tremendo. La semana se fue lenta y rapido a la misma ves. Lenta porque todavia nos estamos ajustando a el apartamento y estilo de vida, pero rapido porque la estamos pasando muy bien. Estamos trabajando en el primer proyecto de estudio el cual fue dividido en grupos de 5 personas. La idea es crear una elevacion de toda la pared Romana el cual fue creada hace unos 2000 a~os. Mientras dibujabamos la elevacion, tenias que tomar notas del tiempo, aperturas, material y detalles. Hoy, nos reunimos en el estudio para poner la elevacion junta entre los grupos y para hacer los planos de la ciudad antigua de Barcelona. Esperamos que a nuestra maestra le guste.
En otra nota, tres de notros estamos cojiendo clases de Catalan el cual es muy interesante. Yo nunca he cojido un lenguaje extranjero para mi y enrealidad es una experiencia muy interesante ya, complicada y frustrante a veces ya que quiero poder hablarlo. En realidad la maestra es muy buena porque tiene muchas energias y nos hace cantar canciones en Catalan el cual dejame decirte es bastante gracioso. Nos veremos pronto...