Spring 2015 students reporters_week 5

BCN NEWS:

Open llibrary – Introduction to contemporary thought

MACBA February 2 – 23

Beginning on February 2 and continuing each Monday throughout Febraury,  visitors will be introduced to the work of a contemporary thinker.

The works feature Karl Marx (2/2), Walter Benjamin (2/9), Maurice Merleau-Ponty (2/16), and Maurice Blanchot (2/23). The work will be described through a reinterpretation of the concepts described by each thinker to help to understand their value to contemporary views.

The topics focus on an evolution of social-cultural ideals that are intended to stimulate the thought processes of the participants and provide an alternate perspective of the cultural environment of the day.

Reporting:

Matthew Himler, Clemson University Graduate Arch. student

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Javier Peñafiel. Pánico esnob

Location: etHALL 

Joaquin Costa, 30, Raval

Dates: Tue Feb 10 – Sat Mar 14

Price: FREE

This exhibition is conceived from a selection of notebook drawings. These various drawn texts and written drawings are dramatized via a delicate artificiality. They are supported and attached to the wall by magnets, in particular positions of balance. This way they distance themselves from the wall and are treated as objects of specific and diferent weights.

Reporting:

Melanie Sage, Clemson University Undergraduate Arch. student

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1 Day 1 Photo

Location: Arts Santa Monica 

Les Rambles, 7, 08002 Barcelona

Dates:  Jan 1 – April 12 2015

Price: FREE

Opening on the 10th of February is the 1 day 1 photo exhibit at Arts Santa Monica. 31 photographers took one photo on the same day of each month of the year. A Catalan proj­ect, but employing some non-Catalan photographers, the exhibit will surely capture the spirit of the people of Cataluña despite the diversity of its contributors.

Reporting:

Matthew West, Texas A&M University Undergraduate Arch. student

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EUROPE NEWS:

Pilsen  2015 European Capital of Culture

In January the city of Pilsen in the Czech Republic launched its program as the European Capital of Culture for 2015. The event featured a grand performance of light, music and Ḁlm as the yearlong festival kicked oἀ. The feature event was held in the new Pilsen theater. The concert also included public contributions as those at the festival used plastic tubes to play along with Beethoven’s Ode to Joy performed by the orchestra. The exhibition will oἀer a variety of cultural shows and performances along with a festival entitled “9 Weeks of Baroque” that will focus on multiple genres from the Baroque Era. For the 2015 year, Pilsen is sharing the honor of being the European capital of Culture with Mons in Belgium.

Reporting:

Matthew Himler, Clemson University Graduate Arch. student

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Paris Museum Pass

Price: 2-day pass – €42, 4 days – €56 or 6 days – €69

If you’re visiting Paris and planning on cramming in as many museums and monuments as possible, the Paris Museum Pass is a good way to save both money and time. The pass o°ers direct access to 60 of Paris’s most iconic sights, and allows you to skip past the long ticket queues. Whether you plan to visit the iconic Louvre, Musée d’Orsay and Pompidou Centre, or to take your time exploring the city’s sites, there’s an option for everyone.

Reporting:

Melanie Sage, Clemson University Undergraduate Arch. student

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Confict, Time, Photography

Location: Tate Modern

Bankside, London, SE1 9TG

Dates: Sun Feb 8 – Tues April 14

Price: £13.10

A new exhibit in London challenges the way war can be portrayed, and the way in which we engage with photo-graphs so that we actually see the inconceivable.  Photos and artifacts from all over the world come together in this exhibit to make the viewer feel both heart broken and awe-inspired, according to critics.

Reporting:

Melanie Sage, Clemson University Undergraduate Arch. student

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Richard Deacon

Location: Tate Modern

Dates: 5 February – 27 April 2014

Price: £11.00

A major exhibition of the Turner Prize winner Richard Deacon, a leading British sculptor, best known for his large, lyrical open forms.

Deacon is known for his large, indus­trial-esque abstract sculptures, and for his inspiration by poetry and philoso­phy.

The exhibition at the Tate focuses on Deacon’s interest in materials and their manipulation.

See video of Tate shoting the artist http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/video/tateshots-richard-deacon

Reporting:

Matthew West, Texas A&M University Undergraduate Arch. student

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BAC SEMINARS NEWS:

City & Cinema, Barcelona, Design Philosophy

On Monday, students were introduced to Celia Marin’s class titled City and Cinema.

The class centered on por­trayals of Barcelona in film. Students were able to note similarities between the Barcelona of then and now, while noting the distinct identity that the city had in the past.

Reporting:

Matthew West, Texas A&M University Undergraduate Arch. student

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Building Techology block 2

In the first lecture of the second block of Design Communication  / Building Technology seminar, the professor Pia Wortham, gave the students an in depth look into the history of the most prominent building technologies in the world and how they have evolved to create the buildings and structures we have today. The students also discussed how construction history applies to their own studio project.

Reporting:

Amanda Adkins, Texas A&M University Undergraduate Arch. student

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BAC STUDIO NEWS:

During the Phase I review of the Project for LaEscocesa redevelopment in the Poblenou neighborhood the students ofered new approaches to the reinvention of the area. Scenario 1 focused on developing an “Axis of the Arts” between the Rambla del Poblenou and the Rambla de Prim to connect two pedestrian areas and create a corridor along which many interventions and developments could occur.

Additionally they have proposed new programs for La Escocesa which focus around culinary and visual arts with the intention of providing greater community access to the arts and an opportunity for the residents in the area to live in a more lively cultural environment.

Reporting:

Matthew Himler, Clemson University Graduate Arch. student

Spring 2015 students reporters_week 5 Madrid and Toledo special

MADRID NEWS:

Mercado de San Miguel

The tour of Madrid began with a visit to this historical market near Plaza Mayor. The market represents a historic cultural destination for the residents of Madrid that had become run down and unused in recent years. The refurbished market now represents a rebirth of the traditional market cultural and a place to show oἀ the food and culture of the city.

The initial structure was preserved and although the food stands have a new contemporary feel, the experience of being in the market gives great exposure to local residents and an understanding of the lifestyle of those who live in the city.

opening hours: SUN-WED 10AM -12AM; THUR-SAT 10AM-2AM

Reporting:

Matthew Himler, Clemson University Graduate Arch. student

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Fundación Telefónica 

The previous headquarters of a large Spanish phone company has been transformed into a cultural center in Madrid.

The Fundación Telefónica is now  a cultural center and the home of exhibits of science and the arts. The exhibition on Nikola Tesla oἀers an opportunity to observe the career and mind of one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century whose work has contributed immensely to the lifestyle that is so “normal” today.

Additionally the exhibit that features Ferran Adriá and the study of the creative process behind his culinary career offers an opportunity for the public to see inside the mind of one of the most innovative creative thinkers of the culinary industry.

Many may take for granted the science and imagination necessary to invent such unique dining experiences, however the food becomes even more beautiful when the process if understood. This is not unlike architecture in that the creative process is far more extensive than what a passer by may experience, but with the context in plain view, the work is even more impressive.

Free Admission  TUE-SUN 10AM – 8PM

Reporting:

Matthew Himler, Clemson University Graduate Arch. student

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DO TOUCH Exhibit

Museo del Prado, Madrid

January 20 – June 28

The classical art museum in Madrid, the Museum del Prado is currently offering an exhibit aimed towards sharing the visual arts of its collection with those who are visually impaired. The exhibition has taken six works from diἀerent eras and is allowing them to be touched in the hopes that those who cannot see the works may be able to gain a mental recreation of the work and hopefully gain an emotional connection to the work. The exhibit is not intended solely for the visually impaired but features 3D imagery, text in braille, audio-guides, and even opaque glasses for the non-impaired to gain a similar experience.

Reporting:

Matthew Himler, Clemson University Graduate Arch. student

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Palacio Real de Madrid

Construction Time: 1738-1755

Architect: Filippo Juvarra

While in Madrid, we visited the Royal Palace of Spain and one of the greatest examples of Spanish Baroque architecture.

We experienced the overwhelming and intricate decoration of the interior and were able to look into the past lives of the Spanish Royalty.

Reporting:

Amanda Adkins, Texas A&M University Undergraduate Arch. student

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Media Lab Prado

Renovated: 2000

Former use: Wood factory

The students  visited an example of a renovation project much related to their studio work. For the Media Lab Prado, the building was a former wood factory that had been transformed into a digital and project production space with an additional structural that reflects the modern age through its use of color and material.

Reporting:

Amanda Adkins, Texas A&M University Undergraduate Arch. student

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Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

Location: Calle de Santa Isabel, 52, 28012 Madrid

Dates: Sun Feb 8 Price: N/A

For the first part of this museum tour, the students visited the terrace of Reina Soÿa.  This space allowed the students to see out over the city and observe the new, modern addition attached to the old museum structure.  The second part of the tour included a viewing of Pablo Picasso’s La Guernica.

Reporting:

Melanie Sage, Clemson University Undergraduate Arch. student

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Madrid Flea Market

Location: Calle de la Ribera de Curtidores, 28005 Madrid

Dates: Sun Feb 8

Price: FREE

Since it was the last day in Madrid for the students, they were treated to a trip to the famous Madrid flea market.  Some items in which the students purchased included tapestries, scarves, shoes, socks, pastries and more.  The flea market has been around for approximately 60 years and is still thriving!

Reporting:

Melanie Sage, Clemson University Undergraduate Arch. student

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TOLEDO NEWS:

Catedral de Toledo

The center of the catholic church in Spain, the cathedral in Toledo did not disappoint. A masterpiece of the Spanish Baroque, it reflected the his­torical diversity of the Spanish people by incorporating architectural elements such as the geometric designs of the muslims, traditional gothic elements, and scenes depicting the patron saints of Spain and Toledo.

Reporting:

Matthew West, Texas A&M University Undergraduate Arch. student

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Romero Vallejo Arquitectos

While in Toledo we were able to meet Mariano Vallejo and learn about what he and his firm do in Toledo and else­where.

We toured one of their earlier projects, the six patio-houses, which brought to mind the objective of our studio project at the BAC. Their proj­ect centered on creating improved housing on a pecular site, and making the building new and interesting while preserving the historical integrity of the surrounding area.

Reporting:

Matthew West, Texas A&M University Undergraduate Arch. student

Spring 2015 students reporters_week 4

BCN NEWS:

Pixar: 25 Years of Animation

6 February 2015 – 3 May 2015
CaixaForum Barcelona
Av. Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, 6-8, 08038 Barcelona, Spain
Hours: Daily, from 10.00 to 20.00
Price: 4€
http://obrasocial.lacaixa.es/nuestroscentros/caixaforumbarcelona/pixar_es.html

CaixaForum Barcelona now hosts the traveling exhibition showcasing the creative processes that have made some of the most successful animated features in the past 25 years. Though the product of animation may be digital, the idea for a film often begins with paper and pencil. Visit the exhibition to view process works, conceptual designs, and process models of familiar figures and characters from the Pixar archives. It may inspire yourself to create an idea of your own.

Reporting:

Veda Vandever, Texas A&M University Undergraduate Arch. student

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On Thursday, January 29^th at 8pm, and every day until February 22^nd, there will be a group exhibition showing the fifteen selected finalists of the Artevistas award for New Talent from different art disciplines, including many forms of art, one example by Jorge Alonso (finalist) shown above.

19 January 2015 – 22 February  2015

Artevistas Gallery 

Passatge del Crèdit nº4, 08002 Barcelona

Monday to Sunday: from 11am to 9pm

http://www.artevistas-gallery.com/ 

Reporting:

Jackson Rob Wells, Clemson University Undergraduate Arch. student

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EUROPE NEWS:

Le Corbusier postales: una visión del mundo

4 October 2014 – 5 April 2015
CentroCentro, Palacio de Cibeles
Plaza de Cibeles, 1, 28014 Madrid, Spain (4th Floor)
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, from 10.00 to 20.00
Price: 2€
http://www.centrocentro.org/centro/exposicion_ficha/99

Beginning in 1907 and continuing throughout his life, Corbusier collected postcards of as he traveled through the world. CentroCentro’s exhibition of 168 of the nearly 2000 of these postcards will soon come to a close. Through the exhibition, one may wonder the value of inspiration in the most minute of forms to an architect such as Corbusier whose ideas shaped the horizons of countless cities.

Reporting:

Veda Vandever, Texas A&M University Undergraduate Arch. student

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BAC SEMINARS NEWS

Students visit Horta’s Labyrinth

On assignment for our Design Philosophy class, students visited the Parc del Laberint d’Horta in the Horta-Guinardó district at the base of the mountains that meet the city of Barcelona. The gardens were once part of a private 18^th century parcel of land that was donated to the city in the 1970s.

Professor Pamela Duran asked students in their analysis of their experience to imagine describing the site to a blind person. Students referenced the different sounds, textures, and paths of circulation that occur in the garden due to the historical landscaping program that incorporated labyrinthine shrubs, sculptural ornaments, and water features.

Reporting:

Veda Vandever, Texas A&M University Undergraduate Arch. student

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On January 27^th, in History of Urbanism, students learned about precedents such as Park Güell (right), Placa de Espanya (left), and Casa Bloc. This covered from the early 1900s to the 1930s of Barcelona urbanism.

On January 28^th, students learned about the later 1900s. This included the industry crisis in Spain in the 1950s all the way up to the revitalization of the city with the Olympics in 1992. Pictured to the left is the Olympic Park and the Olympic Stadium is on the right; both of which we have visited as a class.

Reporting:

Jackson Rob Wells, Clemson University Undergraduate Arch. student

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Students critique the use of the public space near RESA dormitories

As part of our analysis of Barcelona buildings familiar to the students, we discussed with Professor Anna Ramos the merits of the street level space that their residential hall adjoins. Students commented on how the area, though generous, does not seem to be used too often, at least by the student residents. It was noted that due to the cooler season, there may be fewer people and less activity in the space than usual.

Students compared this to the public relationship of the Col·legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya building and library in Plaça Nova, noting that these buildings must share space with important landmarks as the city Catedral and the relics of the Roman walls, requiring the space to be accommodate greater pedestrian traffic and to not impose architecturally with those features.

Reporting:

Veda Vandever, Texas A&M University Undergraduate Arch. student

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BAC STUDIO NEWS

Scenario 2 works out a master plan

Work continues on the studio project on the La Escocesa site for group 2, led by Professor Marta Orte Garcia. Using the information collected from their site analyses, the students get together to put brainstorm a master plan for integrating the buildings of La Escocesa and C’Alier into their vision of the protofactory.

Reporting:

Veda Vandever, Texas A&M University Undergraduate Arch. student

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Scenario 1 master plan group meeting

Scenario 1meets as a whole to decide on master plan elements and starts to make conception decisions regarding the plan for the entire site and surrounding street.

We combine multiple site analyses from different pairs to start to blend influence of different site elements into fewer diagrams.

Reporting:

Jackson Rob Wells, Clemson University Undergraduate Arch. student

BAC JAPAN 2015 Scholarships release

Miguel Roldán, director of the Barcelona Architecture Center is pleased to announce that:

Yukiko Sugihara, Graduate Architecture student at Hosei University Graduate School
Takehiro Hayashiyama, 4th year Undergraduate Architecture student at Tokyo University of Science

have been selected to receive the BAC JAPAN 2015 Scholarship.

BAC JAPAN scholarship covers tuition fees for the intensive course for Japanese Architecture Universities that will take place within the academic period from March 5 – March 26, 2015 at BAC, Barcelona Architecture Center.

We hope that this intensive Architecture experience in Barcelona may bring them many other future successful Academic and Professional achievements.

Congratulations Yukiko Sugihara and Takehiro Hayashiyama!

We thank everyone who has participated and we look forward meeting you all soon at BAC Japan 2015!

 

 

Barcelona Architecture Centerディレクターのミゲル・ロルダンより、以下の学生が2015年度BAC JAPAN奨学生制度において選考されましたことをお知らせします。

法政大学大学院1年生　杉原由樹子

東京理科大学4年生　林山赳大

BAC JAPAN奨学生制度は、BAC Barcelona Architecture Centerにおいて2015年3月5日から26日までの受講料を免除します。

バルセロナにおける濃密な今回の経験が、彼らの将来において、大学や専門分野での成功をもたらすことを願っています。

杉原由樹子さん、林山赳大さん、おめでとうございます。

奨学生制度に応募くださいました皆様に感謝を申し上げます。そしてBAC JAPAN 2015でお会いしましょう。

BAC JAPAN 2015 application deadline Feb 15

 

本コースへのお申込み期限（２月１５日）が近づいてきております。駆け込みでお申し込みを考えていらっしゃる方も多いかと思います。お問い合わせをいただいておりますが、２月１５日までに必要書類に受講料お支払控えを加えてお申し込みくだされば結構です。受け取りが２月１５日を過ぎても問題ありません。今からでもまだ間に合いますのでお悩みの方、是非お申し込みください.

..on their way back from Madrid

Our Clemson University and Texas A&M University students arriving to Barcelona in one hour approx. Tired, but we hope in good mood and with lots of impressions from Madrid and Toledo.

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Spring 2015 Design Studio 1st phase presentations

While our students are returning from their trip in Madrid and Toledo, here are some pictures from the 1st phase Design Studio presentations past week

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Spring 2015 students reporters_week 3

BCN NEWS:

Julio Muñoz Gardens and Home Open to the Public

Starting this weekend, the beautiful gardens and home of Julio Muñoz Ramonet in the Sarria-Sant Gervasi district just outside of Barcelona open their doors to the public for the first time. From now until March, this elite green space will be having free entrance every Saturday and Sunday. It is a great example of 20^th century Barcelona bourgeoisie just a short distance from our location in the center of the city.

Reporting:

Ryan Koehler, Clemson University Undergraduate LandArch. student

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Peter Willson, Bolles+Wilson jury member of EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe, delivered a lecture about Urban Renovation in Europe within the framework of “MIES ARCH TALKS” past friday at COAC with his beautiful hand drawings of Cinegraphic urbanism in his work throughout the Europe.

Reporting:

Qi Lily Zhang, Texas A&M University Graduate Arch. student

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EUROPE NEWS

This week Barcelona is the Jury members meeting point to select the 2015 shortlisted and finalist works for the EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award 2015.

The 2015 edition of the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture has received 420 nominations (35 from Spain) made by the independent experts, the member associations of the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE), the other European national architects’ associations and the Advisory Committee.

We all can’t wait to see who will be the finalists and the winners of this edition of Architecture Made in Europe selected by Jury members:

PRACTICING ARCHITECTS
Cino Zucchi, Chair of the Jury, Architetti, Milan
Margarita Jover, aldayjover architecture and landscape, Charlottesville and Barcelona
Lene Tranberg, Lundgaard & Tranberg, Copenhagen
Peter L. Wilson, Bolles + Wilson, Münster

ARCHITECTURE CRITIC
Li Xiangning, Deputy Dean, College of Architecture & Urban Planning, Tongji University, Shanghai

ARCHITECTURE CRITIC & REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PRIZE STEERING COMMITTEE
Tony Chapman, Head of Awards at RIBA, London

UPHOLDER OF HIGH QUALITY ARCHITECTURE AS A CLIENT
Hansjörg Mölk, CEO MPreis, Völs, Tirol

SECRETARY OF THE JURY (WITHOUT THE RIGHT TO VOTE)
Giovanna Carnevali, Director Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona

COORDINATOR OF THE PRIZE (WITHOUT THE RIGHT TO VOTE)
Ivan Blasi, Architect

Check the Nominees projects of each European countries by clicking on the map.

Reporting:

Barcelona Architecture Center

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BAC SEMINARS NEWS

At our history seminar, we learned all about the historic gothic and medieval buildings in Barcelona. The amount of craftsmanship and detail that it took to create many of these structures is incredible. Some of these buildings included the Santa Maria del Mar, the Cathedral of Barcelona, gargoyles, Santa Maria del Pi, the medieval walls, and much more.

Reporting:

Ryan Koehler, Clemson University Undergraduate LandArch. student