The Barcelona Summer

Thank You and GoodBye

2006-09-01T02:04:00.000+02:00

Thank you to everyone who watched over us on our unpredictable adventure this summer.

This began as a way to let our parents know we were still alive - if there was a new photo, we weren't dead - but it became something greater to me.

Through this I was able to reconnect with family that I had missed for so long and lost contact with over the years.

Through this I was able to meet people I've never known.

Through this I'll be able to remember what happend when this summer is only a spec in a sea of summers.

I hope this journal has given something to those who've read it. I hope it piqued curiosities. I hope it made someone chuckle. I hope it motivated someone to write, to keep a journal, to take more photos, or to tell more stories. I hope it challenged someone to be less comfortable, to travel, and to try new things.

There's at least one memory every day worth keeping.

If you'd like to come with me to New York, I must begin my final year of the Master of Architecture program at Columbia. I will open a new chapter because this is a year that will pass with haste and is nothing like what you call the "Real World". I can't guarantee the same frequency of posts but we'll see where the story goes.

Thank you again for remembering us.

The CountDown @ Columbia begins here: http://randallholl-columbia.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, August 29, 2006: A New World

2006-09-01T01:08:00.000+02:00

What's that Columbus? That way? A better world awaits?

Columbus, known as Colon by the Spaniards, points to sea gesturing to the new world. The monarchs Isabel and Ferdinand funded is voyage; he received a hero's welcome here in Barcelona. This statue is the highest monument to him in the world and you can take an elevator to top.

But Columbus, why are you pointing East? Whatever.

On to the airport, it's time to bring this journey to a close.

August 26 - 27, 2006: yuck...

2006-08-29T00:34:00.000+02:00

The Granada virus holds on and keeps me at bay. I've been bedridden all weekend in Barcelona.

That lamb I had a week ago is the gift that keeps on giving.

Be wary of where you eat in Spain, stick to restaurants that are in the tourist guides, it appears anyone can serve food here with little facility.

Friday, August 25th: Bon Voyage Angelina

2006-08-28T20:02:00.000+02:00

It could be Starship Troopers or Star Wars; on Friday Angelina prepared for take-off to Texas.

Angelina will be stopping in Dallas to see her family before moving to Austin to begin her final semester in the professional Bachelor of Architecture program.

Thursday, August 24th: Angelina

2006-08-27T23:35:00.000+02:00

Something followed us home from Granada...well, it didn't follow us, it used me as a vessel, and tore at me from the inside.

Whatever the virus was it left me crippled in a sweaty, feverish heap on the bed all day coming in and out of consciousness.

Angelina was exactly that, a little angel. She did everything she could to help me get better; she never left my side.

We went to the hospital but the bureaucracy and the need for cash scared us away.

It got worse in the middle of the night. We grabbed our cash and went to the emergency room at 4am.

Wednesday, August 23rd: Leaving Cordoba

2006-08-27T23:16:00.000+02:00

Bedridden in Cordoba, this is all else we got to see: narrow but clean and charming streets. Like a Cadbury Egg, Islamic architecture is typically austere on the outside and rich on the inside. Walking down the streets we looked into beautiful interiors and glowing inner courtyards with water and vegetation.

The sickness began to subside and we started our 12-hour drive north to Barcelona through these narrow streets.

Less than half-way we finished listening to Dan Brown's, Angels & Demons (not nearly as good as The Davinci Code, though similar, and it has a cheesy ending). About the same time the sickness grew impatient and gripped down on me furiously. We hadn't had the chance to teach Angelina to drive a stick; I was stuck. We took drugs and McDonald's and made it to Barcelona late in the night...

Tuesday, August 22nd: Cordoba

2006-08-27T20:23:00.000+02:00

For once on our trip the expected obstacle became a blessing. The hostal had abandoned our reservation for some unknown reason; there were no rooms left. The owner of the Hotel Maestre had a good heart and gave us a room in the air-conditioned, well-kept, hotel adjacent to the hostal at the same price.

After nearly 12-hours of feverish sleep and my illness worsening we needed food we could trust - thankfully my favorite rufuge, BurgerKing, set up shop outside the entrance to Cordoba's holy savior, the Mezquita, the Great Mosque of Cordoba.

The mosque was expanded several times over its life as a mosque; it grew to hold 40,000 worshipers. Its striped double-arches on narrow marble columns are what make this building unique and let light deep into the expansive structure.

Before the fall of Granada, the Christians took Cordoba. In the center of this great mosque they erected a fairly typical Christian Cathedral. At least the arrogant act did not destroy a majority of the original building. Rather, now it just looks like a mutant: beautiful here, beautiful there, but together...not so much.

Wimpering from bench to bench, this was all I had energy for in Cordoba; Angelina guided us back to the hotel.

Monday, August 21st: I think it's that way

2006-08-27T19:50:00.000+02:00

We packed up our things once-again and left the Korean-run Pension VeraCruz. A Pension is something between a 1-star hotel and a hostal (basically anything goes). We didn't think twice about stealing their filthy stained towels, we had to think twice about touching them.

We loaded everything back into our little rent-a-cart and went to the bazaar to haggle prices. This puts Angelina in a fierce mood. The gullible Minnesotan however never knows better and trusts they're surely cutting me a deal. I was told to go wait outside;-)

Angelina emerges successful; arms quivering from all the booty won in the bout. This booty will be making it's way to Minnesota soon.

We ate strange-looking Morroccan food last night...not feeling so well...we'd better just get on the road to Cordoba.

The trip reminded me of the game Oregon Trail. We bartered for goods. The overloaded hatchback had a hard time making it up some hills and we thought we'd have to purge weight. Little Timmy (me) caught yellow fever and had to be buried by the trailside. Or so I hoped. Aches and fever set in as I tried to maneuver the manual transmission through the mountainous 2-lane road.

From this manmade precipice within the Alhambra it doens't appear that it would be too hard to get out of this small city. Unfortunately Spain didn't adapt to the automobile well. Any town you enter you must expect to get lost. There are no street signs. If you do see one, chances are the street has multiple names anyway. There are no straight roads, no grid, no rationality. There are plenty of law-less roundabouts which are like running a gauntlet. Like Homer says, "How do I get off this thing?" I never really figured it out, just closed my eyes and crossed my fingers.

It took an hour to get out of this town.

Tourist Rule

2006-08-26T22:43:00.000+02:00

Power in Spain has not only changed hands over the centuries but changed form drastically; the amazing thing about the Alhambra is that it witnessed and preserved profound changes in power.

The Visigoths began with a fortress on this site. In 711AD Muslims invaded the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain + Portugal) and took control with ease because of conflicting Christian factions.

The last moments of Islamic power on the Iberian Peninsula flickered in 1492 at the Alhambra when Catholic Christian Monarchs Isabel and Ferdinand claimed the Alhambra in the name of Christendom.

Those in power nobly did not destroy what the previous powers had built. In this walled royal city Christian and Islamic architecture connect, yet are very distinct.

This ceiling is characteristic of Islamic architecture where the stalactite-like forms unite with the light from the windows of the 8-pointed star to create rich ornamentation and depth. This room flanks the Court of Lions (pictured previously), which is divided into four by narrow channels of water - this Palace of the Nasrid Dynasty is rich in ornate religious symbology.

Almost sadly, today neither the Cristians nor the Muslims rule the Alhambra. With 7,700 tourists invading the Alhambra each day, it is now under Tourist Rule.

National Lampoon's Spanish Vacation

2006-08-26T15:41:00.000+02:00

Sunday, August 20th we had planned to see the legendary royal city of the Alhambra, a walled fortress overlooking Granada. When we were told that advanced tickets were sold out for the next few weeks our hearts sank.

With the train dilemma and now this, I felt like Clark Griswold standing at the gates to WallyWorld after his botched family vacation led them to an off-limits theme park.

Thankfully the woman interrupted our jaw-dropping with a hint of hope - 2,000 tickets were sold exclusively onsite each morning beginning at 8am. We were there at seven surprised to find ourselves hundreds of people deep; those more devout tourists had set up camp in the cold dark dawn at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountain range much earlier.

Saturday, August 19th, 2006: Granada

2006-08-25T19:32:00.000+02:00

"que tu miras..." the slurred words staggered in the distance as we walked uphill, the Alhambra, shown here, to our right.

"QUE tu miras!..." it repeated louder. Amused that I could understand what the grumbly voice was murmuring I turned to Angelina, "I think he's saying, 'what are you looking at?'"

I turned around to see who was looking at what "QUE TU MIRAS!" shit, I think he's yelling at us!

The filthy stumbling drunk came charging at us up the cobbled road "QUE TU MIRAS!" the slowly-stretched, slurred words dominated the busy street. Hoping there was a chance he wasn't targeting us we turned and started walking quickly uphill.

"QUE TU MIRAS!" He was closing in. We should duck into a shop.

"QUETUMIRAS!" the words shot direcly into my left ear, I had to do something. My blood began to boil; prepared to fight I turned to face him, "WHAT!? WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"

"Que tu miras!" the words spattered their way through his rotting, crooked, yellow teeth. He was wearing a torn, stained green t-shirt. His eyes dark brown like his hair; his scrawny frame couldn't have been older than 30 years.

Adrenaline surged, it's hard to express anger in a foreign language, but I tried, "Vamanos! (Let's go!)" He stared. Tourists stared. "VAMANOS! VAS! VAS! (you go!)" No one came, no one left.

At a standoff the yelling continued, I was mixing in English and hand motions.

Angelina was up ahead and I motioned her on; with my fist clenched and without taking my eyes from him I began walking. He began following. Shit. But soon gave up. Thrusting his hand in my face with his middle-finger raised he spouted some crude curses that I clearly understood after working at a construction site all summer.

Welcome to Granada.

L'Oceanographic

2006-08-22T18:51:00.000+02:00

Another piece of the City of Arts and Sciences is L'Oceanographic, the largest aquarium in Europe at 45,000 sq.meters.

Angelina is up close getting a photo of the fish, we were to have dinner in an underwater restaurant - I bet that would be like eating a burger in the barn.

We canceled the reservations to see something much more peculiar: synchronized swimming and a dolphin show - two firsts for me! They were great - just what we needed before our midnight departure southbound with our little rented go-cart.

The City of Arts & Sciences

2006-08-22T18:46:00.000+02:00

We were still able to salvage half of the day and see what we came to Valencia to see.

This modern development in the Valencia riverbed could not be more different from the medieval quarter we explored yesterday.

This "city" is largely the work of Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava, author of the bridge we saw in Bilbao.

The building on the right is a science museum; a building that caught my eye in my first semester at Columbia where I tried creating a 3D model of it.The building in the center, modeled after a human eye and weilding an operable facade is the Imax and planetarium.In the distance the opera house has yet to reach completion and is a close replica of one Calatrava designed in Tenerife.

Friday, August 18th, 2006: Stranded

2006-08-22T18:27:00.000+02:00

No more trains. Every train is booked for at least the next week. We're stranded in Valencia.

Word of advice: book everything in advance.

We had planned an extemely detailed trip with full prints of the timetables of each train we were to take over the next week.

We had reserved all hostals in advance, but assumed there would be room on the trains; the travel attendant's look of pity was translingual.

We had no place to stay this night because the train we were going to take was overnight.

But money can solve a lot of problems (unfortunately) and an extremely small rental car saved our trip. We still had time to explore Valencia before hitting the road tonight.

Thursday, August 17th, 2006: Valencia

2006-08-22T17:52:00.000+02:00

After climbing 207 stairs of the tower of the Valencia Cathedral we were rewarded with a broad panorama of Valencia City.

Valencia is a 5-hour train ride south of Barcelona.

The legendary Holy Grail is said to be in this cathedral - the actual cup that is - we got a photo of a photo of it because viewing hours were over.

The rest of the night we wandered around the gothic area and the royal gardens. The city was founded on a river that has since been diverted and is now a long 9-km park.

We sampled a local treat called horchata and farton (...) which is milk from tiger nuts and a pastry stick. We just couldn't figure out how they milked all those tigers.

Recharge in Barcelona

2006-08-17T02:56:00.000+02:00

We'll be back on our feet in a few hours.

Tomorrow morning we leave Barcelona via southbound train to Valencia to see Calatrava's City of Arts and Sciences.

After that we will head deeper south to see the Alhambra at Granada; and further yet to Coroba.

We arrive back in Barcelona on Wednesday, August 23rd. We'll have a computer with us to give updates when we come across an internet signal; we'll be staying at hostels or sleeping on the train as we go.

Tuesday, August 15th, 2006: Enric Miralles

2006-08-17T02:29:00.000+02:00

Spanish architect, Enric Miralles, died at the age of 45 and is buried in a cemetary he designed for the town of Igualada an hour outside of Barcelona.

Miralles was a brilliant and successful architect and projects are still being completed in his name.

The atmosphere was powerfully eery; nearby lightening and deafening thunder introduced a downpour unprecedented for our visit to Spain.

We took shelter under a cantilevering stack of tombs but the rain intensified in this isolated area outside of the town.

A man came running towards us through the rain; he was shouting but we couldn't hear over the sound of the storm. He was the keeper, he'd come to lock the gates but only by chance noticed a small car far inside the cemetary and came searching for us.

The Bilbao Effect

2006-08-17T02:21:00.000+02:00

American architect (and Columbia "faculty") is the architect of arguably what saved the city of Bilbao, Spain.

Known as the Bilbao Effect this museum has single-handedly revived this dying post-industrial city through the increased surge in tourism since it's opening in the late 1990's.

Monday, August 14th, 2006: Bilbao

2006-08-17T02:11:00.000+02:00

One of our favorites, Santiago Calatrava, designed a bridge across the river in Bilbao.

Bilbao is a post-industrial town trying to make a cultural come-back. They've chosen a good team too: Calatrava, Frank Gehry, and Sir Norman Foster have all made significant contributions here lately.

Calatrava won the AIA gold medal last year. He is a great role-model, studying engineering, then architecture.

San Sebastian

2006-08-17T01:58:00.000+02:00

It's hard to do San Sebastian justice. It's a grandiose town expressing the power and solitude of a city like Washington DC but with an elegance that could be described as a 19th century French flavor.

We happened to arrive at the start of their "Semana Grande" or Big Week.

Their were parades, concerts, and dancing in the streets. People dressed with large head costumes chased people in the street and beat them with an inflatable ham that gave a startleing wallup.

We got separated in the crowd as the fireworks were about to start in the harbor. Angelina went to get ice cream for us; the police came to clear the area, I argued with them, but they didn't care if we found each other or not.

Sunday, August 13th, 2006: Costa Vasca

2006-08-17T01:50:00.000+02:00

We showered at the beach and explored the beautiful coastal villages of Zarautz, Getaria, and Zumaia on the Punta Isarrais.

These are quaint little towns rich in history. Most, if not all have been wiped out several times. Napolean's troops razed most of them when as the French retreated in the 19th century.

They thrive on fishing in the Bay of Biscay as well as a growing tourist economy.

The clouds were a welcome break from the Costa Brava.

Sunday, August 13th: Room with a View

2006-08-17T01:18:00.000+02:00

"What happened last night?" I thought when I opened my eyes to a green and blue lush picturesque landscape of rolling hills and soft clouds.

Deep into the night we passed through our destination, the majestic Spanish coastal city of San Sebastian. Barely able to keep our eyes open we found a tributary road and drove away from the highway.

Able to see nothing but our own headlights on the narrow paved road we could only tell that we were ascending.

We locked the doors, reclined the seats of the VW and slept over nine hours uninterrupted.

This is Basque Country. A land of it's own. It's culture is unique; it's language appears more like Russian than Spanish, yet it is a part of Spain.

Basque Country is home to the militant "terrorist" organization known as the ETA. Although still an extrememly active organization, it has declared an indefinite cease-fire. The ETA was first blamed for the 2004 Madrid Subway bombings that killed hundreds of people - which was later linked to Al Qaeda.

That withstanding, the Basque Country is also known for their food - their small bite-sized courses of tapas or pintxos have landed international awards.

This room had a better veiw than any other we could have found. Now if I could only find the bathroom...

Spench or Franish?

2006-08-17T01:09:00.000+02:00

After the rain subsided in Bayonne we explored the cobblestone streets with our aptly-sized rental on the left.

This town is near the border of France and Spain - we passed through countries without knowing; borders are a thing of the past in most of the European Union.

Bayonne, France

2006-08-16T14:25:00.000+02:00

Very late on Saturday night we were lured to the medieval quarter of a French town partly by the lights reflecting off the river and partly by exhaustion.

Sometime after midnight a cold, hard rain caught us on the bridge for a quick awakening.

Bayonne, is on the Bay of Biscay in Southern France; about an hour from our destination near San Sebastion, Spain.

Saturday, August 12th, 2006: South France Somewhere

2006-08-16T01:37:00.000+02:00

Saturday morning we took the bus to Figueres near the jobsite to rent a car and break free. Everyone gave their two-cents, "take this road, take that road, it will be faster." This is exactly why we didn't listen to them.

The only way to navigate was by town name, road names don't seem to matter. We accidentally got on the autobahn twice but quickly found our way back to the provincial roads that led us through non-descript small villages strung along the base of the French Pyranees.

It took twelve or fifteen hours to reach San Sebastian on the Bay of Biscay at the northwestern coast of Spain after traversing the entire width of southern France. We weren't keeping time; that was the point. For once we didn't have to be anywhere at any time. We couldn't find lodging ahead of time so we didn't have to worry about making it in time to check in, we were riding in our hotel room.

We didn't realize how much Spanish we actually knew until it came time to communicate with the French, it was back to charades.

One of the best parts was realizing that pop-culture had taught me something about France. Disney's Beauty and the Beast could have taken place in any of these villages. More importantly the Nintendo racing game with the "France" track prepared me well to maneuver the manual VW through the tree-lined country side.

GoodBye Bench

2006-08-11T22:23:00.000+02:00

I should be under water right now.

Tonight is our final night at VillaNurbs. It doesn't feel right to leave when things are left incomplete.

This is surely only the beginning of our relationship with Cloud9 and Spain; the firm is working on several projects now including a competition for a redesign of Coney Island, New York.

Tomorrow morning we break free by car to explore the rest of Spain for the remainder of August. We're heading first through the French side of the Pyranees to San Sebastian and Bilbao on the northern coast. After returning the car to Barcelona we'll take the train south to Valencia, Granada, and Cordoba.

Whenever we find an internet connection we'll update the blog once for everyday we may have missed.

I'd like to hear what others think should be done with this blog? Should it end upon reaching US soil? Should it continue? Perhaps a linked blog begins like a new chapter in a book?

We're happy to have survived architecture boot camp; we're stronger and smarter than when we entered; we've been torn down, rebuilt and subject to putrid conditions, but all in an attempt to forge a path into unknown territory. We're very thankful to Enric and Cloud9 for all he has taught us and all he has given us. This is an experience that will influence me from now on.

Architecture is an endangered species, now we are traveling to find its roots and hopefully bring it back to life.

Layering Space

2006-08-10T23:33:00.000+02:00

The Architect passes behind the artGlass as I perch on the hot steel roof analyzing how the sinking afternoon sun ignites certain levels of pigment in the curving pane.

Reflections expand and layer space; shifting depths of field combine with movement to create parallax - the key to perceiving volume and space - architecture.

On 3

2006-08-10T20:51:00.000+02:00

After several layers of different chemicals the pool is almost sealed.

The fiberglass installation began yesterday; the pool was scheduled for a test fill tomorrow.

I'll jump in, even if the chemical soup burns my skin off.

The bridge is on the left; you'll swim beneath it to enter the open-air pool courtyard.

This vantage point, looking from the "roof" of the villa down through what will be a large glass bubble will make a perfect spot to launch a canonball.

Glass Fiber

2006-08-10T20:36:00.000+02:00

In an attempt to fill the pool with water before the American team departs, the intensity of production in the pool has morphed into a frenzy.

An application of a 3mm layer of fiberglass will turn the pool to a white gloss.

The craftsman work inch by inch like a tailor crafting a fine suit.

SpaLounge

2006-08-09T23:04:00.000+02:00

Pronounced "splounge", my first VillaNurbs realization has been sealed with a rubbery compound before being lined with a plastic mesh and another sealant.

The formwork was designed by hand with a pencil and cardboard while measuring my own body (it's comfortable for me at least).

The Splounge transitions from an upright seated position to a reclined pose and back to a slightly different combination of the two. There are five jets for your legs and one for your back.

The gap at the worker's right hand is for the strip of LED lights; the channel where his left hand rests is the level of the water and finished floor height.

Two if by Sea

2006-08-09T22:29:00.000+02:00

With only two days left of work and much story to tell, we'll break our long steadfast rule of one photo per day, no more, no less.

Unlike the tideless Mediterranean, the number of tourists in Empuria Brava has swollen to an uncomfortable high; estimated at 3-million people visiting the region.

This tide brings in many oddities, including French scubadivers via the canal.

Rule Breaking

2006-08-09T21:59:00.000+02:00

It's been said by architects such as Steven Holl and Thom Mayne that good architects know how to break the rules to achieve something greater.

Other than the canal and the mountains in the distance, the site is rather devoid of ideosyncracies and privacy. On both sides of the villa there will be two very massive walls. These walls will block out the surrounding site and create a site-less set, transporting the occupants into a non-discript environment.

The walls will be clad in a reflective, greenish, stainless steel. Infront of the steel will be a layer of bamboo. Between the stainless steel and the concrete wall is a large void where the machinery to run Villa Nurbs will be housed. The villa will be completely isolated from the sound and vibrations of the machines and unencumbered by their mass; it will be an isolated bubble on life-support.

The neighbors are furious and talk of litigation rises with the wall. While the wall will whisk away the occupants on one side it is very real to the inhabitants of the other. While the wall is intended to leave Villa Nurbs free of machinery I can't help but think of ecological and planning debates in the USA referred to as NIMBY, not in my back-yard.

The wall will certainly create an unforgettable experience, regardless of which side you're on.

Traffic Counter (see bottom)

2006-08-09T17:06:00.000+02:00

An Argentine architecture student wrote yesterday regarding Villa Nurbs after stumbling across this site on the internet.

Others are watching...how many? I dunno.

My profile-view-counter is broken; I think due to some "comment spamming" that was coming in pretty heavily to this blog.

My brother asked long ago if there was a way to see how many hits this gets.

I finally installed a counter at the very bottom of the page if anyone's curious; it's from sitemeter.com

Moorish trace in Barcelona

2006-08-08T20:31:00.000+02:00

This estate welcomes you to the labyrinth gardens in the heights of Barcelona.

Built in 1791 there is a noticable family resemblence to Arabic or Moorish architecture.

The Moors invaded from the south and occupied regions in Spain for hundreds of years.

Too bad the Norwegians didn't invade from the north - we'd have some unique offspring then.

This place was full of great ideas for my parents new Holl Gardens in Burnsville, Minnesota, USA to begin next spring...

Horta Labyrinth Park, Barcelona

2006-08-08T19:33:00.000+02:00

Sunday afternoon we took the L3 Metro Line to Mundet to visit the 17-hectare neoclassical garden.

These gardens are divided into three levels: the irrigation level, the labyrinth level, and the romantic level.

The trick with irrigation is to have a stockpile of water at the top of the garden to fuel the many fountains and plants down to the villa.

The trick with the labyrinth level is to watch the sun; but that doesn't help too much, we hit six or seven dead ends.

But what's the trick with romance?

Embedded Art at Villa Nurbs

2006-08-06T21:58:00.000+02:00

We stayed at the site to work Saturday and observe the test installation of a very unique pane of glass.

This pane of glass is over 12 feet tall; all four sides have a unique curvature; each side has a constantly changing radius.

Each pane consists of two sheets of glass laminated with a film in the middle. The film is the work of New York artist Vicky Colombet - she visited the site in early June. She has been preparing since the visit; refining her technique and inspiration and will begin soon with the actual art-work.

This particular piece of film and glass were used solely to test the installation process and do not suggest the final work. After hoisting the pane in with a crane, we saw the piece was 15 cm too short.

Notice the way the light catches the embedded film - the intention is for the clouds, sun, sky and shadows to put on an interactive show.

Vicky Colombet currently has an exhibition running in Sante Fe, New Mexico.

Another one Bites the Dust

2006-08-06T21:30:00.000+02:00

We've been through a lot with our "company" bikes this summer riding to and from the site in the neighboring town through the wetlands.

Angelina is getting good at riding one-handed; I've flipped over the front of my handlebars twice - the first time I was trying to do a trick, the second I blame my sandle you see lying in the road; both times I was wearing my backpack and the bike was hurt worse than I.

Sadly, our bikes were stolen Friday night.

This is the third bike I've lost in the last three years.

At least my friends played a trick on me and stole the seat that night before someone else stole our bikes. Now I've got a good bike seat and some thief has a sore ass.

'i wish i had a river'

2006-08-04T19:53:00.000+02:00

Not your typical parking lot.

A late night at the site reveals a different character in the canals.

What if Minnesota had a town like this? In the winter we could just skate everywhere we wanted to go!

...and of course this would help the ice-fishing.

Tramuntana Wind

2006-08-03T20:57:00.000+02:00

Unlike John Anderson's, Seminole Wind, the Tramuntana Wind will make you crazy.

The Tramuntana winds blow hard and steady from the Mediterranean into our big bowl here in the Pyranees; you can see the wind keeping the (French) clouds at bay just beyond the mountains.

This wind is said to have made Dali a little crazy. Along much of CostaBrava some species of tree grow nearly horizontally from the constant wind; they are in reality surreal.

Whether it's the wind or the water, something is making everyone here a little more than crazy.

VillaBio

2006-08-03T10:38:00.000+02:00

On the cover of Dwell magazine this month you'll find a house that Enric and Cloud 9 completed last year.

The half of the house on the right cantilevers above the ground using the solid concrete wall as a beam; the entrance to the garage is below.

The sloping of the house was a gesture relating to the slope we are sitting on as Enric tells us about the project - the opposing slope allows the house to rise above the street and look towards the Pyranees Mountains.

The heating and cooling systems are minimal; the thick walls act as thermal masses; this perhaps contributes to Dwell's september topic of Sustainable Design.

The roof hosts a perfume garden. This house is also being rented for 3-days for a movie shoot at 6,000 Euros a day.

Afterwards, Enric took us down the street to swim at his parents house - followed by a nice dinner nearby.

Moral of the story - friends of parents make good first clients...

Support Baal Dan

2006-08-01T18:29:00.000+02:00

Barceloneta Funicular

2006-07-31T22:17:00.000+02:00

Another look back from the Mediterranean towards our apartment in Barceloneta.

The cable-car crosses over the harbor to the top of Montjuic where the Olympics were held.

Gaudi Grand Finale

2006-07-31T21:56:00.000+02:00

Barcelona's signature buiding, the Temple of the Sagrada Familia (The Temple of the Holy Family) began construction in 1882 and is now just a little over 50% completed.

We've studied medieval and gothic cathedrals of the middle-ages that took generations to build and were not surprised because of the limited technology of the period, but there was more to them than that.

What is it like to give your life to something that you will never see completed? Just imagine how self-less one must be to dedicate your life's work in order to achieve a greater contribution to the history of humanity.

When someone asked Gaudi why he would take on a project that could not be completed in a lifetime, he simply said, "My client is in no hurry."

This work is an incredible endeavor for Gaudi to have taken on in his early thirties. How can one building withstand the volitile trail of society - construction techniques have radically changed, beliefs and faith in general have shifted; this has become more of a tourism icon than a religious one.

The form of the building was derived from suspending weights from chains - photographing resulting catenary arch - and inverting the photo to reveal a completely utilized structural form.

In the age of instant pleasure - we just can't wait to see it compete! eta 20yrs.

Harbor Cruise

2006-07-30T00:56:00.000+02:00

After brunch we split ways not really knowing when or where we would meet up.

As the last boat was about to depart the Barcelona Port we finally found each other and were the last two to slip aboard.

We stood at the front as the boat followed the coast for nearly two hours and the sun set behind the mountains behind the city.

Meanwhile, in the recesses of our minds we're formulating a plan inspired by the Pirate exhibit at the Maritime Museum...how to...

...and here's the Shower...

2006-07-29T13:34:00.000+02:00

"What, your computer doesn't work anymore?" A young architect and former employee of Cloud9 stopped by to harass us while we painted full-scale furniture onto the floor of VillaNurbs.

We've painted and repainted using different color of spray for the past two weeks - the client keeps changing her mind and can't visualize space in her mind.

This idea stemmed from Enric's former profession of stage and set design; we also hoped the large solid blocks would discourage her from changing her mind again...it didn't work.

Client Delay

2006-07-28T01:23:00.000+02:00

Another lighting test tonight.

Late client = late night...and free sangria and paella.

Better tomorrow.

back at Batllo

2006-07-26T20:59:00.000+02:00

Great architecture has great details.

One of the wooden door frames commonly over-looked at Casa Batllo continues the guiding design principles alluding to oceanic forms.

The warmth, shine, form, and smooth tactility of the soft, carved wood begs your fingers to trace the sinuous waves.

Is ornament excessive? The modernists sterilized architecture of ornament and created forms that fulfilled only funtional; reducing structure and materials to their minimum. This was built before the modernist movement; something was lost in that era.

If the purpose of ornament was to create beauty, and ornament was banished by the modernists, what defines 'beauty' today?

What is a total work of art?

Shattered Cloud

2006-07-25T20:27:00.000+02:00

My first instructor at Columbia would have been disappointed with yesterday's post.

When we pin our drawings up for a critique he would never let us talk about something that was not somehow represented. In the middle of a sentence he would "HEY, if it's not on the wall don't talk about it...[if you say the clouds are shattered sheets of ice floating on a pond, show shattered sheets of ice floating on a pond]!"

Words to live by: "mean what you say, say what you mean, and the rest will follow."

With all apologies, I would like to present our evening sky.

*Thanks to Mark Rakatansky for giving me so much crap - or "directed encouragement" as he would say.

triple dog dare

2006-07-24T21:25:00.000+02:00

tonight it was as nice to look up as it was to look down; the sky was like shattered sheets of ice floating on a pond

on our daily ride to work through the wetlands, we pass the second busiest drop zone in the world - the first being in the American southwest.

the sky is often peppered with people; as we watch from the construction site my stomach drops because Angelina vows we must do this before leaving (enric wants us to wait until our last day...just in case). As a former member of the University of Wisconsin skydiving club, you'd think I would have at least jumped once by now...

In Roses we met the owner of a restaurant who is a professional jumper; he offered to record our fall for free.

Casa Batllo

2006-07-24T02:34:00.000+02:00

Another one of Gaudi's brilliant works is Casa Batllo - a residential renovation on the Passeig de Gracia (the 5th Ave of Barcelona).

An aquatic motif runs throughout the building.

Forms and colors are taken from the sea and skeletons of marine animals.

There exists no drawing set for this project because Gaudi - to the frustrations of the client and builders was always on site carefully supervising and changing the work as it evolved - this situation sounds all-to-familiar...

...I think some people say, 'hey, if it worked for Gaudi...'

Copy-Righted Weekend

2006-07-24T02:15:00.000+02:00

Everywhere we went this weekend we were getting into trouble.

The scenic route to the Picasso Museum on Saturday morning led us through the streets of the gothic quarter where we were drawn into the enormous gothic Cathedral of St. Maria by the sound of an organ. The bride and groom were exiting, rice and petals were flying, and the keepers of the cathedral quickly chased us out by jingling keys while we ducked and snapped like the paparazzi.

At least we can count on one hand the number of times we were scolded at the Picasso Museum for getting too close or pulling out a camera. Many people don't know, but Picasso is from Barcelona for the most part.

Picasso could have been on 'Mork and Mindy'. We unintentionally visited the comprehensive exhibit in reverse chronology. The first work we saw was what we are all most familiar with - very abstract, cubist, etc. At the end of the exhibit (the beginning) was a completely and perfectly beatiful set of drawings of greek statues - executed by a 7-year old prodigy.

Maybe we should all go through life a little more backwards and look forward to being a kid again. It seems that in any profession, once you prove yourself, you can do whatever the hell you want.

the American Team

2006-07-22T03:20:00.000+02:00

"The Americans are coming! The Americans are coming!"

Enric promised literal salvation to the client, the contractor, and the office with the arrival of "The American Team". He told them all to hold on just a little longer; the Americans are coming.

Angelina (behind the lense), Bill, and I have left our imprint here - the new project banner was unveiled this week - note the names listed.

I've heard Enric tell others that the Americans are the most positive people he's ever had work for him...that could be a fairly relative statement

No, the official Cloud9 uniform is not black t-shirt and tan cargo shorts...we've been sitting together practically since starting at Columbia 2-years ago...we call this an 'accident' - coicidences can't happen that many times.

Infantilism

2006-07-20T21:42:00.000+02:00

"What are you thinking?"

What is it like to be a pigeon? We speak, they speak, but neither understand. Just stand there.

I know why the pigeon runs.* We stand and listen as the clients, architects and workers discuss ideas and make decisions. We stand there, trying to understand, trying to speak, but not quite.

I know what it's like to be 3-years old again. It's great. The "grown-ups" know we only understand some of the words they are saying. We know a few words and we use them over and over again; we can't quite explain what we want - whether it's food or design - but we point and make noises.

To my nephew, Alex, and my nieces, Annika, Amelia, and Caitlyn - it's okay not to understand or be understood - just point and make noises, like the pigeons.

* "I know why the caged birds sings, ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,
When he beats his bars and would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings -
I know why the caged bird sings."

-Maya Angelou

order + time

2006-07-19T22:29:00.000+02:00

Natural inspiration at Cap Ras.

Sand, stone, wind, water, time.

Gaudi. Dali...Cloud9?

set...Hike

2006-07-18T21:12:00.000+02:00

There may be better ways to release tension on the weekend than pigeon-punting in Placa Catalunya...

...but these are Spanish Pigeons!

Cap Ras

2006-07-17T21:05:00.000+02:00

"Shit, where'd the other half of this hill go?"

There's a hilly appendage to the CostaBrava not too far from the site where farming isn't allowed; it's covered with a net of walking paths.

Hill after hill we walked; they were getting bigger the further we walked - there was no telling how many there would be.

Have you ever walked up a set of stairs and expected one more step than there actually was? You take that goofy oversized step? Or drank from the wrong cup and got something strange? It was probably just beer, but you were expecting milk.

We reached the crest of the hill and it vanished into open space; tranquil, clear, aqua-blue water lapped at the rough, jagged rocks hundreds of feet below.

This hill is beer; we expected milk.

MiraBlau

2006-07-17T00:46:00.000+02:00

brunch at the "BlueLook" takes it all in - this is the view from our table.

To the left, the SouthEast, you'll find Gaudi's Sagrada Familia and Nouvel's Torre Agbar. DeadAhead lies the hill of Montjuic, home to the 1992 Olympics and cliffside cemetery.

If you are in to people-watching, this is where you can see all 1.5 million Barcelonans at once.

a Moment of Silence

2006-07-16T12:38:00.000+02:00

The target was in the sight, I took aim, focused, pulled the trigger...and it was dead...

After 8,020 photos together my faithful camera died at 2pm on Saturday, July 15th for reasons unknown. 3,538 of the photos were created in Spain.

It was rushed to the technician but it was too late; there was nothing he could do. I left the cold lense-less body in his hands.

Because of the way business is done here and because most of Spain shuts down this time of year, I will not know the causes for at least 15 days; there is no telling how long it will be until I see it again. With the unreliable postal system and laissez-faire service sector, there's no way to know if and when it will return.

With every death comes rebirth. I left the shop with cute little pocket-sized digital that will supplant the missing limb and ease the phantom pains.

For Diego

2006-07-14T17:00:00.000+02:00

!Gracias por el banco!

The cool thing about concrete is that it is first liquid then stone; it can take any form - why not a standing wave.

I've been influenced by the sinuous forms of Gaudi; the weather-worn rock along the coast; and staring trance-like at the waves alternating in the canal as I suck down my morning coffee.

I owe deep thanks to Diego who sweat for a week and a half and many others that built the massive formwork and constructed the web of steel reinforcing.

The Architect, Enric, returned after a week at the office in Barcelona to see the Spa - he shouted, "Hostia!" ('Damn!'), "Randall, you son of a bitch! This is incredible! Wow!" He went on in Spanish...

I have to thank him for letting me have complete control of the spa and pool. "Mandar," he said, "command with eloquence..."

natural narcissism

2006-07-13T21:26:00.000+02:00

15 km south of the border between France and Spain a fisherman's village of 4000 inhabitants lines a small, natural harbor. The primary economic input of Llanca is still fishing; tourism has not yet discovered this village thereby preserving its picturesque, rustic character.

Like Cadaques and the other coastal villages we pass through, certain traits come to light: these villages grow organically; they are organisms that are inseparable from the site; their present form and the paths they take are dictated by the terrain; their capacity and spawning point begin and end based on natural limitations.

Human nature is also evidenced in these villages - humans are naturally voyeuristic and gregarious beings; they like 'to see' and 'be seen' yet we also need security, privacy, and distance. The cove affords all of these desires; back and forth across the bay the city loves to look back at itself and it's reflection in the water - it is naturally narcissistic.

The Real World 2006

2006-07-12T19:43:00.000+02:00

take eight strangers and put them in a box...MTV's got it easy...
- first: there's no running water, no refrigerator and the temperature is in the mid-nineties
- next: add 8 computers, 2 printers, 1 phone, 3 languages
- then: bake under intense sun for 12 hours per day, 5 days per week
- remove from heat, let sit in bare apartment; share 1 bath

this is where we work...
...'see what happens when people stop being polite and start being real...'

lunchBreak

2006-07-11T19:06:00.000+02:00

when el jeffe's away, the interns will play.

typically, we spend two hours per day waiting our way through five rounds of comparatively laid-back service from olives to coffee.

importing the American 'power-lunch' (sandwich to go) we saved enough time to learn how to windsurf before going back to work

one more peak

2006-07-10T20:59:00.000+02:00

the roads were narrow and winding like a snake climbing a tree - I clung to the handlebars and Angelina dug her fingernails into me as the motorbike struggled from the sea to the ancient monistery at the mountain peak

to explore the mountain villages of the CostaBrava to the border of France has been the experience of a lifetime - each peak and each bend reveal a work of art that is more beautiful than anything man will ever create; it is humbling to sense the greater order and our part within it

there could be no better way to see this place; there was nothing between us and the landscape - no windshield, no music, no seatbelt, no guardrail - just us, the salty cool sea air, the smell of olive groves, and the bright green vinyards...

Sunday, July 9th, 2006: Cap de Creus

2006-07-10T20:37:00.000+02:00

we took the motorbike from Cadaquez into the mountains along the coast

after visiting Salvador Dali's house we went to the eastern-most point of Spain, the tip of a peninsula called Cap de Creus.

the Pyranees and the Mediterranean battle here; the Mediterranean slices into the rock creating clear, calm coves for swimming and snorkeling above the coral.

Isolation fosters peculiar behavior - in the coves are nooks; in the nooks are surprises - a group of naked women lie on the rocks like Greek Sirens; is a naked man wearing a snorkel still naked?

Saturday, July 8th, 2006: Cadaques

2006-07-10T20:21:00.000+02:00

The white provincial town of Cadaques that glimmers in the clear Mediterranean sun wraps around a bay where the Pyranees mountains meet the sea.

until now we've only seen the mountains behind us from the lowlands where we work; taking a bus over the mountains also took us back in time.

This town is untainted by modernization for the most part - ironically we had to get here to rent a motorbike to explore the coast the remainder of the weekend.

the coves between mountain peaks create safety for a string of small villages from the intense Tramontana winds - their isolation also creates safety for a way of life that is carefully preserved here.

'The Apprentice'

2006-07-07T18:10:00.000+02:00

like many reality TV shows, here, we already know who the winner is - by the time this is posted it is already a day and a half old

the formwork of the spaBench was taken off to reveal it's negative; the grain of the wood in the concrete was interesting

Frank Lloyd Wright said, "only fools...criticize work that is half-done."

I hold my breath and ceaslessly describe what's in my head to the craftsmen and it slowly changes form

It's now half-done!

'banco' o 'barco'?

2006-07-06T21:26:00.000+02:00

a what line? "straight? never heard of it. this is afterall, villaNurbs

this may be a hard perspective to place: it's on the floor of the pool under a bridge looking at the base of a bench. The spa/pool connects the interior of the villa with the exterior; one will swim under the bridge to go outside.

the bench is a sinuous curve that springs from the base of the bridge - the 'motion' the form of the bench takes is based on the proportions of the male body transitioning into the proportions of the female body; then the bench lifts to create a step out of the pool before diving to the floor and fading into the wall when it reaches a thick pane of glass that creates a window looking down into the otherwise windowless theater below. The underside of the bench is a light diffuser for color-changing LED lamps directed upwards.

this pool/spa has been my focus since arriving in Spain; these craftsmen are great people - even though we barely understand each other, we've been able to communicate through drawings and gestures.

they call it "sexy"; I'm not sure whether to call it a 'bench' or a 'boat'.

mediterranean mermaid

2006-07-05T20:59:00.000+02:00

to celebrate our Independence, we Americans charged out of the site early and raced to the beach

Leaving work early by Spanish standards is 6:30. Here, everything is late. The concept of time has been one of the most difficult cultural differences to adapt to; especially after adjusting to and appreciating the intense pace of Manhattan. Maybe because America is so young, our sense of urgency sprouted from our nation's relatively late start in the game; the momentum carried on and surpassed other nations; it became a cultural attribute. In places like this, nothing is coming, nothing is going, it just is as it is - what you want will happen sooner or later...just not sooner.

the warm sea water, cold drinks, and beautiful scenery made for a memorable day of Independence

Happy Independence Day

2006-07-04T18:08:00.000+02:00

it's a stretch to say these are fireworks, but they'll have to do

until the 1980's Barcelona was referred to as a city with its back to the sea; the city that had existed in some form or another for roughly 2,300 years never had a beach - now the 8 kilometers of man-made beach are a major tourist attraction and need consistent maintenance.

Here in Barcelona, the city built the beach; in EmpuriaBrava, the beach built the city: the 1960's pre-planned resort town where we are working is nothing short of Disney or The Truman Show.

we're assuming they're dredging the sea bed to build a base for the sand; it just doesn't look ready to jump in quite yet

onToppa Mila

2006-07-03T19:23:00.000+02:00

the sun was setting behind our little castle on the hill when we reached the top of CasaMila at closing time Saturday evening.

we've decided never to visit the castle because it was one of the first images we saw when we arrived in Barcelona and it captivated our imagination - how romantic, how historic, a castle on the mountain overlooking the city and the sea.

Rumor has it, that it's not all it's cracked up to be...smaller than you'd think and a bit cheesy in its touristization, and most-likely a disappointment.

We can choose not to accept hearsay and let it live on in our minds in all its grandeur; not to wash away our blissful ignorance.

Meanwhile the guard on top of Gaudi's Mila was coming towards us - with every step he took, we took two - finally we came full circle on the rooftop and were cornered; they ushered the last two deliquents out of the building.

La Pedrera

2006-07-03T00:54:00.000+02:00

"Gaudi has built a house according to the forms of the sea representing the waves on a stormy day"

- Salvador Dali

Gaudi's last masterpeice before he was killed in the street at the age of 74 by a trolley, Casa Mila, also known as La Pedrera (Stone Quarry) was built between 1906 and 1912..

The stone was quarried from Montserrat, assembled, and sculpted on site. This is one of the first major works using a free-column plan and curtain wall allowing large and abundant windows.

This is further evidence of Gaudi's brilliance as an artist and architect; after sketching the building from the corner, we looked both ways before crossing the street.

make a Wish

2006-07-02T11:33:00.000+02:00

a wave can be frozen by hitting it with light in the dark; time can be compressed into one image where the natural patterning of waves takes a new form

a sailboat slowly glided in the distance striking each wave once and moving on

in an attempt to capture the motion of light across the surface of water something unexpected appeared in the camera that was imperceptible to the human eye - above the light of the boat moving from right to left is a streak of light moving from left to right. A comet, meteorite, satellite...life? No matter what, make a wish

Spanish Bronx

2006-07-01T11:38:00.000+02:00

if streets are Water and cars are Boats, then this is the Bronx

i tried following the coastline on bike from empuriaBrava, where the construction site is, to santaMargarita, where we are living, only to realize that in order to have towns where the majority of streets are canals, you have to have inlets...which are not traversable on bike, damn, time to turn around

it appears that it is not traversable by boat either

CostaBrava

2006-06-29T19:52:00.000+02:00

...moments later we struck a rock just beneath the face of the Mediterranean.
the client picked us up in his boat at the mooring on site and took us through the canals of EmpuriaBrava into the sea where we set anchor and swam in the warm salty water.

this area, known as the Costa Brava (Brave Coast) may get its name from the dangerously rocky terrain. As the prop struck rock near the town of Scala stone flew and we coasted carefully into their harbor.

we had a chilly idle back to EmpuriaBrava where the client's wife had dinner and wine waiting

Light and Stone

2006-06-28T20:00:00.000+02:00

light permeates concrete via embedded fiberoptic strands

the concrete appears as typical stone until the light is intensified from behind

we are using this material in various places throughout the villa - notably in the floor over the windowless 'feet'

10, 9, 8,...

2006-06-27T20:27:00.000+02:00

we have lift off.

this new addition to Barcelona by the French architect, Jean Nouvel, is Torre Agbar. This is the same architect responsible for the new Guthrie Theater that just opened in Minneapolis.

Nouvel spoke at Columbia last spring and gave a rather unimpressive lecture marked by him repeating "next, next, next, next, next, next..." as someone sped through slides of his ill-edited presentation

this project was his finale, which his started off by saying this was in Madrid...

you are seeing a tower covered with thousands of panes of inoperable glass - caked in dirt - not so easy to clean

the tower sites in a moat with a true lack of design at where the building meets the ground. the surrounding site consists of shanties and grafitti; this is the new catalyst. However, it looks like the building will 'take-off' before the neighborhood does.

invasion of the Mullets!

2006-06-26T20:17:00.000+02:00

everyone has one. Men, women, girls, boys, babies - yuppies, mallrats, blue-collar, white-collar, rich, and poor.

perhaps the mullet is the way to world peace - it defies class, religion, income, education, and age.

I'm having flashbacks to 1986 when only the coolest of the rural population donned the mullet.

For heaven's sake, please don't let this trend reach the USA!

Nature

2006-06-26T00:11:00.000+02:00

...natural history by itself has no value; it is like a single sex. But marry it to human history and it is poetry. Whole volumes of floras, contain not one line of poetry, but the most trivial of facts; the habit of a plant, the organs, or work, or noise of an insect applied to the interpretation of or associated with a fact in human nature is beauty, is poetry, is truth at once.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature 1834

The real sanctuary at Montserrat was in the hills, nature was our guide; Emerson was our narrator.

AmericaNight

2006-06-25T00:19:00.000+02:00

Other cultures are meant to be appreciated and explored, but there will always be one that we call our own - I was beginning to think that eventually there would be one global culture, I don't think so any more - the great thing about traveling is being able to see how others live without actually having to adopt it or adapt to it.

while the first month has been nothing less than phantasmagoric it comes at a price. everything in life becomes a challenge from getting water to getting paid to getting something built; the language barrier is tiring

nostalgic memories have been snowballing and American pride swelling. we planned tonight to re-create what is taken for granted normally in the US. We found a movie theater that played films in English! and saw the animation 'Over the Hedge'. Afterwards we walked to the HardRock Cafe; I had a huge beef burger - I couldn't fit my mouth around it: perfect. They played classic American rock, we drank Long Island Iced Tea and Budweiser; we quoined AmericaNight.

From the top of Rockefeller Center last fall we looked over the greatest city in the world - we met in this building a year ago last week.

feliz Solstice

2006-06-24T03:58:00.000+02:00

the other night we watched the sun set behind the mountains from Roses to mark the longest day of the year.

nearby we had pasta at an Italian place owned by a French guy; we spent more time talking to him than to each other...

he makes enough money in 6 months to last a year so he sky-dives and travels;

the second largest 'drop zone' in the world is here and we now have a standing offer for a free video of our jump - and possibly a commission for a hotel/restaurant in Uraguay (with luck)

feeling Guell

2006-06-22T21:21:00.000+02:00

these serpentine benches, designed by Antoni Gaudi in Park Guell and built between 1900-1914, were as nice to lie on as they were to explore the millions of colorful broken ceramics of the mosaic

there wasn't a moment of peace near these benches during the day with the chatty tourists; we went back very late one friday night to see the lights of Barcelona...but there was not a soul to be found, it was incredibly eerie like a surreal dream...

...turns out we're just still afraid of the dark...

Bices, Buses, and Ferrocarrils

2006-06-21T20:03:00.000+02:00

the commute to work...oy...

a 15 minute walk to subway; 15 minute subway to commuter-rail; 2 hour commuter-rail to bus-station; 30 min bus ride to "hotel"; 25 minute bike ride to site...with a week's worth of supplies

"when we were younger we drove cars to work"...we'll tell our grandchildren someday

the Architecture of Tourism

2006-06-20T21:01:00.000+02:00

i must preface this entry with the fact that I'm finishing the DaVinci Code presently.

at the monastery of Montserrat we witnessed this mass as tourists - to see the ancient traditions, relics, and beautiful design. in an earlier entry i questioned our ability to ever build like this again - i am becoming more convinced that that is true. What institutions hold the financial strength to afford this architectural luxury? Businesses build cheap skyscrapers to tout their wealth with mere height and must cut costs anywhere possible. Politicians would be ridiculed for investing in something like this today for wasting taxpayers money.

there is rising an architecture of tourism. this basilica most likely brings in more money from tourists than from the clergy. This has also been called the Bilbao Effect after Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain has revitalized the dwindling city with tourists flocking to see his architecture.

Are churches of the past the museums of today? Museums are a relatively new architecture and are used to house human creations that represent transitions in society; it's varied history...i'm not ashamed to admit that I go to museums for the museum itself more than the work inside.

Monastery on Montserrat

2006-06-19T13:25:00.000+02:00

sunday we visited Montserrat which literally means 'serrated mountains'

the thousand-year-old monastery and the surounding area is considered very holy to the christian church as the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared in grotto on the mount around 880AD. this place is also known for it's black statue of Mary (which we missed) and it's boy's chior (which we listened to after witnessing part of a mass).

the site is very isolated and can only be accessed via a special tram or a long sequence of sharply curving roads.

more importantly to us though is the inspiration that nature provides here: these rounded rock formations have influenced and inspired generations of architects; Gaudi's organic forms an be traced to his experiences here (look at the spires of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona - or the newest addition, Jean Nouvel's tower also in Barcelona).

we climbed to this point referred to as 'the way of the cross' and stopped for a couple hours to sketch and paint. it's interesting nature finds the cracks; the humans did to I guess

smells like Roses

2006-06-18T23:33:00.000+02:00

8 km northEast of EmpuriaBrava along the Mediterranean coast lie the Roses - including SantaMargarida where we live during the week; the vantage point of this image, and Roses proper shown here on the outcropping.

at night we come to the waterFront and join the retired tourists...there's a frightening number of elderly disco's here. we ran to the top of Roses the other night wherefrom the towns nestled on the mountainsides looked like clusters in constellations.

interRacial empathy

2006-06-18T00:49:00.000+02:00

on the ride to work in the morning we pass through the grazing lands of the horses - they're nice to us so we named them, Jorse, Pone, and I call the lil one Quijote

there are many horses in this area although we've never seen them ridden. In a few weeks we may go to the island of Mallorca where there are still wild horses

la 'Familia'

2006-06-17T01:05:00.000+02:00

scowls v. grins...an age-old rivalry

on the far left is 'el jefe', the boss, Enric Ruiz Geli, the Architect; one-of-a-kind, a link in a long chain of very prominent architects (is that a "hang-loose" sign?)

to his left the General (contractor)

Emilio, the client, and owner of Casa Gallego (seafood restaurant recently reviewed in NYTimes) dawns the blue polo in back

can you sense the tension? those who've seen Fritz Lang's 'Metropolis' know that the Heart mediates between the Head and the Hands: Angelina stands alone between the architects and the workers.

fiesta in Hell?

2006-06-15T22:54:00.000+02:00

we spied down from our balcony wondering if this is what Hades is like. if so, sign us up!

country singer Tim McGraw said it best, "dancin' in the dark, middle of the night, takin' your heart..."

beyond Barcelona

2006-06-14T19:24:00.000+02:00

barcelona sits in a bowl contained between the mountains and the sea. From the top of Gaudi's infamous park Guell we see the puzzle pieced together

if you follow the line where the land meets the water to the right of Angelina's head there is a bump of a building sticking out - this is Barceloneta, the old fisherman's district where we live; to the left is the Olympic village

the Phalli and the Female

2006-06-13T20:26:00.000+02:00

down the sunset slope of Montjuic around the Olympic sites is a montage of building types from the National Museum of Catalonian Art on the right and the eastern influenced pagoda on the left

what is she looking at? how can stone look so soft? maybe this is one of those mimes again

nearby is the magical fountain and Meis van der Rohe's Barcelona Pavillion

Barri Gotic

2006-06-12T19:53:00.000+02:00

saturday was spent wandering through the gothing quarter. we explored the Catheral of Barcelona where white geese reside in the courtyard inside the cloister shown here. The cathedral was destroyed by Al-Mansur and the Moorish army when barcelona was invaded in 985. Planning for this building began in 1056 and it wasn't fully completed until the end of the 1800's.

we worry that we won't be able to build like this again. What is the modern-day equivalent? They don't teach us this any more and these symbols no longer carry the meaning they once did. Power, wealth and belief create architecture. Architecture, more than anything else, documents our history; what will they say about our traces in a millenium?

Gaudi on Guell

2006-06-12T00:03:00.000+02:00

we've never seen architecture as amazing as the work of Antoni Gaudi. Looking at his work, in this case Park Guell, above Barcelona, reveals the mind of a genius.

This is architecture in it's purest sense; it is a harmoniously balanced symbiosis of nature, material, structure, form, symbolism, purpose/function and beauty in the creation of a space, a place, that had never before existed outside the mind of the architect.

we've never felt so inspired as when seeing Gaudi's work...'I think I want to be an architect'

american Inquisition

2006-06-11T03:37:00.000+02:00

what the hell was that? we heard loud cheering and singing from the street Monday after midnight as the weekend-long festival started it's climax. From the balcony we looked out as sparks rained down on the streets throughout the neighborhood. Spaniards donning sombreros and weilding axes danced beneath the shower of smoke and fire. We stood with wonder...waiting...for one of those crazy hats to catch on fire

nurbs by Night

2006-06-09T14:09:00.000+02:00

professional lighting designers came in with long sticks of LEDs - we conducted lighting tests for over 5 hours all around the villa. they had complete control over color and intensity

the client came at 2am and found that el jeffe had kept us there without dinner - he immediately went reopened his seafood restaurant and began cooking for us - we ate seafood and drank wine until 4am...it was great food, the NY Times was just here last weekend to review his restaurant

it's a Nurb...it's a plane!

2006-06-08T20:06:00.000+02:00

the living quarters of VillaNurbs is on the upper level with the pool in the center - this 60 meter cantilever towards the canal will be landscaped with a garden; the two legs house a theater and an entry lobby/office space.

The base is concrete and the upper cladding is in research now; it is going to be a translucent material and there will be colorful LED's all around...more to come.

NURB: non-uniform-rational-bezier-spline

i am DonQuixote tonight!

2006-06-07T20:11:00.000+02:00

Every day we bike 8 km to work through the wetlands in the mountain basin...tonight we 'trade' our bikes for these lonely horses...sunset is quittin time

mr.Gehry, your Fish is waiting...

2006-06-06T21:06:00.000+02:00

a typical walk through the back yard at sunset...whoever said long walks on the beach were cliche...just watch out for the large headless fish of copper that protects the coastline

City that Never Sleeps...EuroStyle

2006-06-05T21:05:00.000+02:00

We awoke Saturday morning to the sound of drums, trumpets, and cheering...15-20 groups all scattered around the intersections of this waterfront neighborhood of Barceloneta began celebrating a fishermans' holiday; they played the same music and rotated through the streets that are too small for any American car. After se7en hours, they finally stopped to siesta...and would continue later throughout the weekend.

Streets of Water

2006-06-03T12:04:00.000+02:00

EmpuriaBrava wants to be Venice; it does a decent job too. Every other street is a canal - you park your boat in front and your car in back...or the other way around...

2006-06-03T11:49:00.000+02:00

The 'Magical Fountain' at the base of the Olympic site made a nice place to eat hotdogs...and find pots of gold.