Spain –
A great picture
A learning process
And a guide
By the end of my trip, I saw past the architecture in Spain, which was the reason for my trip to five cities in Spain in ten days. The project “Spain and the architecture of life” gave me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore the country and its architecture in my own way. The two architectural piece of my study were Sagrada Familia, by the so-called God’s architect, Antoni Gaudi, and the Guggenheim by one of the world’s most controversial architects, Frank Gehry. As much as my research mainly focuses on the two buildings, I have managed to gain a greater vision of Spain through visits to architectural wonders at La Alhambra in Granada, Santiago Calatrava’s work in Valencia and Barcelona’s historical street corners. All the architecture present in Spain tells story about how much this country has gone through, changed and grown architecturally, socially, historically and politically.
Spain was such a marvelous place. It is, to me, a great representation of Europe, with many exotic characteristics of a vibrant culture. The architecture of each city is distinctive to its own, making Spain extremely diverse and intriguing to explore. Wherever I went, there would always be something for me to stop and gaze upon, wondering how they all came to be. It surely felt different being able to observe architectural monuments with my own eyes. The amount of knowledge from the textbook could never be as meaningful as the physical perspectives in front of one’s eyes. To some extent, it was almost overwhelming to experience such magnificent sight that I once only learned through history lectures at DAAP.
What I enjoyed the most from this trip could not be described in one sentence or a paragraph. The pictures that I took and sketches that I drew along the way may be able to do a better job at conveying the lessons I have learned. I was able to constantly capture moments of architecture, of art, of people and of the life in Spain with my camera. I was able to quickly sketch lines of buildings and street corners when I had a chance to pause and observe. I was also capable of making my own judgments of the things I experienced. It was not like during school when we were all fed with preconceptions of building aesthetics; I was consciously making my own decisions, developing my own sense of critical thinking in architecture, while still applying knowledge I had learned from all the history lectures.
As I have mentioned in my proposal, Spanish architecture was not taught thoroughly in school, despite being one of the most influential and visually provocative architectural styles. It is indeed difficult to cover everything about Spanish architecture in just the four history courses that we have taken in college. The historical context alone, with social and religious settings, would take a separate seminar to hopefully cover the important issues. The two examples, Sagrada Familia and the Guggenheim, are representatives for two very different times in history. Sagrada Familia is an iconic piece of architecture that is almost the spirit of Spanish architectural style, the legendary work of the genius architect, Antoni Gaudi, who passed away when the cathedral was at its peak. On the other hand, we have the Guggenheim, the masterpiece of Canadian architect, Frank Gehry, who signifies the subtle intrusion of international architecture in Spain. As I traveled across the country, I could observe the change as well as the preservation of architecture. While the two buildings of my research play the main roles in studying how architecture affects life through time, it is crucial to take into account the overall architecture of the country, from city to city, from the past to the present. As I traveled across the country, I learned that architecture does not affect life; it is the interrelation between architecture and life that puts Spain in the state it is today.
Towards the end of the trip, I gained a lot more than I had expected. I was able to meet more learning outcomes than what I had set out to achieve with this trip. By studying thoroughly the buildings from photographs, sketches, researches and conversations with local people on the subject, I managed to develop my architectural knowledge on historical and temporary architecture, become more aware of the theories surrounding the architecture of the studied subjects, and, essentially, improve my ability to think rationally about architecture using my personal experience. From sketching, I was studying the structure of the building and having it imprinted in my head. From doing research prior to my trip, I was preparing myself with preexisting concepts, in order to form my own opinions later. From speaking to local people, I gained another person’s perspectives, which allows interaction of thoughts and opinions, especially in a field like architecture. Each step that I took during my trip contributed tremendously to the learning outcomes. Learning does not necessarily have to come from a classroom environment. Instead, learning from real life exposure could bring more perspectives into the learners’ minds, allowing more room for knowledge and open thoughts. All of these are thus extremely important in my learning to become an architect, or a designer.
Being an architect could mean a lot of things: you could either be a history enthusiast, dwelling on the rich stories of how architecture has evolved from one culture to another, from one lifetime to another; or you could be an innovative thinker who focuses on how to design a better architecture for tomorrow, addressing all the issues faced by the past. Or you could be a little bit of both ends of the spectrum. It is common to see that most architecture students nowadays choose the latter option of being the crazy, nonconformist designer, neglecting the classical architecture that once was the center of the arts and life. While I agree that architecture, like everything else, needs to move on to another phase of development, it is important to take what is good from the past and incorporate it in the present. After all, architecture should tell stories, and no story is complete without a history. Having had the chance to study European architecture, of the past and of the present, in textbook and with my own eyes, I now appreciate more the field that I am in, for architecture itself encompasses so many aspects of the world. Spanish architecture is not just about Spain. Like any European architectural movement, the architecture in Spain is the spirit of the nation, of Europe and of architecture in general. Subjectivity about the aesthetics of the buildings asides, Spain has proved to bring to the table a great amount of culture and art, beautifully reflected on every surface of every building in this marvelous country.
Thinking back to my experience, I wish I had had more time in the country. It is never enough to learn about a foreign place, but ten days during Spring break did not do Spain justice. If I have another chance, I will revisit Spain, and spend more time exploring more aspects of life there. I have been sharing my pictures and sketches to my friends through Social Media and blog posts. I was happy to see that my trip has inspired some of my friends and underclassmen. After all, this trip started off as some crazy thought that I had during my second Co-op in Chicago. Making it into reality was a true challenge, but it was all worth the painstaking effort in the end. This trip to Spain has definitely ignited the passion for traveling in me, and at the same time motivated me to work harder in order to achieve something seemingly impossible and, perhaps, crazy. I have realized that only through traveling do I learn the most. The learning that I get from traveling is not the same as learning in the classroom. This is the type of learning that will stay in your head until you decide to let it go. This is the type of learning that comes from your heart, making you more eager to keep learning. This is the type of learning that, despite being difficult at times due to inevitable obstacles, encourages and guides you to follow your path and truly look with your eyes, wherever the road might lead you.
A great picture
A learning process
And a guide
By the end of my trip, I saw past the architecture in Spain, which was the reason for my trip to five cities in Spain in ten days. The project “Spain and the architecture of life” gave me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore the country and its architecture in my own way. The two architectural piece of my study were Sagrada Familia, by the so-called God’s architect, Antoni Gaudi, and the Guggenheim by one of the world’s most controversial architects, Frank Gehry. As much as my research mainly focuses on the two buildings, I have managed to gain a greater vision of Spain through visits to architectural wonders at La Alhambra in Granada, Santiago Calatrava’s work in Valencia and Barcelona’s historical street corners. All the architecture present in Spain tells story about how much this country has gone through, changed and grown architecturally, socially, historically and politically.
Spain was such a marvelous place. It is, to me, a great representation of Europe, with many exotic characteristics of a vibrant culture. The architecture of each city is distinctive to its own, making Spain extremely diverse and intriguing to explore. Wherever I went, there would always be something for me to stop and gaze upon, wondering how they all came to be. It surely felt different being able to observe architectural monuments with my own eyes. The amount of knowledge from the textbook could never be as meaningful as the physical perspectives in front of one’s eyes. To some extent, it was almost overwhelming to experience such magnificent sight that I once only learned through history lectures at DAAP.
What I enjoyed the most from this trip could not be described in one sentence or a paragraph. The pictures that I took and sketches that I drew along the way may be able to do a better job at conveying the lessons I have learned. I was able to constantly capture moments of architecture, of art, of people and of the life in Spain with my camera. I was able to quickly sketch lines of buildings and street corners when I had a chance to pause and observe. I was also capable of making my own judgments of the things I experienced. It was not like during school when we were all fed with preconceptions of building aesthetics; I was consciously making my own decisions, developing my own sense of critical thinking in architecture, while still applying knowledge I had learned from all the history lectures.
As I have mentioned in my proposal, Spanish architecture was not taught thoroughly in school, despite being one of the most influential and visually provocative architectural styles. It is indeed difficult to cover everything about Spanish architecture in just the four history courses that we have taken in college. The historical context alone, with social and religious settings, would take a separate seminar to hopefully cover the important issues. The two examples, Sagrada Familia and the Guggenheim, are representatives for two very different times in history. Sagrada Familia is an iconic piece of architecture that is almost the spirit of Spanish architectural style, the legendary work of the genius architect, Antoni Gaudi, who passed away when the cathedral was at its peak. On the other hand, we have the Guggenheim, the masterpiece of Canadian architect, Frank Gehry, who signifies the subtle intrusion of international architecture in Spain. As I traveled across the country, I could observe the change as well as the preservation of architecture. While the two buildings of my research play the main roles in studying how architecture affects life through time, it is crucial to take into account the overall architecture of the country, from city to city, from the past to the present. As I traveled across the country, I learned that architecture does not affect life; it is the interrelation between architecture and life that puts Spain in the state it is today.
Towards the end of the trip, I gained a lot more than I had expected. I was able to meet more learning outcomes than what I had set out to achieve with this trip. By studying thoroughly the buildings from photographs, sketches, researches and conversations with local people on the subject, I managed to develop my architectural knowledge on historical and temporary architecture, become more aware of the theories surrounding the architecture of the studied subjects, and, essentially, improve my ability to think rationally about architecture using my personal experience. From sketching, I was studying the structure of the building and having it imprinted in my head. From doing research prior to my trip, I was preparing myself with preexisting concepts, in order to form my own opinions later. From speaking to local people, I gained another person’s perspectives, which allows interaction of thoughts and opinions, especially in a field like architecture. Each step that I took during my trip contributed tremendously to the learning outcomes. Learning does not necessarily have to come from a classroom environment. Instead, learning from real life exposure could bring more perspectives into the learners’ minds, allowing more room for knowledge and open thoughts. All of these are thus extremely important in my learning to become an architect, or a designer.
Being an architect could mean a lot of things: you could either be a history enthusiast, dwelling on the rich stories of how architecture has evolved from one culture to another, from one lifetime to another; or you could be an innovative thinker who focuses on how to design a better architecture for tomorrow, addressing all the issues faced by the past. Or you could be a little bit of both ends of the spectrum. It is common to see that most architecture students nowadays choose the latter option of being the crazy, nonconformist designer, neglecting the classical architecture that once was the center of the arts and life. While I agree that architecture, like everything else, needs to move on to another phase of development, it is important to take what is good from the past and incorporate it in the present. After all, architecture should tell stories, and no story is complete without a history. Having had the chance to study European architecture, of the past and of the present, in textbook and with my own eyes, I now appreciate more the field that I am in, for architecture itself encompasses so many aspects of the world. Spanish architecture is not just about Spain. Like any European architectural movement, the architecture in Spain is the spirit of the nation, of Europe and of architecture in general. Subjectivity about the aesthetics of the buildings asides, Spain has proved to bring to the table a great amount of culture and art, beautifully reflected on every surface of every building in this marvelous country.
Thinking back to my experience, I wish I had had more time in the country. It is never enough to learn about a foreign place, but ten days during Spring break did not do Spain justice. If I have another chance, I will revisit Spain, and spend more time exploring more aspects of life there. I have been sharing my pictures and sketches to my friends through Social Media and blog posts. I was happy to see that my trip has inspired some of my friends and underclassmen. After all, this trip started off as some crazy thought that I had during my second Co-op in Chicago. Making it into reality was a true challenge, but it was all worth the painstaking effort in the end. This trip to Spain has definitely ignited the passion for traveling in me, and at the same time motivated me to work harder in order to achieve something seemingly impossible and, perhaps, crazy. I have realized that only through traveling do I learn the most. The learning that I get from traveling is not the same as learning in the classroom. This is the type of learning that will stay in your head until you decide to let it go. This is the type of learning that comes from your heart, making you more eager to keep learning. This is the type of learning that, despite being difficult at times due to inevitable obstacles, encourages and guides you to follow your path and truly look with your eyes, wherever the road might lead you.