Olot

We took the train to Olot early this morning. The first thing on the agenda was to see the office FOA (Foreign Office Architects). One of the principals showed us around the office and had a great conversation with us in their conference room. They do a lot of great work and it was nice to see first hand the environment where all of that gets produced.

We then went to have one of the best meals I've ever had at Les Cols. The restaurant is a rehabbed historic building designed by FOA and it was pretty amazing. The restaurant made special accommodations for us as a student group and gave us a discounted rate of 20 euros a person.

The restaurant is also a hotel of sorts with really expensive outdoor rooms, but again quite impressive. Nothing like you would expect in the states.

We spent the last part of the day wandering through a remote part of town that had some stunning landscapes. We ended up enjoying it a little too long and some of us missed the bus ride home, mainly due to an incompetent taxi service, but the few that got left behind caught a train just a short while after us, so it worked out.

Last Day In Studio

Today was a last chance to get together and go over what we've been doing. I'll admit it went a little long for my taste, but it was really interesting to see what everyone had been hiding away in their sketchbooks. Even though it was a great night, it was kind of sad in a way; made me realize that we were that much closer to leaving. I can't complain, its been a pretty amazing trip.

Retracing My Steps: Part 3 - Sert and Water Magic

Another day trying to find something new in someplace I´d already been. It´s pretty easy actually. Like a good movie, a good piece of architecture gets richer with multiple viewings. I went inside Sert´s museum and onto the roof. The light windows were shut unfortunately, but the space on the roof, as well as the view of the city were remarkable. It was a nice day to find some shade on the roof and sketch.

The only other event on the agenda for today was to catch my last water show at Placa de Espana. I´ve seen it twice before, but I enjoyed it too much to pass up one last chance. It was magical, enjoy.

Retracing My Steps: Part 2 - Gaudi and 1 New Adventure

Got to Sagrada Familia early this morning to hike up the spires, which was pretty amazing. I can´t wait to come back when it´s finished, but even as it is, it gives you great views of the city and the ocean, as well as of the building itself.

An additional treat of the day was to forge our way up the metro to what we thought was a demolished archery range built for the olympics. Part of the complex isn´t there anymore, but the competition field is still there and has been turned into a soccer (futbol, whatever) field. It was designed by Miralles. The interesting thing to me was to see so many things that came forth in his later work, other than the fact that the thing is just amazing. Enjoy.

Retracing My Steps: Part 1 - Mies and Miralles

This is the first of a few days to go back and dig a little deeper and soak in some of the amazing things we´ve done and seen. First stop was the Barcelona Pavillion, and I found some interesting ways to photograph the building that I hadn´t thought of before. Added an extra layer of intrigue for me.

Then a few of us went to Santa Caterina to attempt to get a better view of the roof. We met some nice architects that let us onto their terrace above the west side of the Market that gave us an amazing view of the roof. We then went and did the same thing from the north to get a straight on view from the roof. We had to terrorize the residents there, and some of them had to get dressed from their sunbaithing, but we eventually got what we wanted. Really amazing.