WEEK TEN

"It is one thing to reads in text books about the architecture of Europe, but it is another to be up close and interactive, and experience the culture that lives within it. In the time that I have been here my view and perception of this architecture has grown stronger. Stepping out of the train at the station the first day many of us were in awe… at the large exposed structure of the train station simply because it was a new experience. It wasn't new though, we have learned about this form of structure in class and the history behind it before. But the experience was the one that connected the dots. Because you are in an unfamiliar place your senses and attention to detail are amplified. The materials, the size, the use and the sense of place as a whole convey a different story than the one we are used to back at home. Here, dirt and dust are architectural characteristics and details, as a common build houses are no wider than 15meters, the relationship ratio of person to building is generally of no more than 5-6 stories tall, and single dwellings are rare. The attention to how different cities in different countries show their characteristics is very interesting and for being a smaller area (Europe) each country details something different.

A couple of weeks back Craig and I made a trip to Switzerland. While we were there we decided to visit Peter Zumthor's - Thermal Baths at Vals. The town itself is a remote town- a little more remote and on the smaller scale of what we were anticipating. Starting with the location, you get to the town after the bus drops you off and you wonder, "This is an interesting location for a Pritzker Architect to design in."  The building itself is in a location in the town that never allows for a full view of the building. From street level the building cannot be scene and even when walking to get to the bath it really only reveals itself from a couple of angled views. In actuality the building itself is fairly simple composed of square shapes but the detail and depth of space and form for the openings makes the building of simple elegance from the exterior.

Within the interior the buildings elements were pleasant. The infamous void detail that Peter creates within the ceiling and where wall meets plain is carried out all throughout the building. Simple details such as the lighting and the two post mounted clocks are elements that help complete the elegant design. What is one of the more framed elements of this structure is the roof and how elements are un-joined creating reveals. In combination with the roof and the body of the building a view is created and framed for the outside pool. Unfortunately, because the experience needs to be experienced there are no photos allowed to be taken within the bath. Everything from the location in Vals to the approach of the building to the building itself all had detail characteristics in the way they were to be experienced.

Because we are designers we need to remember detail is what makes a statement about our work. Whether it is as extravagant as the hand carves statues that tell a story on exterior of a cathedral or a simple detail of reveals and depth. These details make our projects stronger and characteristic of what we as the designers are implying and how a structure should be experienced."     -Whitney Feimer

"Oh but all too soon, our semester abroad is over. It may not be in the academic sense as our return to the United States will be met with more work, but for now we have parted ways and seeked out our own endevors in Europe. Although we would love to come back to our friends and family back home with tales of adventure and regale them with stories exceeding a modest tone, it would only fall short as to how influential it had truly been. And by the influence that I speak of, I don’t necessarily mean the sights and sounds of Europe as a whole, but more importantly the architectural experience that had brought us here in the first place. As many of us would agree, these past two weeks have become more devoted to our urban design project at hand than touring the rest of the continent. After five weeks our redesign of Square Foch in downtown Lille had quickly come to an end and suitably, many people’s plans for travel had to be set aside. After a celebratory cigar, we soon found ourselves in Cologne, Germany for a final field trip and a poetic parting of ways.

But since it is already mid-April and the journey has extended itself hastily into its third trimester, it does lend itself to one more important note. The summer will soon be upon us and many of us (myself included) have been working feverously to send out our resumes to firms for an internship. The uncertainty of if and where one will work in the next month has had its way of somehow putting this trip in perspective. In a sense, it’s not going to be over just yet, for as soon as we make our way back to Fargo, many of us will travel off yet again on our own adventures.

If this blog that I write is to have any importance beyond that in which it already imbues, I believe that it should be used as moment of personal reflection. Nine long weeks ago, when we travelled here, I had the idea in mind that it would be easy to lose oneself in the chaos of a new living. Unlike a vacation in where you are already gone before it has time to seep into your mind, living for an extended period can in many ways bring a bit of a panic. In a way, it has almost felt like being on a tropical island. It’s great if all you want to do all day is enjoy the beach and the sun, but when it dawns on you that there’s no way off, the island doesn’t seem to be so pleasant anymore. And that’s the way I have felt. Not to say that I haven’t lavished in this rare and very unique experience, but after so long a little part in the back of my mind starts to tell me that it’s time to come home, at least for a little while.

I am not writing for everybody by all means. I think that plenty of the students in this trip have enjoyed it a little too much and it may hard to drag them back onto the plane. And that’s good to know. This experience that we have all undertaken has been worth it no matter how one may feel. Despite the money or the daily linguistic inconveniences or the stress of booking here and there, it will stick with us for hopefully forever. In the workplace, it displays not only a unique experience that may help us in later designs, but it shows a willingness and eagerness to travel. We all love to travel, but this can be a deciding factor in a large, international firm as to whether or not you are hired. Those two points right there, at least to me, are why I could spend twice as much as I did and still say that it was worth it.

Hopefully for successive study abroad students, it is for them, too."     -Aaron Blaha