This week was Study Tour Week! In other words, DIS organizes and pays for a weeks worth of travel where were tour different sites pertaining to our core course– in my case, architecture. My group consisted of my professor, BB, the AD intern, Robert, and 19 other students from various architecture classes.
MONDAY// Cologne, Germany.
Bus at 6:45. Robert told us he had rescheduled it for an hour later, but it still felt too early. Thankfully, I’m able to sleep just about anywhere. We were headed to Cologne, Germany– a long ways a way, but we still has time to stop at the gGmbH Museum and Park Kalkriese. Kalkriese is the site of the Battle in the Teutoburg Forest, where in 9 BCE, the Romans suffered one of the greatest defeats in their history at the hands of allied Germanic tribes. More than 2,000 years later, the site has been transformed into a park and museum that works to foster public interest in the site’s history, while archaeological research continues to provide new insights into the tragical event.The buildings are covered with steel sheets, corroded with an even layer of rust. In addition to creating a lovely and interesting effect, the natural corrosion helps the built structure fit into the environment, and even enhancing the experience by creating an opportunity to view the landscape from the 40 meter tall tower.
TUESDAY// Cologne, Germany
Ruhr Museum is located on an old industrial coal processing plant. Much of the design preserves the old, original structure, and the modern additions serve to complement and enhance. The stairwell bathed in neon orange light is meant to give the user the experience of moving through the coal production process as if they themselves are a piece of molten coal, surrounded by processing machinery. Here is also where the Red Dot Museum is located. Red Dot is an organization that gives awards to well-designed, everyday objects, and the museum housed these products.
Later, we visited the Brother Klaus chapel, by Peter Zumthor. The chapel is dedicated to the holy Niklaus von Fluehe (Brother Claus) was donated by farmer Hermann-Josef and Trudel Scheidtweilerand, and built by local farmers on the edge of his field. Since the design was expensive, the farmers built the structure themselves to keep construction costs low. Zumthor designed the building to use a building technique called “rammed concrete” where farmers poured a layer of concrete over a teepee of timber every day for 24 days, leaving a texture similar to that of rammed earth. This was largely due to the fact that the farmers only had the resources to mix and pour a little at a time. The timber was then burnt out by colliers, leaving a beautifully charred interior.
I did a watercolor of the oculus that I didn’t really like at first, but once it dried I was much happier with the result. Everyone else liked it right away though, so that was cool.
WEDNESDAY// Cologne, Germany
This morning we went to Kölner Dom, a cathedral in Cologne that is one of the only structures left untouched despite bombing that decimated the city during WWII. It’s so so beautiful, one of the most beautiful cathedrals I’ve ever visited. And setting it apart was the opportunity to climb to the top of the bell tower. 2 euros and 31 flights of stairs later, we had a gorgeous view of the surrounding area. It was exhausting, but the view was worth it.
Legs still shaking, we walked to the Kolomba Museum, designed by Peter Zumthor. The building was gorgeous and impressive but I really did not enjoy the visit. The museum is actually closed on Tuesdays, so in order to go inside we needed to stay as a group and be accompanied by a guide and 2 guards. I’m not even exaggerating when I say our guide did not stop talking even for a minute. It was kind of awful. And the guards were very strict, so overall the visit felt very controlled, leaving no space for individual exploration or contemplation. I was pretty disappointed. The architecture was beautiful though. Zumthor creates designs beautiful for their simplicity, and awareness of user experience. The attention to detail was incredible.
The rest of the day was spent on the bus on our way to Basel, Switzerland. We were supposed to visit the Ronchamp chapel by Le Corbusier, but traffic and inaccurate travel estimates set us back over 2 hours in our schedule. BB promises that we’ll go tomorrow instead, thankfully. The long bus ride leaves lot of room for contemplation, though.
I just can’t help but think of how much I have to be happy for. Even when things seem stressful or complicated or less than ideal, I’m never truly upset. Stress here is brief.
THURSDAY // Basel, Switzerland
This morning, Zoey and I woke up early to go for a short run around the Rhine. It was still dark when we started out, but about halfway through we got to see the sunrise!
We finally made it to The Notre Dame du Haut by Le Corbusier, in Romchamp, France. The chapel departs from the international style typical of Le Corbusier’s work, but the building is impressive in the own way. It’s crazy to think that these two very different styles came from the same mind, and both highly successful.
Robert and I discussed the building. He said he didn’t really understand Corbu’s thought process driving the design, and had hoped visiting the site would help him better understand. I answered that what came to my mind is the fact that we are not to truly and fully understand God, and so maybe this building reflects that experience, whether that was Le Corbusier’s intention or not.
I've been surprised to find that the chapels that we’ve visited have been my favorite works of architecture. I love designs that create a very distinct atmosphere– you know what to feel and you can feel it very intensely. It’s different from work that solves design problems in a clever way– it’s an entirely different experience, informed so deeply by a rich history. I’m no longer religious, but places like these sometimes make me wish I were, though I’m moved nonetheless.
Friday // Basel, Switzerland
Friday we visited the Beyeler Foundation Museum, designed by Renzo Piano. The museum has four main walls of the same length run in a north-south direction, and mark the succession of exhibition spaces. The roof is composed of a transparent and overhanging canopy. The natural light penetrates through the filters in the roof, which “floats” above the dividing walls. The building is small and rectangular in shape, only housing two exhibitions at a time. The first was “KANDINSKY, MARC & DER BLAUE REITER” showcasing the artist’s work as well as their extensive manifesto. It was amazing, and I want to read a copy, if I can find it in English.
The second exhibition was the work of contemporary artist Roni Horn. Not limiting herself to a single style of media, she worked in photography, poetry, collage, mixed media, and even sculpture. I was excited to find a contemporary female artist whose work I so enjoyed.
The next site was Stadion Letzigrund, built in 2007 to replace the old stadium that had stood in its place since 1926. Plans that had long existed to renovate the site were expedited when a proposed stadium at Hardturm got delayed and Zürich needed a stadium for the upcoming Euro 2008 championships. After just a year of construction, the new Letzigrund officially opened with three-tiered seating leading up to a grand ramp under a free floating roof.
This was by far the most enjoyable guided tour we went on. The guide was cool, and gave us more freedom to run around– literally. As in, we actually stopped the tour to race around the track on the perimeter of the soccer field. Thankfully I had worn my sneakers!
Saturday// Zürich, Switzerland
Saturday we toured the Toni Areal school, designed by EM2N. The building is an former Toni milk processing building converted into a school. According to our guide book, “The concept of the building is internal urbanism: the existing system of ramps was reinterpreted as a vertical boulevard that became the building’s main circulation system” The guided tours are excruciating, but it’s the only way to see some of these sites. It was very cool to see studios of current students though– their work was interesting and edgy, and the studio spaces revealed their process and experimentation.
I was very happy to escape to the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich afterwards. The exhibit was short, but one of the coolest thing was an interactive work that let you scan a 3D image of your face with a smartphone, and save it. We then had free time to walk around West Zurich. I really wanted to go to the Viadukts, as they’re an important precedent for my next project, and I got some helpful inspiration for my own design.
After a nap, Ahmad and I went exploring on our own– we had no real plan, only a general direction towards the restaurant. We identified the highest peaks in the cities and ended up at a couple of churches. The first was , relatively simple, but very interesting, with Greco Roman elements and white interior largely lacking the ornamentation typical of churches. The second church was also relatively simple, with most of the ornamentation on the exterior, especially the doors. The highlight; though, was the windows. rather than using stained glass, the artist made mosaics using slices of agate rock. (no pictures allowed). The effect was completely unique and gorgeous, and heightened by the relative plainness of the rest of the church.
After dinner we all went to the thermal bath and spa. This was one of my favorite experiences. The water was warm and relaxing, though in contrast the high view of the city was completely exhilarating.
SUNDAY // Zürich, Switzerland
Kustshaus Zürich. I got to see works by Degas, Matisse, Manet, Cézanne, Gaugin, Derain, Rodin, Picasso, Braque, Rothko, Turner, Ernst, Tauber-Arp, Duchamp, Dalí, Giacometti, Warhol, Lichenstein, and an entire room of Monet.
I honestly didn’t pay as much attention to the architecture as I typically would have, but the fact that it didn't detract from the art made it successful for the context.
Since this was a free day, I could wander the museum for as long as I liked– which turned out to be 3 hours. Afterwards, I walked around Zurich with some other students and stumbled upon a sign for Cabaret Voltaire!!!!! Cabaret Voltair was a nightclub in Zürich, started in 1916 by the founding members of the anarchist art movement known as Dadaism. The cabaret was founded for artistic and political purposes, to house the Dadaist events and performances that soon gained traction all over Europe.
The movement emerged largely in response to the outbreak of World War I. Many Dadaists believed that the ‘reason’ and ‘logic’ of bourgeois capitalist society had led people into war. They expressed their rejection of that ideology in artistic expression that appeared to reject logic and embrace chaos and irrationality. They expressed their views in the form of poetry, music, plays, visual art, and manifestos.
I studied Dadaism pretty in depth in school, especially the work by Marcel Duchamp, so I was really really excited to see Cabaret Voltaire. There wasn’t any famous Dadaist art there– only magazines and books to buy– but I had seen some of the artwork at the Kunsthaus Zürich earlier that day. Another amazing experience I wouldn’t get anywhere else.
AND THEN FINALLY AT 1AM AFTER A DELAYED FLIGHT I WAS HOME*