Evening, 'nect.

I just got back from the first DIS study tour, which takes the school through Sweden and Finland on a week long sketch-fest. We investigated a hefty list of famous architecture, including alot of work by Saarinen and Aalto.

The trip was amazing. Our schedule was packed with site visits and sketching assignments, but we really were given a great sense of Scandinavian architecture - and the commentary our Danish professors and fellow students provided helped everyone glean something useful from each building. Some of my favorite highlights from the trip included...

Turning Torso (Calatrava)



Myyrmaki Church (Juha Leiviskä)



Kiasma (Steven Holl)



Jyvaskyla Campus (Alvar Aalto)



St. Henry's Chapel (Matti Sanaksenaho)



The study tour wasn't all work and no play, though - far from it! We had multiple nights off in Stockholm and Helsinki, an evening at a Finnish sauna and lake, and a couple overnight cruises to release any pent-up energy.

Really, props to DIS and its faculty for organizing such a smooth-sailing and fun adventure. I'd highly recommend this program to any interested UC students. As they say in Finland, "Se oli hauskaa!"

Anyways, I'll check back in later this week - we'll be getting introduced to our final assignment, so I'm pretty psyched. I think mine involves a rec/comm. center as urban infill.