Ok, well let me first thank my friend Chris Daniel at the Bartlett. He's seems to be very excited that I'm doing this archinect thing, mostly as it seems so he can see my photography! Well I hope not to disappoint! Let me also say that for someone who takes pictures of absolutely everything, including patches of grass and other tundra, Mr Daniel does actually produce some very interesting photos himself. So it would be nice to see more of his work splattered across our screens....venga Christopher!!
So, I think for this entry I will write a little about my first few experiences here at ETSAB. I think I'll save the particulars of my project until the next addition when I have some more work. That way I won't have to write so much.....he says!
I have chosen two modules, one is a construction module for which I have to detail a project that I designed whilst studying in Newcastle. I touched on this briefly in my last entry.
For my design module, I originally wanted to go into the unit run by the long serving architectural matador Carlos Ferrater. A wonderful architect who claims to have perfected the art of creating white concrete and after taking a quick peak at his Palau de Congressos next door to our school, he seems to be close! Anyway, I went to his introductory lecture, or at least spent most of it with a face full of door jam! There were so many people there that they couldn't all fit in the room. As a result I chose a smaller unit where I knew I would be safe in the knowledge that twice weekly crits wouldn't be spent with face in joinery! Consequently I am now with fifteen other students, as opposed to roughly seventy in Ferrater's. Also, the majority of those fifteen are fellow ERASMUS students, amongst whom we have German, Danish, Swedish, Slovenian, Finnish, Portuguese, Irish, Dutch and of course one Englishman, me! I am the only limey here, in a school of 3000 students! The studio is led by Jaume Bach. An architect who seems to have a fair amount of critical acclaim here in espagna and deservedly so!
http://arquitectes.coac.net/bacharquitectes/
I'll let you decide on what you think of his work. He is also, more importantly, a great guy who is fairly sympathetic to those students whose Spanish hasn't quite reached ”˜el croquis' level just yet.
As this ”˜blog' is a personal diary of my experiences in architectural education then as I am abroad, it seems fitting to include some things that I miss and don't miss about our lovely island! Some may be related to architecture and some not. So this week:
I Miss:
1. 10a scalpel blades.
2. John Peel.
3. UHU that isn't yellow.
I don't miss:
1. The Northern Line.
2. Photomount at £15 a pop.
3. Dejan Sudjic.
Before I sign off, let me give a big hello to all you Harvard GSD students in the Caruso St. John unit, especially my old friend Ollie Cooke. Keep going with that tracery people!
A couple of pics to keep chris happy....
ETSAB Entrance
Torre Agbar - Jean Nouvel
Torre Agbar - Jean Nouvel
nyc 03
5 Comments
The Bach Architects work looks cool, Ollie. Not sure about the website though....
Is it just me, or do architects have a worrying tendency towards over-complicating their "web presence"? Surely the website should be all about the work itself, with the web design simply acting as a suitably-styled navigation system through the portfolio. Complex, hi-tech menu systems just confuse things, I reckon.
I'll throw that one open to discussion, just to see if anyone else is reading these blogs at this time of year...
So, what do y'all think?
Try the foreign office website then.....my god!
yo bayliss. i didn't say tracery - i said ornament. nice photo of Agbar by the way.
also i agree - 10A blades and real glue.. you can't get them over here either - i'm down to my last tube.
hi oliver,
i am a (completed) 3rd year architecture student at RMIT, melbourne, australia. and am writing to you as i am planning to study at ETSAB next year and need to ask you a few things about barca, etsab, etc...
so if i could write to you on your email or..?
please let me know,
How did you end up in BCN anyway?
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