~ dsa 2007 bern ~ switzerland ~

Europe ~ archi6 ~ milan

2007-05-27T15:29:00.000+02:00

milan...

Europe ~ archi5 ~ san gimignano

2007-05-27T15:19:00.000+02:00

san gimignano... tower city... very beautiful:

Europe ~ archi4 ~ siena

2007-05-27T15:16:00.000+02:00

siena...very nice medieval city:

Europe ~ archi3 ~ florence

2007-05-27T15:13:00.000+02:00

loved florence... the duomo!!!

love how oversized it is...seems so alien like in this pic...like it was just dropped into the middle of florence...

Europe ~ archi2d ~ rome

2007-05-27T15:09:00.000+02:00

a few of my fav shots in rome:

Europe ~ archi2c ~ rome

2007-05-27T15:06:00.000+02:00

coliseum:

Europe ~ archi2b ~ rome

2007-05-27T15:03:00.000+02:00

the pantheon!!! (my fav.. in rome):

day....
rainy....
threshold/doorway
night....(looks really ancient)
sunny~
sunny closeup

Europe ~ archi2a ~ rome

2007-05-27T14:55:00.000+02:00

st. peter's basilica/vatican museum:

love the muscular study~

Europe ~ archi1 ~ lugano

2007-05-27T14:48:00.000+02:00

first archi stop ~ lugano ~ mario botta land:

may 23 ~ last days in bern

2007-05-23T09:03:00.000+02:00

sorry everyone for keeping u all waiting....

its always so busy near the end of the term... final crit is always a mess... and this time it includes an exhibition/pack up and go/europe trip after.... i didnt get a chance to upload some last photos.... so.. seeing how i have finally settled in hk for the summer... i can go back and organize my photos...

so... to recap... in bern... our studio took place at "progr"... its a center for arts and cultural activities... an old high school with lots of rooms available for artists to rent... so we had 2 rooms:

this was the hallway/stairway....
this is one of the exhibition room... we were setting up for our exhibition
here is another room... we had 3 rooms in total...
my spot... (my work/model/drawings)
the entire set up.... it was all the same... on variable was the table height....
a closer look
more setting up...
see the suspended boards?...
guests coming to see our exhibit....
opening night... wine..!!!!

food... look.. its all gone...

i found myself a nice couch.. .and plopped myself on it... so relaxing....

so.. thats the last pics i have of bern.... and.. that pretty much wraps up this switzerland dsa blog... but.. i think what i'll do is post my europe trip architecture pics here too... it goes better here than on my normal blog :)

thanks for all the supporters of this blog.... now.. time to switch back to my other one :)

this summer's special: cylyna in hk!!!

mar 15 ~ more me.. me.. me!!!

2007-03-15T10:02:00.000+01:00

i'm just starting to collect pics from other ppl... and... below are more from sean... and patrick....

a washroom break.... first one .. going from swiss to france
love this shot.... credit to sean
why am i always in sean's photos?... here's me wandering
and me again.. walking down lyon.. in front of him....
at palais ideal... climbing up the 'sand castle'.. haha...
us playing with the mirror at our hotel in belfort
the pyramid at ronchamp....a good view from up there
group shot!!! but not everyone is here... almost all

mar 10 ~ france ~ to lyon ~ part 1

2007-03-13T12:04:00.000+01:00

for france... we rented vans... from europcar...
this is us waiting for our vans

after we got our 2-9 ppl vans... we headed towards france !!! on our way, we stopped by this old bridge in a little village in swiss:
having fun in the van!!!

we saw a few things today: calatrava tgv station (part 2), and le corbusier's la tourette (part 3)... and in the end we checked into our hotel in lyon and headed for dinner:
a plaza with a fountain.. and a merry-go-round.... i wanted to ride!!!
this was my appetizer... raw beef... kinda like beef sashimi i guess... i never had it b4.. it was nice to try the we headed to a pub... cheers
then a club (le sirius)... its a club on a boat...
the end of the night...

mar 10 ~ france ~ calatrava tgv station ~ part 2

2007-03-13T11:54:00.000+01:00

the first thing we saw on the trip was this > lyon tgv train station by calatrava!!!
i was so happy to see this... i studied it so much last year.. helped me resolve my structures on my skyscraper design... i wished we could have stayed there longer

haha... me me me me....

one of my favourite shots

me again :P

brilliant detail ~
love this shot too :P

somehow.. this looks odd... the angle of the shot.. makes it look unreal...

love this too ~

and of course... last but not least.. me :P

mar 10 ~ france ~ la tourette ~ part 3

2007-03-13T11:41:00.000+01:00

we had to rush through the tgv station because we had an appointment here at la tourette, by le corbusier:

its a monastery... but a different sort of one...

corbu... and his "ears"... and use of color... and lines...
one of my favorite details in the building... when the door opens... it forms a cross.. with the window behind it....
i also love the windows... why are they colored?... corbu had the walls in the window channel painted.. so when light passes through... it floods the space also with that color
a better view of the chapel space

a secret prayer room underground ~

group shot!!!

mar 11 ~ france ~ palais ideal ~ part 4

2007-03-13T11:37:00.000+01:00

palais ideal... it is created by a postman.. yes... with no architectural training... his name is ferdinand cheval.... he dreamed of this palace... and build it... from limestone.. and stones he collected...
to me.. it looks like a big sand castle

what do u think?

its pretty crazy... it has resemblance to every culture and archi type...

mar 11 ~ france ~ arc-et-senans ~ part 5

2007-03-13T11:29:00.000+01:00

after the palais ideal... we headed to see the salt works... (saline royale).. by claude-nicolas ledoux... 2nd year ... intro to modern architecture with debanne.... who remembers?.... its good to be able to see if finally... my first ideal city :)

salt works icon ~

an exhibition within the salt works... on ideal cities.. (others).. this is corbu's...
pretty grand huh?
more by ledoux
ah... my sphere... from last term..... (i wish)... but i like my spehere too.
palladio?.. haha

the ideal city in model form ~

ledoux... influenced by palladio...

entrance.... (farewell!!!)

mar 12 ~ france ~ belfort ~ part 6

2007-03-13T11:26:00.000+01:00

the second night.. we stayed in belfort... because it was sunday.... the town was desserted... instead we woke up early to go up to the citadel... for a view of the city:
the famous lion in stone... on the citadel wall

our hotel... look at the flags.... click on it... enlarge it and look carefully... see what is wrong?.. (hint: one of the flags)

mar 12 ~ france ~ ronchamp chapel ~ part 7

2007-03-13T11:12:00.000+01:00

3rd day... the last thing we saw in france.... but the best... well..... this and the tgv station are my 2 favorites... i still remember doing a wall section for manuel in 2nd year tech of this very same church...oh ya... this is le corbusier's ronchamp chapel/notre dame du haut/chapel of light (for all those non-archis):
the section i drew was one through the very wall you're starring at right now... through the windows... (brings back memories)

hehe... me :P

the interior is incredible....

i love this wall... this view....
and.. corbu designed every window.. and stainglass window
i love his use of color
especially in these light wells~
and on the walls~

mar 12 ~ france ~ part 8

2007-03-13T11:08:00.000+01:00

and... after ronchamp... on our way back to swiss... we had a little fun in the van... i got up to the front seat... with putman driving.. and nathan making faces on the other side... :P
see... the rear view mirror
him again... sticking his pushy face while i take a pic...
and... mike... we're still driving!!!! (the car was still in motion... some responsible driving ... hope mindrup doesnt find out)
weird bridge huh?.... and.. that sums up the trip

mar 10 ~ me.. me.. me!!!

2007-03-10T00:05:00.000+01:00

all pics of me.... from sean :)

back in jan~

in zurich...on the roof top terrace of our hostel...
haha.. sean has so many pics of me sleeping.. this is one of the better ones
dinner at our fav italian restaurant
in luzern

mantova group shot!!!
vicenza.... remember this?... well.. this was me trying to balance... and nathan trying to get up
the girls....(palladio statue)
verona (castel vecchio)

palladio: rotunda... preparing to pose
our perfect symmetrical pose!
marostica... me taking a photo of the nice stone work
brion tombs.... group shot.. with the caretaker :P

venice... (no me... but i love this shot... credit to sean)
resting on one of venice's bridges
on a boat in venice :)

bye!

mar 4 ~ liechtenstein ~ part 1

2007-03-08T01:49:00.000+01:00

hihi... sorry all for not posting earlier... its been a long week so far.. and its not over yet... somehow this week is dragging... probably cuz of a pin-up/crit on friday... and.. we're not really ready... (when r we ever ready?)

anyways... back track a bit...to last weekend... i had an extra day left on my pass and decided to head out alone... to where?... liechtenstein

whats this?... its the 6th smallest country in the world... between switzerland and austria... hardly visible on a map... but its there.. and i went to see it... one day trip...

so.. head out on early train... bern>zurich>sargans.... in sargans.. got on the 'liechy' yellow buses... and headed to >vaduz!!! (capital city)
i got off the bus at the central stop.. and.. was lost!! (the city was desserted... where was everyone?.. anyways... i just started walking around... and... :

found the sun rising.. haha.. (no.. eventually i found my way... its a small place.. ... i was just a little dis-oriented... cuz the city was so dead... but.. soon i found ppl!!! and my sites)
vaduz castle....
a nice hike up... but i did it!!!
good view from the top!!!
along the hike!
schaan... a town i passed by on the bus to austria....well.. i stopped here on the way back over to swiss... but yes.. i went to austria.. a small town called 'feldkirch' (part 3)... i figure since i had time... why not?
so.. by 5.. i was very tired already... head home... sargans>zurich>bern!!!
bern station...
lovely sunset and bern station...

mar 4 ~ liechtenstein ~ part 2

2007-03-08T01:44:00.000+01:00

now.. to some architecture of 'liechy'... (sounds like.. lychee... fruit!)

so... there's some odd stuff in liechy... like this:
i love how awkward that looks over this picturesque scenery
thats like a robot with eyes ~
like this photo ~
liechy museum... art museum... the entrance... this highly polished stone surface.. reflects everything
see... perfect mirror.. actually.. the lower part is glass... the upper is the stone.. but.. still highly reflective
now.. to some odd building... ugly.. and... wierd too...
huh?... ya... i dun get it!

mar 4 ~ liechtensten ~ austria ~ part 3

2007-03-08T01:36:00.000+01:00

feldkirch....
doesnt it remind u of bern?... its a nice little city... not much happening.. but.. ppl are running about... nice cafes...

the new train station i guess.. still not functioning yet...
its all about the staircase!!!

feb 21 ~ train to italy/verona ~ part 1

2007-02-28T10:47:00.000+01:00

day 1 > bern > bologna, italy
in a sleeper car... first time.. 6 ppl/beds to one car...as u can see, its very tight, best photo already of entire room :P
hallway between the rooms
me on my bed...

then...that morning we arrived in bologna to switch trains to head to mantova (part 2), then for lunch we checked into our hotels in verona and headed to vicenza for the rest of the day:

in the train to vicenza.. very comfortable chairs, for vicenza (part 3)

after dinner in vicenza, we headed back to verona to take a night stroll:
plaza outside the arena, right by our hotel
arena at night
verona was the best... i loved it the most :)

feb 21 ~ mantova ~ part 2

2007-02-27T19:35:00.000+01:00

arriving very early into mantova, not being able to lock up our luggage, we carried it around the whole city with us... cobble stone roads and heavy backpack = not good combination

opera house

first time i've seen a harpsichord in real functioning form... i asked to play on it... although i made a fool out of myself, i had fun... it is quite different playing on it compared to the piano... the key spacings are different, therefore the reach i'm comfortable with wasnt there... and.. the touch too... the weight u put in your fingers to hit the keys is also different... i realize why we play 'bach' the way we do now :P
me... exhausted.. but smiling

castle in mantova

feb 21 ~ vicenza ~ palladio ~ part 3

2007-02-27T19:23:00.000+01:00

arriving in vicenza... it is a crazy town of palladio... its like.. palladio feast... a buffet of buildings all along the central street... and scattered around the town are palladio's villas.. including the rotunda (see feb 23):
some church
main street, the buffet of palladio

main plaza

yeh! ~
palladio sculpture and me posing :)
palladios ~

feb 22 ~ verona ~ city ~ part 1

2007-02-27T19:15:00.000+01:00

waking up to a beautiful day... our first destination was scarpa's bank (part 2), then the arena/coliseum (part 3)... then castel vecchio (part 4)... and lastly the roman theatre (part 5):
bridge beside castel vecchio, beautiful view
main piazza in verona ~ possible where the montagues and capulets fought?
juliets house/balcony and figure, notice where everyone touches her?

the roman theatre behind me... (where the arches are)
the boys
the best part to being in italy is: gelato every day!!! (1 euro ~ what a deal)

i got tired after an tire day.. and climbing the mountain behind the roman theatre... i got a piggy back ride... thx matt :P
dinner at a restaurant in what is romeo's house!!!! (this is fresh pasta with duck sauce.. yum)
horse meat :)

feb 22 ~ verona ~ scarpa's bank ~ part 2

2007-02-27T19:10:00.000+01:00

very sad that we werent able to get in... morgan is the best... he tried... we got a phone number to call .. and it turns out... we only needed to pre-book it a few days ahead... it was too late... if only we knew... but i'm glad there was tons of scarpa architecture to go around

feb 22 ~ verona ~ arena ~ part 3

2007-02-27T18:52:00.000+01:00

inside my very first roman arena, i'm happy :)

compare: new steps

old steps

notice this is taken at the long end of the ellipse... due to perspective it appears as a perfectly circular arena... (was this one purpose?)
pigeons in my way :P

feb 22 ~ verona ~ castel vecchio ~ part 4

2007-02-27T18:45:00.000+01:00

scarpa converted this castle into a museum:

the three of us had found a staircase up to the bridge level connecting all the towers... we even climbed some of the towers... here's us up there :) (matt got locked out)

more pics from the top

inside one of the towers (the net is there to stop pigeons flying in)
interesting staircase (possibly by scarpa)
of all the details that scarpa invented... i love his reinvention of the stairs the most... its perfect for climbing up/down

feb 22 ~ verona ~ roman theatre ~ part 5

2007-02-27T18:37:00.001+01:00

the roman theatre is just across the river from the old city center of verona... it is quieter on this side of the river:

it was pretty empty when we were there... the guys suggested i test the acoustics out... and since it wasnt impressing them.. i did a little dance :)

there they are... looking and laughing at me
see~
morgan's idea of relaxation... can stare at the world upside down wor ~

chain to allow water to trickle down... used by corbusier, wright... and many others... its nothing new :P
lovely sunset... a little foggy.. but beautiful colours (up on the hill behind the theatre... morgan made me climb up :( ... i was tired..)

feb 23 ~ from verona to venice ~ driving

2007-02-27T18:27:00.000+01:00

got up early the next morning.. and got our rental car:

sean and i got the back seat :)

the reason we rented a car was mainly so we can get out to the brion tombs... we were told that there was no way there other than by car (which isnt true.. u can catch buses there.. just longer perhaps)... but car is a nice way to drive through the villa filled country side.. and stop by a few cities.. like marostica and bassano...

so before we arrived at brion tomb we stopped by a few places and really enjoyed them.. the drive is not too bad... lots of trucks.. just as marco pointed out... and at the end of the day.. we drove ourselves to venice where we returned our car:interesting long exposure effect

once in venice.. we checked into our hotel.. and.. we headed out for dinner... so hungry:
view beside our restaurant
looking at our restaurant my dinner... it was the first course of a 3 course meal.. i forgot to take a pic of the fish and salad.. which was all very good.. considering it was very tourisy type restaurant... the canal at night

feb 23 ~ la rotunda ~ palladio

2007-02-27T18:20:00.000+01:00

the first stop that day with our car was to see 'la rotunda' by palladio... since we were driving through vicenza anyways.. it only made sense to stop by:

feb 23 ~ marostica ~

2007-02-27T17:57:00.000+01:00

city of chess ~ it is a very nice little town...
see the main piazza.. on the ground is a huge human size chess board... once a year.. they play real chess, with real ppl here... and.. look beyond the hill.. there's a fortifying wall... reminded me of the great wall of china

and asian crew ~

thx morgan.. for joining me in a pic... not so lonely now~

exactly what i pictured a chess/castle to be like
now this really looks like the great wall of china

feb 23 ~ bassano ~

2007-02-27T17:49:00.000+01:00

next town: bassano > land of grappa
and of course.. also famous for the palladio bridge.. (reconstructed after destroyed in WWII)

our grappa goodies ~

looking back at bassano... and bridge

feb 23 ~ brion tomb ~ part 1

2007-02-27T16:47:00.000+01:00

scarpa: brion tomb... wa!!! (very worthwhile to visit)
the pics are a little scattered... try to imagine how the place is like la... its hard to arrange them in some sort of sequence.. cuz. i dun believe there is one :)

scarpa's tomb (he rested himself here too!)

look at part 2 for some details i found lovely (part 2)

feb 23 ~ brion tomb - details ~ part 2

2007-02-27T16:01:00.000+01:00

details i really liked:

entry gate: handle
once again.. his reinvention of the stair

water detail.. i love how it submerges

a detail by the chapel

fishy ~

feb 24 ~ venice ~ part 1

2007-02-27T10:51:00.000+01:00

venice... not my favorite place... its nice to have seen it.. at least once... but really... to me it felt like the italian disney land... anyways... :
a view outside the port/landing area of our hotel, not a bad location

this is venice

saint marco square

see... tourists!!!!

i really like this photo.. the sparkling water ~
love this one too ~

this is what i imagined venice to be.. quiet.. peaceful... just canal.. and house
nothing better than having a cup of coffee in venice :)

and this... haha... a restaurant a friend recommended... its funny how i wasnt even looking for it.. until i came up to it.. and it looked so familiar... (cant be..it was my first time there)... so.. thats when i realized its the restaurant he was talking about :P (here's proof i found it) nice bridge... close to that restaurant
beautiful side opposite to the grand canal... away from the tourism.. venice is very beautiful

feb 24 ~ venice ~ scarpa ~ part 2

2007-02-27T10:43:00.000+01:00

there was actually a lot of scarpa around venice.. but very scattered... enjoy:
an art gallery in saint marco square
a bridge by scarpa... leads into building with parts by scarpa.. too bad it closed for restoration
gate to the school of architecture...

a door to a building... scarpa's earlier work

feb 25 ~ venice/murano

2007-02-27T10:32:00.000+01:00

hehe... last day in venice... we went over to murano... island of glass:

we found a little park... and had some fun

on the train home... see matt and i in the reflection?

thx u all for being patient to wait for me to upload... and taking the time to go through this massive post... it was fun to do... (just took too long)... i dun think i'll be posting much soon.. haha...

feb 19 ~ einsiedeln ~ part 1

2007-02-20T09:23:00.000+01:00

einsiedeln... second lecture: marco frascari:
before the lecture we came across the einsiedeln carnival...
scary ~
in the library... marco giving us his lecture
haha ... mindrup has a headache...
back of the library...

boys.. having some fun ~
haha...
lunch time ~
imagine how many of these could fit in my garage...
bye einsiedeln! (we'll be back)

feb 19 ~ meggen ~ part 2

2007-02-20T09:17:00.000+01:00

on our way from einsiedeln to meggen:

then... we arrived in meggen.. new train station:
We're here to see: Piuskirche, by Franz Füeg
The church of St. Pius in Meggen (1964-66)
Franz Füeg was born in 1921. Among his works is Pius Church in Meggen near Lucerne, an extraordinary steel construction with translucent marble instead of glass filling the interior with a unique light.

the marbel wall.... ahhhh

from the back... overlooking the alps
the front...

feb 19 ~ lucern ~ part 3

2007-02-20T09:10:00.000+01:00

arriving in lucern... to the calatrava addition to the station... at the same time.. we landed right in the middle of their carnival!!! ... the biggest event in lucern... perhaps the best carnival in swiss... but.... thats part 5...
we were here in lucern to look at architecture.. as always:

calatrava... too many ppl... hard to look at
jean nouvel art museum... part 4
lake side....
jean nouvel behind me ~
~taken by faemow
lucern's tourist attraction
postcard?!?.. haha

feb 19 ~ lucern ~ jean nouvel ~ part 4

2007-02-20T09:06:00.000+01:00

walking along the harbourfront... we observed the building from the outside... i would love to go back to lucern and visit the inside... i dun think the outside does it justice:

feb 19 ~ lucern ~ part 5

2007-02-20T09:01:00.000+01:00

now.. here's carnival pictures:
floats~
craZy~
fishy... fishy....

bumper cars....

amazing festival~ a cross between halloween and santa clause parade... with fireworks and confetti... seems kinda like chinese new year with the dragons and drums... and fireworks... for sure it felt festive like that... last time i remember seeing something / feeling something of similar hype was chinese new year in hk.. when i was 6... it was definitely memorable experience

feb 9/10 ~ gex ~ part 1

2007-02-11T18:16:00.000+01:00

after a horrible week of school in bern... i was ready to get out... i took the train to geneva where maud met up with me... and took me into her home!!!... i felt like i was on vacation... at a relaxing resort:
sleeping in maud's bed ~... do u see the picture of us on the wall? (fi, kai?)
this is maud's desk... (look fi... you're everywhere :)... we love u)
this is maud's home... she's standing in front of it... we are about to head out

saturday morning market in gex ~ cheese
fish/seafood ~
no.. this is not the market... this is maud's dog... maud took me to her father's house to have lunch... this is her doggy... so cute...
the view outside her father's house... the pool...it was a rainy day... but u have to imagine.. mont blanc is right there...beside the tree... just hiding behind the clouds... :P

its an amazing area to live in... maud lives in gex... her dad in divonne... they are 10 minutes away from each other... but... all between the jura mountains.. and the alps ... i would love to live in a place like this...

feb 10 ~ geneva ~ part 2

2007-02-11T18:13:00.000+01:00

after lunch at maud dad's... we went into geneva:
explored the old town... city hall

another cathedral... nice as usual
the seagulls by the lakeside...
parking lot where we parked maud's car....notice the lights above the parking spot... it is red when the space is taken... green when its empty... b4 u enter the parking lot... u already know where u can find an empty spot... so efficient!!! (i believe some places in toronto have this system... but like at pearson.. it lies... not up to date ...sigh.. thats canada)

feb 10/11 ~ geneva/gex ~ part 3

2007-02-11T17:46:00.000+01:00

happy birthday maud!!! i'm so glad to be able to share your 21st and now.. your 22nd birthday with u too!!! we are sitting in her living/family room in front of the warm fireplace...
cheese ~
maud and her family... (mom, aunt/uncle)

this is the wonderful traditional french dish domi made (maud's mom)... it was delicious
then.. maud's cake... delicious too
this is sunday morning outside maud's house... gray skies... starting to see the mountains... too bad it rained all weekend... the best day was when i arrived on friday.. yet.. it was dark already... which only goes to mean they want me to visit them again :P

thx maud and family for everything... your gratitude was appreciated :) *hugs*kisses*

feb 6 ~ einsiedeln

2007-02-11T17:34:00.000+01:00

bern > einsiedeln for the tour of the library:
building by mario botta :P (not extremely amusing)

inside the library

and we found the 'platonic solids' ~ haha... bad memories of last term... it all makes sense now
the main library space ~

the monastery in the town... looks more like a castle...
at the end of the day... leaving the library...look at all the snow that had accumulated that day :P

feb 2 ~ vals ~ part 1

2007-02-07T12:03:00.000+01:00

the beginning to our wonderful... relaxing weekend....

friday morning... we headed directly to vals.. took about 3 hrs to get there... train... then bus... on the bus route we climbed through some really beautiful scenery:

flow of water frozen into ice ~ :P (my studio concept)

------------------------------***----------------------------

arrival into vals, we ate our lunches and jumped right into the thermal baths :)
the bath house is again.. by peter zumthor... for details on that go to part 2

the red room (for dining and our breakfast)

the view outside the balcony of my room ~
inside my room~
my side of the room~ look at all the cabinets... now go to part 2 to see what its like in the baths...

feb 2 ~ vals ~ part 2 ~zumthor

2007-02-07T11:58:00.000+01:00

thermal baths ~ by peter zumthor
it was too bad that no photos were allowed inside the bath... but heres the exterior:

the exterior bath area... i loved this part~
haha. yes.. there's some inside shots... but this is not inside the water area... this is a stairway into the lower level (massage rooms, etc)
yes.. this is inside the bath... but it was taken through a window...so not quite... :P
here u can see the distinction between the space i'm in.. the glass... and then the interior of the baths beyond... but more importantly is the light quality...

feb 2 ~ vals ~ part 3

2007-02-07T11:51:00.000+01:00

after a long day in the baths... after all the relaxation... we all arrived at dinner... it was a lovely 4 course meal... i was so hungry:
smile :)
and smile some more :)
first course: soup

second: salad (buffet)
main: herb pork, tomato, some potato like noodle
last/dessert: caramelized pineapples
cheers ~

going to chur and vals tomolo... now for a good night's rest

feb 3 ~ chur > davos ~ part 4

2007-02-07T11:40:00.000+01:00

this morning... we went into the baths again for a morning dip... then had the most wonderful breakfast... sorry... forgot to take photos... but it was delicious... then catching the 9:30 bus... we headed to the train station and back to chur... to see... another peter zumthor... this time the roman ruins:
entry ~
inside ~

through the window outside
exterior: between two spaces
outside looking in ~
ceiling structure detail ~

feb 3 ~ davos ~ part 5

2007-02-07T11:27:00.000+01:00

after chur... we headed to davos!!! checking in at the hostel:

the crew... all tired~
the view from the balcony of our room ~
our room... bunk beds... but the best hostel i've been to...
me on the balcony ~
outside our hostel... matt and sean

------------------***-------------------

visited the kirchner museum...by zurich architects gigon and guyer:

nice railing detail ~

a sport facility/recreation building also by g&g...
the other side to the building above~

by now... its dinner time... so hungry... and returning to hostel.. our dinner was waiting for us:
soup, salad, chicken (w/ potato, veggie)... it was soooo good... i had seconds!!!
after dinner... fossball!!!
outside the window at night! ~

feb 4 ~ davos ~ part 6

2007-02-07T11:13:00.000+01:00

today is the big ski day.... upon getting rentals, buying lift/gondola ticket... we headed up mountain:

map of the ski runs.... crazy!

on the gondola ~
haha.. i didnt make those marks.. wish i could ~
beautiful huh?... now this is skiing... i wished i could ski better :P

jan 27 ~ bregenz/zurich ~ part 1 ~zumthor

2007-01-31T18:05:00.000+01:00

taking a 6:30 train means being up at 5:30... here is our breakfast at bregenz!!! It took us 3 hours to get there... bregenz is in austria.. a city that borders swiss and austria... isnt the breakfast lovely?... matt's treat... thx!... as usual.. i had the hot cocao... and.. i guess what u see are austrian donuts... they are very good!!!

our architectural tour of the bregenz kunsthaus (art musuem) was at 11:00 ... the museum is designed by swiss architect peter zumthor... a very special gallery with no permanent collection... the building cladding is a double-skin system... bringing in natural light and ventilation.... the structure consists of 3 concrete walls... very simple and clean:

exterior glass ~
interior glass as it meets the concrete floor slab... from the basement level
inside the double skin system ~ (my first time inside such a space)
it was so cold and snowy... even the now got trapped inside...
the circulation and the main gallery space ~

stairway ~
3 levels of gallery space ... the top having a higher ceiling clearance
artificial lighting off... (the pic above is with florescent lighting on... this is with it off... )
only in the basement and entry level is the interior face of the double skin cladding glass... entirely glass... this is the staircase to the basement.. compare it to the staircase above...

after bregenz... we headed to zurich... >part 2

jan 27 ~ zurich ~ part 2

2007-01-31T17:49:00.000+01:00

Arriving in zurich...attacked by a huge train station... through much confusion we finally found the train to the station designed by calatrava.. see part 3
after that, a stroll through the old town lead us to here:

taken from a bridge right outside the main station... we caught another train to arrive at an artist's studio: simone gugger

she's a goldsmith/jewellery artist... very talented... lots of amazing works

near the artist studio... freitag's zurich store !!! (a swiss brand of backpack/bags)

art work inside zurich bahnhof ~
again... to get to our hostel that night... we crossed the same bridge we did earlier... and i decided to take the same photo... looks different eh?
from our hostel's roof top patio... amazing view
staircase at hostel ~
our room... very luxurious for a hostel
highly recommended hostel/hotel: Hotel Martahaus Zurich... breakfast included in the morning...> part 3

jan 27 ~ zurich ~ part 3 ~ calatrava

2007-01-30T23:16:00.000+01:00

Calatrava's railway/train station... its only one stop away from the main station... about a 20 min walk... or 3 min train... i studied this structure a lot last year... how the forces work... and the details of the joints... it was very impressive to me on paper... (books)... not so grand when you're there... but i'm still glad to see it:

very nice control joint~

underneath the station...

entry to underground... each gate is designed individually... with a hydrolic gate/mechanism... that i assume closes at night
not a very photogenic piece of architecture... seems very experimental... > part 4

jan 28 ~ zurich ~ part 4

2007-01-30T22:35:00.000+01:00

ah... zurich... on a warm... sunny... quiet... sunday morning...
after a long day and night yesterday... matt and i got up at 9 for the free breakfast at the hostel... it was bread and cereal... (yum yum...what a wonderful breakfast.. hey.. its free)..so.. i'm not gonna complain... after a good meal.... we left sean and morgan as they continue to get their beauty sleep... and... set foot to explore the city...

clock towers... everywhere in swiss ~

a bunch of japanese tv/media/reporters...

lake/river in zurich... alps in the distance... not too clear....

true movenpick marche!!! ~ swiss style... yum yum... the apple cider/juice was sooo good... thx movenpick :)

> part 5

jan 28 ~ zurich ~ part 5 ~ le corbusier

2007-01-30T22:19:00.000+01:00

this is le corbusier's last work... it was completed after his death... its not a private museum.. but only opens for 3 months in the summer... too bad

the modular man ~

water drainage ~ nice detail... hidden behind the column structure.. very clean
another drainage detail... where is all the water going?... i believe there is a cistrine underground... it only makes sense... too bad cannot go inside... but... loving zurich... i will be back :)

jan 26 ~ its been a design block

2007-01-26T15:20:00.000+01:00

so stuck.. so stuck... but.. maybe i'm coming out of it... u guys tell me:

can u tell what these are?

i created these.. out of what?

can u guess?... good luck...

jan 24 ~ first snow

2007-01-26T15:16:00.000+01:00

woke up this morning... and it was all white outside... yes.. very early in the morning.. still dark... but.. very beautiful...

outside my apartment window ~

very romantic spot ~

jan 23 ~ part 1 ~ burgdorf

2007-01-24T13:40:00.000+01:00

its been a busy week... finally i've had some time to put some description onto the following posts...

this was tuesday... we visited 3 towns (burgdorf, biel and neuchatel)... part of our regional tours... the first stop that morning was burgdorf... and.. we came here to see the "museum franz gertsch"... photos below:

arriving from the old town of burgdorf...

uh....

these two in comparison to tadao ando last week... :

stair detail

concrete surface... formwork meeting

inside entry into the main circulatory space

the amazing thing is how this image have no sense of grounding... its only one of the many i took inside...

our train to take us to biel....

jan 23 ~ part 2 ~ biel

2007-01-24T13:34:00.000+01:00

our second stop on the trip: biel

i didnt like biel... we were here to see an architectural office and their work...this is what biel looks like:

interesting though... but not a pleasant town to live in...

i love how they tried to stop this building from falling...

a fish sign in the old town :P
haha... dun u love the huge dies? ... just blows things out of proportion...
and.. the boys had a little fun...
then they ran their separate ways...and.. we went to neuchatel

jan 23 ~ part 3 ~ neuchatel

2007-01-24T13:14:00.000+01:00

welcome to neuchatel... the name is french... this is the french part of switzerland... i felt a little more at home here... we were here to see the swiss statistics building:

the northern side of the building... overlooking the town on this right.... (north-west)

(north-east)...south of this building is the lake... imagine... all those houses on the mountain side have a waterfront view...
contrast... warm (wood)... cold (glass).... orange vs blue
i love this town... wished it was sunny... then... i'll be able to see the alps from this roof top patio
haha.. thats then end guys... getting ready to jump?
the building has two masses.. a long 5 story buidling.. and a glass tower...
connection bridge to tower

top floor of the tower
on for a drink b4 catching the train home...
bye!... stay tune for zurich next!

jan 20 ~ basel ~ part 1 of 7

2007-01-21T18:45:00.000+01:00

our first time out of bern > destination: basel

train ride in the morning
arrival into basel, outside bahnhof, waiting for tram
tram ticket...
on the tram > to beyeler foundation

for details on the beyeler foundation: check out basel part 2, and beyeler website

after the beyeler, we took another bus over to germany for the vitra museum... but we got to here:

and.. had to change buses... in the process... half of the group became the lost children of peter pan....(notice the empty chair and bus stop?)
so the 'lost children' walked and walked...
here they are... lost.. but happy :)

and of course the 'lost children' made their way to the vitra museum... vitra architecture website and joined back the the group in perfect timing for the tour:

the group inside the zaha hadid firestation (look at entry > basel: part 4)

here we are.. marching down the road to visit the tadao ando conference center (look at entry > basel: part 5)

inside the vitra chair museum.. testing out the chairs...

collection "charles and ray eames" ~

vitra miniatures ~ i want!!!

gehry... (no comment)

bus station outside vitra... so gut!!!

then we took the bus back to basel... and walked around and found herzon & de meuron switch station (look at entry > basel: part 6)

and... found mario botta

and richard serra...

then.. we had to find dinner... we were so hungry (look at entry > basel: part 7)
of course... after dinner... we had some fun.. and almost didnt make it for the last train... but we did:

exhausted from running to the station... thanks guys.. for helping me make it... we almost didnt make it... 1 minute later.. we would have missed it

see how happy we are to be on the train...

ed was so tired... he fell asleep ...

so that was the adventure to basel... it was good indeed !!! please continue to the other 6 chapters of basel

jan 20 ~ basel ~ part 2 ~ renzo piano

2007-01-21T18:35:00.000+01:00

beyeler foundation > art museum > loved the art work... not so much the building.. although i love renzo piano's works... not this one... enjoy:

jan 20 ~ basel ~ part 3 ~ bucky

2007-01-21T18:31:00.000+01:00

on the site of vitra > buckminister fuller's dome:

jan 20 ~ basel ~ part 4 ~ zaha hadid

2007-01-21T18:21:00.000+01:00

first time visiting a zaha hadid work ~ absolutely brilliant... u have to feel it to know its wonderful qualities... it'll shock u :P

what is this?... guess

warped spaces... optical illusions
look at this carefully....
this is the same as above.. just different angle... i moved a few inches over to the right from the first one...
then this one... also a taken a further foot away from the one above... see how the space transforms?
this... dizzy yet?... totally crazy!!!
this is the space of the pic above... little less confusing...

inside where they would probably have parked the fire trucks... now houses 100 chairs in the vitra collection... too bad they are displayed.. defeats the purpose of a chair...
final image... outside... a bbq.. also by hadid...

jan 20 ~ basel ~ part 5 ~ tadao ando

2007-01-21T18:09:00.000+01:00

ando... absolutely love him... its not a building that can be captured by photos... its about experience... u have to be in it to understand the quality:

------------- * * * -------------

the following in black and white... i believe it better demonstates its beautiful concrete qualities:

precision

this is ando's respect to the site (spot the 3 irregular patches?)
it is the memories of the 3 cherry blossom trees that were cut down to contruct the building... very beautiful

jan 20 ~ basel ~ part 6 ~ H&M

2007-01-21T17:56:00.000+01:00

haha... H&M.. not the european clothing chain... but Herzog and de Meuron... architect ar!!!... the following is the central signal tower project:

from the bahnhof (basel station)

jan 20 ~ basel ~ part 7 ~ dinner

2007-01-21T17:47:00.000+01:00

finally dinner time.. after a long day:

melanie, edward, veronique ~

nathan, mel ~

me...

oh morgan... (so dreamy.. haha)
my dinner
sean... and the empty beer glasses.....
nope... here's more ~
nathan and mel ~ again
and.. thats all .. bye (love ya all, and miss u !)

jan 19 - 2nd crit

2007-01-19T21:30:00.000+01:00

2nd crit today.... it was interesting... (period.. no more comments)

i have finally been able to load more pics .... the internet has been so slow.... about crit... well.. below are some photos...

oops... matt caught me yawning :P
pat n i

rheal n i

---------- * * * ----------

so after crit.. we went to dinner at an italian place matthew recommended to us... very good choice... the pasta was great.... wine was nice... good quality... decent price... so.. below are some pics...

loved the wall of wine ~
notice the sealing of the wine bottles... wax and string...

my dinner.... Al Salmone... very nice lemon-y sauce... yum yum...

taken by ed~ thx... lovely pic... of the wine bottles.. and me :P

jan 18 ~ the day before crit

2007-01-18T17:45:00.000+01:00

today... the wind was very strong... it woke me up this morning... the wind was shaking everything... so loud i couldnt sleep... but... it also gave me headaches... supposingly... its a normal thing here wor... some sorta of weird wind changes will bring upon headaches to ppl here...anyways.. tydenol does the job...

me at my desk... (matt took the pic.. with my camera too... sneaky)
hehe... cute huh vicky? guess what's inside?....

yum.. yum... now u see it...

now u dont.... DANKE!!!

jan 16 ~ studio day

2007-01-16T18:02:00.000+01:00

today was dedicated to studio... so is tomorrow....but.... this morning i went to the post office to send of *some* gifts ~ to some lucky birthday girls... :P
anyways... i hope they arrive on time... (haha)... and then i did groceries also in the morning... this is new.. but it works... less people... fresh goods... no worries at night when going home to cook dinner...
so.. in studio.. i needed to make some scans... and decided to scan in a few of the sketches i've done so far... hope u enjoy!

jan 15 ~ city tour

2007-01-15T21:08:00.000+01:00

today was the first official walking tour of the city... we went through the oldest part of bern ... which was constructed after the fire in 1405... then.. in 2 more phases following (in the 15th and 17th centuries)... we have what is now bern!!! in the morning it was freezing.. and we had our walking tour.... then we went into a cafe for a little break... to warm up... then after lunch... in the early afternoon we visited one of the homes/apartment/typical 4 story structure...

rocking horses?

hot cocao... and swiss sugar :P

inside a home ~

on the roof terrace of the home... a gutter/pipe/drainage detail
more roofs, a world of its own up there...

the bells... they still ring with these old fashioned bells... very neat... connected from ground floor all the way up each of the four stories... connected by string/wire and pulleys... works wonderfully...
window in the stairway...

jan 13 ~ down by the river ~ part 2

2007-01-14T19:22:00.000+01:00

for further studies of my drawing, i spent the second half of my saturday re-visiting the river... this time it was at sunset... i needed a second look at a different time to add another aspect to my drawings... below are a few interesting sites i visited:

taken from the only bridge that existed historically... the other bridges around town currently are added in modern times

the bridge in the foreground is new... the one with 3 arches in the distance is the old bridge...

interesting waterways/canals like this exist throughout the city...

haha... i thought this was an interesting setting for a restaurant... as you can see its a greek restaurant... i guess this is as close as i will get to santorini this time visitng europe... santorini will still be one of my dream destinations...

jan 13 ~ the gurten ~ part 1

2007-01-14T16:36:00.000+01:00

my saturday adventure ~ the gurten:
864 meters above sea-level, stunnign views of the city of berne, the jura mountains, and the alps
www.gurtenpark.ch

observation tower
view from the top of the tower: to the south

top of tower: my place, north west

view to the east
wow... speechless

pathway down....
hehe... me and the lovely landscape... i fell in love... i didnt want to leave

jan 12 ~ first studio crit

2007-01-14T15:57:00.000+01:00

its friday... a very special day.. the first crits in bern!!!... look how excited we all are... so eager to fill the wall up... hehe...to add to the excitment... in between our crits... we visited the history museum of bern... we got a special guided tour through the "city of bern" exhibits... a very nice way to get us understanding bern... look below:

red arrow: points at my drawing

model at the museum: bern from the west
model: bern from the east... the river wrapping around

2nd half of crits... notice what were holding in our hands?... its another first for studio crits.. haha

outside the studio window / reflection of inside studio

dinner: after a long day of crits... nothing better than a good dinner... that was my order.. it was sooo good... so filling... just a little too much flavor.. eating out is expensive... but the portions are always very good... i always have problem finishing...

jan 10/11 - anonymous bus routes

2007-01-12T10:48:00.000+01:00

cute kitty... meow... enjoying the petting (route 20)
my adventures in search of a chinese grocery store... originally on route 10.. then...
i walked around and around... and reached this round-about... finally found what i had come down to seek for... and.. returned on bus route 17...
hehe... see from another perspective

jan 9 ~ what is route 30?

2007-01-09T20:25:00.000+01:00

first time i walked down into the lower valley, close to the river...followed along what would be the bus route 30... hahaha... too bad...i would have almost rode that route last week... if an only if... its a beautiful route.. too bad it only runs after 8pm... odd!!!

up in flames?

forks?

mirror inside a mirror? (continuous reflection)

bear...(bern)

~ it smells !