THE ARCHIVE

Our first design exercise came to an end on Monday and we have now begun the second and final architecture project of the semester.  As I mentioned earlier, our initial project of the year brought art and architecture students together to propose various site interventions in the historic Rioni (districts) of Rome.  The assignment was intentionally ambiguous and resulted in a series of wildly diverse proposals–buildings, installations, projections and surfaces inserted throughout the city to enable a new reading/understanding of the past.

I will venture to say that the most difficult aspect of the project had nothing to do with architecture; it had everything to do with group dynamics.  Coordinating the efforts and ideas of three randomly assigned students is a formidable task.  Some collaborations were bountiful, some were battlefields.  In some cases collaboration never occurred and a single student took responsibility for the entire “group” project.  But now that the experience has come to an end, we can push our frustration aside and reflect positively on a genuine “learning experience.”

At the final review, I was actually very happy with my group’s project.  We proposed building a didactic entryway into the Roman Forum to offer visitors a better understanding of the “historical layering” that has occurred there. We were intrigued by the idea of stratification and essentially created an architectural manifestation of that idea (yes, I was slightly influenced by my archaeology job this summer).

When the review came to an end, our professors changed gears and presented the latest assignment: a brownfield redevelopment at the periphery of Rome.  Over the next two months, we will each design a mixed-use complex with a prescribed amount of residential, office, and retail space.  We have been asked to develop the project both pragmatically and conceptually using foam and paper models.  The studio space is about to get a whole lot messier.

A couple people asked about our pizza recipe so I thought I’d post it to the site.  You might be surprised how easy it is to make a good pizza–and there is unlimited room for creativity.  Below is a shorthand version of the recipe we borrowed from “the little big cook book.”  Try it out and have fun.

Ingrediente: (serves 1-2)

• ½ oz (15g) fresh yeast or a ¼ oz package of active dry yeast
• 2/3 cup (150ml) warm water
  
• 2 cups (200g) all purpose flour
  
• 1 tsp salt

Preparazione:

1. Soak the yeast in half (1/3 cup) of the warm water for 10 minutes
   
2. Combine flour, salt, yeast mixture, and remaining water in bowl. Stir.
   
3. Knead for about 5 minutes
   
4. Place in bowl and cover for about 1 hour (it should double in size).
   
5. Knead for about 1 minute
   
6. Make the pizza as thin or thick as desired.
   
7. Add toppings–sauce, cheese, vegetables, meat (anything goes).
   
8. Set aside for ten minutes
   
9. Bake 10-15 minutes at 450F (230C).
   
10. Buon Appetito

MODENA // On Friday Sept. 12, we climbed off the bus in Modena and walked along vaulted porticoes to the Piazza Grande.  The cathedral there has an interesting split-level arrangement with a raised Apse above a small chapel.  While standing in the Nave I felt a curious ringing noise and followed it into the grotto below, where a group of nuns were joined together in prayer.  Their voices reverberated throughout the stone chamber and filled the space with a chorus of sound–a 12^th century acoustic masterpiece.

Just beyond the city of Modena is the cemetery of San Cataldo, expanded by Aldo Rossi in 1971.  The new structures stand cold and unadorned in an empty field adjacent to the old cemetery.  The Ossuary cube at the center of the complex is described as a “house for the dead,” but as one student pointed out it felt like a warehouse.  It is a powerful space but not one in which I would like to spend eternity.

VERONA // Arrival in Verona was accompanied by rain and everyone started to regret packing only shorts and T-shirts.  I went for a run on the first night and got a quick preview of the major sites: Castelvecchio, the Roman amphitheatre, and the Duomo.  We spent the majority of Saturday at the Museo di Castelvecchio in awe of Carlo Scarpa’s masterful renovation.  This now ranks alongside the Musee d’Orsay in Paris as one of my favorite museums.

VICENZA //    We visited Vicenza to see the 16^th century work of Andrea Palladio.  Rain continued to dampen spirits, but also gave us a functional appreciation for the many loggias throughout the city.  The highlights of the day were Palladio’s Teatro Olimpico with a semi-circular auditorium and a forced-perspective stage set, and the beautifully situated Villa Rotunda.

(The Villa Rotunda and a ceiling fresco in Palazzo Chiericati)

VENEZIA //    Venice.  Need I say more?  The city is one of the great anomalies of urban planning and it attracts hordes of tourists each year.  I have never visited Venice before and I was impressed with everything from the Piazza San Marco to the trash removal.  We spent our first day in Venice at the Architecture Biennale–an international exhibition of work that occurs every two years (alternating with the Art Biennale).  We saw experimental projects and designs from the big names and the no names.  It was all very interesting.  The next day we visited Palladian churches and another museum by Carlo Scarpa.

(Gondola man on the high seas, the Swedish pavilion at the Biennale, a night at Piazza S. Marco, and sketching a Palladian Church)

MILANO //    In our brief visit to Milan, there were no buildings or designer outfits that compared the grandeur of the Duomo.  I don’t think it is possible to comprehend the effort and skill required to build such a thing.  As we stood together in awe, we tried to find ways to quantify the achievement.  Cost is too petty a measurement.  How many lifetimes were devoted to this?  How many families depended on the labor? How many lives were lost?

COMO + THE SPACE BETWEEN //   In Como, the art students took a boat ride while the architecture students visited works by Giuseppe Terragni from the 1930’s.  Both projects–an elementary school and the Casa del Fascio–were white concrete buildings with careful articulation of frame and surface.  Throughout the trip we saw a number of projects outside the cities I have already mentioned.  Of particular note were the Brion Cemetery by Carlo Scarpa, the Nardini Grappa distillery and the Milan Fairgrounds by Massimiliano Fuksas (below).

We arrived back in Rome last night after an intense period of exposure to new cities, sites, and museums.  Before I write about the things we saw I want to explain how we saw them.  As with photography, it is best to understand the lens before trying to focus on a subject.

Take a moment and imagine sixty Cornellians–architects, artists, and professors–speeding along the highway in a double-decker bus with the rough size and color of Clifford the big red dog.  By means of strategy and luck, I sat in the front row on the upper level with a stunning panoramic view of all that lay ahead.  I equate the sensation to riding at the front of a rollercoaster or taking a magic carpet ride (I have actually never done the later, but one might imagine).

And so I arrived at each destination on a cushioned seat three meters above the world.  We dismounted the bus and moved as a pack to see the great accomplishments of past generations of builders and architects.  “Observe the layers, the frames, the skin and surfaces” we were told by our professor, “explore the building and draw the concept.”

We were given 20-60 minutes to see a building and discover its eccentricities on our own.  Sketchbooks and cameras in hand, we traversed the spaces like ants on a discarded piece of bread.  Architectural nourishment for our impressionable minds!

In many respects the experience was absurd.  How can one see and absorb so much in so little time?  How can one experience a new place from the vantage point of a coach bus?  How can one understand a new culture in the company of old friends? These questions aside, the field trip offered a great opportunity for learning.  We went to places we might not otherwise go, doors were opened that are normally locked, and concepts were explained that might take us years to discover on our own.

Sketchbook and memory card full, I return to life in Rome feeling like I know a little more and knowing that I have just scratched the surface.

We have reached the halfway point in our Northern Excursion.  Modena, Verona, Vicenza and Venezia have all come and gone.  Tomorrow we ride to Milano and Como.

The travel continues…  stories will follow.

Tomorrow morning we begin our field trip to Northern Italy. Sixty students, eight days, twelve cities, and a few thousand buildings along the way.

I just discovered the incredible power of Google.  Below is a map with all the main sites that we will be visiting over the next week.  I’m sure I will have lots to share after the trip, but this is a quick preview.  Let me know if you have any recommendation about what to see/eat/do in any of these cities.

On Saturday, we climbed aboard a tour bus en route to the ancient Etruscan cities of Tarquinia and Cerveteri. The theme of the day was death, or more specifically how rich Etruscans chose to bury their dead. We looked at tombs, sarcophagi, and more tombs.

Graveyards do not top my list of fun weekend destinations, but these merited a visit. After working on an Etruscan Archaeological dig this summer, I knew the importance of these sites and could appreciate their remarkable preservation and craftsmanship. I wish I had dug up a tomb like one of these at Poggio Colla!

At Cerveteri, the Etruscans carved large chambers into the stone and marked them with circular mounds called Tumuli. This Necropolis–which was continuously used for hundreds of years–is quite aptly called a city of the dead. Burial chambers are organized in rows and deep-rutted paths extend throughout the entire complex.

Tarquinia has slightly smaller burial chambers, but the walls are covered in colorful fresco paintings (miraculously intact after 2500 years). Since the tombs were considered “homes” for the dead, they are full of depictions of everyday activities: banquets, religious ceremonies, games, hunting, and fishing.

We also visited the archaeological museum in Tarquinia and saw some fine examples of Etruscan craftsmanship.

Now, back to the living world. I have to do some work of my own.

Eight Cornell students took a break from studio last night to run in Nike’s 10k “Human Race.”  We began at 20:00 and ran in a blaze of red shirts past the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Piazza del Popolo, and Ara Pacis Museum.  Along the entire route, people gathered to yell supportively “Bravi, bravi!” or “Vai, vai!”  After 42 minutes and 56 seconds of prolific sweating, I crossed the finish line at Circo Massimo and gulped down water.

True to European tradition, the water was carbonated.  It’s fine with some prosciutto and melon, but after a 10k race?  Absolutely disgusting.  As runners poured across the finish line, the benefit concert started to rev up.  I showerd back at my house and returned to the park with friends to listen to the the Italian rock band Subsonica. We agreed that ancient chariot stadiums work very well for modern day concerts.

Everyone kept busy during our first free weekend.  Many students gathered together on Friday night to celebrate the beginning of our semester in Rome (and John McCain’s Birthday).  To my horror, fervent dancing ensued in Travis and my room and could not be stopped until 2:00.

Despite the exhausting weekend activities, everyone returned to class today relatively prepared.  We walked throughout the entire city and discussed projects while standing on site.  There is something about actually being here that Google maps can’t convey.

Here are some friends at work and play.