The month of October was a whirlwind of independent travel, field trips, and school-organized events. I’m finding it hard to believe that it’s already November because my head remains a month behind, as if October was merely a week long. Here is a condensed version of the important events that happened in October (Sorry it is a month late).
Berlin:
The Architecture and Art students went to Berlin three days after fall break. Needless to say, during the days between the two trips, not much schoolwork was done. It was a lull period where students simultaneously tried to recuperate from the past vacation and prepare for the upcoming trip. On the morning we left for Berlin, we had to get up for our bus at 4 o’clock in the morning. Some students simply didn’t sleep that night because they felt that the amount of sleep they would get was not worth the trouble of going to bed. As a result, fifty incredibly sleep deprived AAP students boarded the bus that morning, and immediately fell asleep on the way to the airport.
Once we arrived at our hostel in Berlin, we dropped off our luggage and started touring the city right away. The Architecture students had a tour guide named Tarek, a very intelligent half-German Berliner, who showed us all of the important memorials and buildings around Berlin. He was a very good guide who always kept us either on time or early throughout the entire trip. He gave us extremely in-depth and concise information about each site we visited.
Photo by Stephanie Cheung
Interestingly enough, on the last day of our trip, a WWII era bomb was uncovered in the area that we were traveling to. This is an almost weekly occurrence in Germany, a country that was heavily bombed by the Allies at the end of WWII. As a result, we weren’t able to see a few of the buildings we were supposed to, which was fine because we had an opportunity to take a break from the constant traveling.
Berlin was an amazing experience. Even with the most thorough preparation from the Cornell in Rome staff, I still was extremely surprised by the city when I first arrived. It is a completely modern city, and every block has a new type of architecture. Basically, it was an architect’s playground. If there were a way to have a tour of every city block in Berlin, I would gladly participate.
FUKSAS Site Visit:
The architecture students had the privilege of being shown a building being constructed in Rome right now. FUKSAS designed the New Rome-EUR Convention Center and allowed our class to tour the facility while it is in progress. This opportunity was particularly exciting because Rome is more of a traditional city. That is, Rome’s architecture usually has to blend in with the stereotypical picturesque aesthetic of the area. However, this new building is highly technological and modern. It consists of a network of steel ribs, representing a cloud, hanging from a glass box. The female architect that showed us around the site was patient and knowledgeable when it came to our questions. She even let us ride the construction lift to the second floor, something that sounds quite lame, but in actuality was an exhilarating experience for us architecture nerds. Visiting this site was an eye opening experience and helped us realize that Rome is not simple ruins. Rome can be new too.
Photo taken by Stephanie Cheung (B.Arch ’18)
Symphony Concert at Santa Cecilia:
Cornell in Rome organized a trip to the symphony that was playing music by Beethoven and Nieder. It was at Renzo Piano’s Sala Santa Cecilia. After the performance, we were able to meet the conductor, thanks to Cornell in Rome staff, Jefferey Blanchard. The orchestra played beautifully and the conductor was very kind. He was even flattered that we wanted to meet with him after the show.
October was the busiest month of my Rome semester. However, even though it was extremely hectic, I wouldn’t change anything about it. After all, I’ll only study in Rome once; I might as well make the most of it.
— Michaela