The Sketchbook

As my term in Rome winds down, and I complete all of my assignments, I have an overwhelming urge to share one of them.Throughout the term, we were required to go out into the city everyday and complete a sketch studying some aspect of the architecture if Rome. When finished, we had to reflect on the role of the sketchbook for the architect. So here are some of my favourite sketches, and my reflection on the assignment.

The Role of the Sketchbook for the Architect

For the architect, the sketchbook is their greatest tool. It is an expansion of the mind, an extension of the hand and a canvas for the imagination. The sketchbook offers within it an endless amount of possibilities with each new blank page. Within the mind, an architect can have a limitless number of ideas, all of which only make sense to themselves until written down. The hand is the architects’ communication tool. From the mind flow the ideas through the hand and into the sketchbook. These sketches allow those exterior to the brain of the architect a temporary glimpse behind the veil of a complicated mind.

Ruin of the Roman Forum

Shadow Study of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

Ruins in Baia

In first year, a wise professor told us that the most wonderful ideas can form inside the minds of students, and try as we may to explain them with words, only a sketch can truly explain our ideas to other. There is no greater tool than a sketch for communicating what words cannot suffice in explaining. That same professor told us that if you cannot sketch it, you cannot design it. The sketch is the simplest means of deriving the feasible from the impossible. If you can sketch it, you can design it, and it can be built.

Roman Arches

The Trajan Markets

The Pantheon

Details of Vicenza

Since learning this, I have never found more comfort in anything than I have in a blank page and a pen, as these tools allow me to communicate my design ideas. Although I have never been the greatest artist, even in my own slightly cartoon-like manner, I have learned to communicate the wondrous world of built form inside my mind through a sketchbook. The sketchbook has become an extension of my creativity and a means of communicating. It has also become a tool of studying and understanding.

Ponte Rialto

Non-Catholic Cemetery in Rome

Cityscape of Rome

As an architect, and even more so as a student, understanding the work of others is just as important as communicating your own work. The ability to strip down a piece of architecture into lines and figures, slowly dissecting it with the simplest strokes of a pen, is a skill that must be practiced and constantly engaged. This skill allows one to slowly involve their mind in comprehending each aspect of a building, and through this, be able to apply the ideas studied in future projects.

Piazza Navona

Details of Piranesi's Church

Bells of Richard Meier's Jubilee Church

The Keyhole at the Priory of Malta

St. Peter's from the Janiculum

Throughout my term in Rome I have used my sketchbook as a tool of studying the city. I observed piazzas for their ability to organize the urban landscape and nature as a means of framing the built form. I have also observed the particular way in which light travels across the façade of a building and blankets the ground around it. And I have wandered for hours, trying to find the perfect example of a seashell in the architecture of baroque Rome. The sketchbook engages the architect. It causes them to observe details that might be missed by the ordinary passerby. It makes the architect stop for a moment and really look at the world around them. The sketchbook, as an expansion of the mind, extension of the hand, and canvas for the imagination, trains the architect to see.

Experiment in Night Sketching on the Janiculum

The Colosseums of Rome

The Aurelian Wall

Sketch of an Architecture Students Bedroom During Deadline

Via Appia Antica

Well, there you have it, the best of my 90 sketches, and my reflection on how important the sketchbook is for the architect,

Ciao for now!

Beyond the Walls of Rome: North Trip: Part 1

Over the course of our term in Rome, there are two major field trips that everyone looks forward to; the south trip for Rome and the Campagna and the north trip for Italian Urban History. Unlike the south field trip, where every day was fairly relaxing, with lectures during the day, and lounging on the beach in the afternoon and evening, the north trip was intense! The trip was full of switching cities and switching hotels, plus lots and lots of lectures. The lectures were all centered around the idea of the city as a theatre. A place for viewing, and a place to be viewed. During this trip, we also had to do a series of urban armature sketches, that showed the main armature or organizing principle of each city, from gate to gate.

First Stop: Pienza

Pienza was a small medieval town that was rebuilt and repopulated by one of the popes who was born there. The town is surrounded by nature on all sides, giving the people who live there these amazing views of the Tuscan countryside. In the centre of the town, there was a large piazza, with views opening on either side on the church towards the landscape. This square is also one of the brightest spaces in the city, drawing you from the one main road into the light that fills the space.

Urban Armature

The Outer Path of Pienza

The Back of The Piazza in Pienza

Against the Tuscan Landscape

Second Stop: Siena

Siena was the next beautiful town in the north that we visited. This was the second time I can here, having been once already with my family. (And yes, this is where the colour siena comes from, all the bricks in the city are that colour.) Siena was incredibly interesting because of the sqaure at the centre of the city. The square, called "Piazza del Campo" is a sloped piazza, sloping down toward the Palazzo (the cities former government building and current historical museum). This square has an history of horse racing, that continues to this day. Each year (possibly twice a year) each of the 17 districts of Siena choose a horse and rider to race one lap around the piazza. The winner gets bragging rights for a year until the next race is held. The Piazza has 11 entrances and exits that all point you in different directions out into the city. There is also an incredible church in the city called the Duomo, all clad in black and white marble stripes. It kind of looked like the Hamburgeler of churches, but I digress. Siena is a wonderful city that is definitely worth a visit (or two).

Siena Urban Armature

Siena from Above

The Duomo

The Palazzo

Third Stop: Gubbio

Gubbio was an odd third stop. After hours and hours spent on a bus because of torrential rain in Italy washing out part of the highway, we stopped in Gubbio for exactly 30 minutes just as the sun was about to set. Our prof lead the way as we rushed up a series of stairs to a hanging piazza, overlooking the landscape. The view was beautiful, the sky had cleared and the sunset was inspiring. I guess that's why Gubbio was worth a quick stop.

Gubbio Urban Armature

Sunset in Gubbio

Sunset in Gubbio

Fourth Stop: Urbino

Oh Urbino. What to say. Well, you couldn't go anywhere without going uphill. They somehow managed to build that town so that you are always walking uphill! I don't remember going downhill at any point. It was quite odd. The city is built on two peaks of a mini mountain with a main piazza in the valley (I guess I lied about going downhill, but the uphills took so much longer, and thus, get more emphasis).There is not a ton to say about Urbino. It seemed almost as though it was built as a Utopia. Nothing felt out of place there, and the city framed itself at every turn, creating these perfect viewing windows of different areas. No where did this better than the park at the top of one of the peaks. This park was the perfect place to sit and sketch, while appreciating the beauty of the townscape on the other peak. One other interesting thing about Urbino was our accommodation. We had our first ever University living experience! We stayed in dorms and ate cafeteria food. It was exactly as described. Small, cell-like, not exactly clean, and the food was pretty gross, but its cheapness made up for the taste.

Urbino Urban Armature

Urbino First Peak Piazza

View from the Park on the Second Peak

Urbino Through Framed Views

Urbino from the Park at Night

Fifth Stop: Parma

Parma was a city of frames. Frames of history, and literal frames made by the arches present in every single building. Parma, unfortunately, was one of the cities approved to be bombed by the allies in World War II. Luckily, much of the history of the city survived, including the Farnese Theatre. This was the first ever theatre to use a Proscenium. Part of the Palazzo that hosts this theatre was destroyed, but the area left open by it has become a beautiful park, through which people bike and walk to cross the city. The Duomo also survived the war, along with its piazza, forming a historical frame within the city.

Parma Urban Armature

Parma Palazzo

Farnese Theatre

Crossing the River in Parma

A Church in Parma

Wow, this post has gotten long! I will do the other half of the trip in another post sometime soon.

Ciao for now!

Beyond the Walls of Rome: South Trip

This academic term in Rome has many perks, one of which being trips! For our Rome and the Campagna Course, we study ancient Rome and all of its triumphs. But the most interesting thing about this course, is that it is condensed into three weeks because the professor is also the Director of the school and can't stay in Rome for longer than that. Because of this accelerated timeline, our lectures are started with a five day trip to the South of Italy!

First stop: Cuma and Baia

Cuma... I don't quite remember. I do remember there being the remains of two temples here, nestled in the wilderness at the top of an outcropping of rocks. One day, these temples would have been visible from the sea just south of Naples.

Ruins of a Doric Temple

And Baia. Baia was truly incredible. In ancient Rome, Baia would have been the equivalent of a Spa Getaway. The place is filled small rooms that would have had water flowing through them. There was also a beautiful temple here. This temple was an incredible place, with perfect acoustics. We were told this was the perfect place to watch someone sing, so my classmates convinced me to.

Here's the video

Second Stop: Capri!

Capri is by far my favourite place in Italy. It's a small island located off the Amulfi Coast that is incredibly beautiful. Nestled between two peaks, the town of Capri lies at the centre of the island. To get to it, you have to climb straight uphill for 15 minutes (25 if you are my roommates, but I got some amazing pictures while I waited for them!). From here, you can go to either of the two peaks, but we chose the "architectural" one (of course). After 45 minutes of walking along a mountain trail with picturesque ocean views framed by trees to the right, we were rewarded for our efforts with a view of the Villa Maloparte. Unfortunately, it's still privately owned, so we couldn't go down to see it! About half an hour beyond this, we met our Nemesis. 700 stairs, Straight up. So, we climbed! About halfway up, there was a "landing" which actually turned out to be a cave with an ancient temple in it. From here, we departed for the second half of the stairs, and lunch in the town. After lunch, we retraced our steps around the trails to find a set of stairs leading down to the most beautiful private beach I have ever seen. We got mattresses, drinks and just lounged around in the sun until it was time to head for the boat back to our hotel on the mainland.

The Amulfi Coast

On the Capri Trails

Arco Naturale

Swimming at the Private Beach

Third Stop: Pompei

Well, who doesn't know Pompei? The Roman city perfectly preserved (almost) by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The interesting thing about Pompei was that it was not the lava that killed the people and buried the town. For a day or two after the eruption, the people of Pompei watched as Vesuvius decimated their neighbors to the north, but on the second day, the winds changed. This blew a cloud of poisonous gas and soot south of the volcano, blanketing Pompei and its surrounding area. Today, you can walk through the streets as they once were, even see some of the graffiti from many years ago. Some of the houses have even been restored to amazing conditions, where you can walk around and see it as it was seen before the eruption. One of these houses was the house of Happy Julie, which archaeology tells us was a brothel. This house had marble columns, showing the wealth of Julie, the owner. Unfortunately, the house was closed, but when has that ever stopped an architecture student? I don't understand why so much time would be spent restoring something, only to block people from seeing it. Another house that was restored impeccably was the Villa of Mysteries. This was a small villa located outside of the city walls, and contained within it a room decorated with a fresco for which the house is named. This fresco depicted the induction of a woman into a cult, a cult within which the penalty for revealing the secrets of induction into it warranted death. Why was this fresco allowed to stay, and who painted it? All interesting questions, all unanswered, hence the mystery!

Roman Forum in Pompei

House of Happy Julie

Negatives of human bodies discovered in the hardened ash

Villa of Mysteries

Fourth Stop: Paestum

For the entirety of this trip, we stayed in a beautiful beach town called Paestum. Paestum is a unique place, because it sits on a rock, floating in a marsh. Because of this, the area is not affected by earthquakes. The ancient Greeks figured this out early, and built three temples here. These temples, each dedicated to the the gods, are the best preserved in the world because they have not had to deal with earthquakes over the years. It is unknown who the temples are dedicated to, but there is speculation that two are for Hera, the Goddess of Motherhood. Paestum is also known for Buffalo Mozzarella. We saw all the water buffalos on the way to the temples, and were told to buy the cheese for lunch, so we did! We bought sandwiches and had a lovely picnic on the beach, followed by swimming and relaxation!

Paestum Beach at Night

Doric Temple at Paestum

Doric Temple at Paestum

Doric Temple at Paestum

The Diver, a Fresco Painting from the Inside of an Atruscan Tomb at Paestum

Last Stop: Sperlonga

Sperlonga was a beautiful stop on the way back to Rome after a wonderful trip. In Sperlonga is a Villa famous from antiquity, the Villa Tiberius. This Villa has a cave located beside the ocean, in which the owner once hosted Tiberius, the Emperor of Rome, for dinner. This cave was connected to the Villa by a series of tunnels and acted as  a formal dining room. Sperlonga also has a beautiful beach where we spent the afternoon and took a class of picture of the 60 students who made it through the 4 years of school that proceeded our Rome Term.

Villa Tiberius 

Ocean at Sperlonga

And after these 5 days were done, we headed back to Rome for October!

Ciao for now!