When in Rome...

When is Rome, there is apparently no internet! Sorry for the long delay since my last post, but it was pretty hectic leading up to the days of Italy. With my mid-crit the Wednesday before I left for Italy, I was very busy that weekend, and the Monday and Tuesdays leading up the crit, getting all my work ready to display. Then first thing Thursday morning was my flight to Italy, where I had very poor internet and could not post or upload any photos. But here I am, back in Berlin and streaming freely on the internet.

To start, my mid-crit went well. I hope to get some pictures online soon, but there isn't much to show, nothing is really set in stone yet, but I suppose I can show you what I have finished. I felt I got a lot of good feedback on my crit, the most helpful was to simplify my concept. I have 1 major concept, which is making a visual connection to the surrounding neighborhood, and 2 minor concepts; creating different non-program spaces inside and out, and splitting the program into two different spaces (private and public). The feedback was that the visual connection concept is so strong by itself that the other two concepts weaken it, so I need to simplify my building so that the visual connection isn't lost. It makes sense to me, and I agreed with the critics, so that where my project is heading.

As for Rome, well Italy in general, what an amazing country! I obviously had a blast and loved it. The ruins of Ancient Rome are so amazing. The size of them is so impressive even today, it is hard to imagine what people thought of it then. The only thing I can relate to the feeling is the construction of the Burg Dubai, which is an astonishing 1/2 mile tall tower, but even that doesn't compete with the Colosseum, which was built in like 70 AD, obviously before the invention of sky-scrapping machinery, loaders, and trucks that we take advantage of today.

Anyway, the weather a bit rainy, which was unfortunate, but the last day and 1/2 cleared up and we did manage to get a little bit of sunshine. The city was beautiful, the people were friendly, the gentleman at the coffee shop we went to every morning tried to teach us Italian, but I still don't know the language, other than the few Spanish words I know that are the same in Italian.

Next weekend I go to Athens with my parents and I expect to be just as amazed by the ruins there. I'm really excited for this trip, it is my last big trip during my time here. After that I have a couple day trips in Germany, one to Hamburg. Then shortly after that it will be a long flight back to the US just in time for a great turkey dinner and Black Friday, which I will probably be wide awake for because my internal clock will still be 6 hours ahead!

For now it's back to work, I'll try to post again this weekend, not much going on this week until my parents arrive on Friday! It should be a good weekend around Berlin, but I hope they bring their rain coats cause the forecast is calling for cold, cold rain! *hint,hint*

Until next time, take care!

Tschüss