Pere Lachaise Cemetery

It is currently crunch time for finals and a lot of work is to be done in less than a week. However, the temptations of Paris are hard to keep me locked in studio day and night. In order to escape work for a little bit, two of us decided to check out the Pere Lachaise Cemetery. I know, it sounds crazy that we would take a break to a cemetery, but a cemetery has a very different meaning in Paris than in the states. It is more of a park than than a place of mourning. The Pere Lachaise Cemetery is the biggest in Paris, and also the biggest green area in the entire city.

It was a beautiful area to escape and take a walk. Every tomb was different, some just a gravestone, others and entire mausoleum dedicated to the family. From one to the next, each grave was different and unique. And all placed together, it felt like a miny Paris. There wasn't one grave alike, you saw something new at every corner. It gave the feeling as if each and every grave was a statute, a building, a detail that wouldn't work alone; it had to be placed in this giant cemetery filled with thousands of others completely different from it to make sense. It was a strange feeling, and much different than the cemeteries back in the states, where most graves look the same other than the name placed upon it.

This cemetery wasn't only known for its size, but also for the people buried in it. There were several famous people buried here, most French, but others from around the world. The famous French singer, Edith Piaf was placed in the cemetery, with hundreds of flowers engulfing her tomb.

Probably the most famous of all is Jim Morrison, member of The Doors. You could tell you had reached it when you saw a large group of American's huddled around. It looked just like a normal tomb, situated within the thousands. The only way to really notice it was by the crowd standing around.

My favorite was probably one of the most famous composers, Chopin. He had a beautiful memorial that truly stood out in the pack, and not just because of the tourists. It was interesting in that the cemetery was again set up similarly to Paris. Each section was devoted to a certain type of person, such as classical musician, poet, singer, etc.- just like Paris was once divided by the food sold on each street, one for bread, one for milk, etc.

There were several graves that just stood out along the walk. They are all beautiful and different in their own sense. Here are a few of my favorites, however if you were to ask five different people to pick out there top, I am sure each and every single person would be completely different. The cemetery seemed to fit each person's personality and emotion, depending on where you were and who you are.

I was also able to take some beautiful pictures of flowers along the way. The cemetery gave a very serial feeling, and a very serial perspective of flowers. Again, here are some of my favorite.

So yes, this was my break from school- I know it may not sound like a blast to some, but for me, it was truly a good way to escape the mess that sat on my desk. It was a beautiful walk of Paris, one that any Parisian would feel at home taking. It truly shows the difference in cultures by one simple aspect of life.

I miss you all at home SO much and cannot wait to be home in exactly two weeks! I love you and miss you all. Thank you for reading!

Ronchamp

Over the weekend, a group of five of us decided to rent a car and take a little road trip out to see one of Corubusier's most famous buildings, Notre Dame du Haut. It is a little chapel situated on top of a hill in Ronchamp, France and is one of Corbusier's later works. I had studied this building in school and didn't want to leave Europe without finding it. It was one of those buildings, however, that I was truly not fond of when I saw pictures and read of it. I didn't understand it, its form its design, it all just didn't make sense to me out of a book. But in person, this building was by far one of my favorite buildings I have seen on this trip.

As soon as we drove up the steep hill in what seemed like the middle of nowhere and parked the car, the view from the parking lot was gorgeous. You could look down on the rest of the city below with trees as far as the eye could see. It was such a peaceful location, it reminded me a lot of Michigan. As you walk by foot up the rest of the hill, the building came into view. It seemed like this building only existed for that day. It was perfect sitting within the trees, leaves changing colors and grass green. The building is not like Corubusier's other building, it has a much more natural form. It is made of white concrete with the texture of a thick stucco. The shape of the roof if very unusual, with it swooping towards the air, it almost appeared as a horn.

From the exterior, you can see little cut out windows situated with no order what so ever. It breaks up the white facade and gives it something unusual. The form of the building is very strange from the exterior, it is very object like and seems to have no order, but once you enter the building, it makes so much sense.

As soon I entered the chapel, everything changed. It was probably about fifteen degrees cooler inside the building than out, you get a chill as soon as you enter and can see your breath again the dark interior. The only light being drawn into the building were from the little cutouts you could see from the outside. Each window is placed in the wall at a certain angle, some set into the wall almost five feet. The light that it produced was serene, it sent light off into different angles produces a very different interpretation of the room than if there were lights hanging from the ceiling.

The other light source in the building came from tall lightwells situated in three small chapels located around the building. The lightwells created a spotlight on the chapel to pray, but as you stood inside, it created the brightest area in the building. It was as if when you pray, everything became brighter perhaps a little happier. It was an intense feeling to stand in this lightwell, almost as if you are in a place of your own, separated from the rest of the building, but connected at the same time.

What I thought was most impressive was Corubusier's choice of seating. He designed the benches and placed them on only one side of the building facing the nave. Not only were the seats only on one side, but they were angle away from the entrance, almost away from the nave. I can imagine when there is a service, with all of the seats filled, you feel disconnected from the rest of the building, all grouped in one area. It must feel as though you are truly part of a community, separate from the rest, but safe with those surrounding you.

The building overall was truly inspirational. I am by no means a religious person, but it truly seemed as though Corbusier thought about the church, its power, its inhabitants, and the feelings one has towards God and exaggerated it to an extent I have never seen before. It was almost mystical to be situated on top of this hill with gorgeous views all around and then enter this building that encompassed you and brought you closer to what you believe in. This building means so much more to me know to have witnessed it. There is so much more to it than a picture could every express, and I'm sure this writing truly isn't doing it justice. It is definitely one building on this trip that has changed my expression and way of thinking of space. I think its genious, and one day I hope to be able to design something so inspirational.

I miss you all so much at home! I'll be home exactly one month from today- and I can't wait! Love you and miss you.

Villa Dall'Ava

This past week, I was able to see one of the most inspirational buildings for me on this trip; Koolhaas's Villa Dall'Ava. I did a house study project on this home during my first year. I knew this house like the back of my hand, from the plans to the window details to the door swings. The house is located just on the outskirts of Paris in a very nice, wealthy neighborhood. We took a tram to the neighborhood and as soon as we got off, the tree lined streets were quiet and peaceful. We walked our way up the hill as we walked past one nice fence to the next. Suddenly, the fence changed. It went from a beautiul wrought iron fence to a piece of concrete with paint chipping off. I knew I had reached it.

The house stood out like a sore thumb. Placed between all of the french bourgeoisie homes of the early 1900s stood a building made of corrugated steel, orange construction fence , and angled columns holding up a cantiliever, all placed behind the concrete degrated fence. It looked like nothing more than a construction site situated on this pleasant quiet street. But it was exactly what I was expecting- to the "T". Koolhaas's design of this building is a complete joke. The angled columns are a way to tilt his hat off to Corbusier's Villa Savoye. He takes Corbusier's pilote idea and exaggerates it to the extent where it appears the Villa Savoye has been thrown in a tornado and spit out on the other side. On the roof is a swimming pool with a view all the way to the Eiffel Tower. He wraps an orange construction fence around the pool in an ellipse to symbolize the roof of the Villa Savoye, and to stick his tongue out at France's most dedicated symbol, as if this building his more important.

My friend, being the crazy one she is, decided to sneak underneath the exterior fence with my camera and capture as many pictures as she could. Luckily- no one was home, but if there was anyone, they would have for sure seen her through ribbon windows covering the home. We were able to see the kitchen cabinets, made of regular grade plywood- again another joke Koolhaas throws in there. The house is separated at the top by two cantelievered boxes, one is the master bedroom, the other the child's room, each with their own private stair in the center of the home so you cannot directly walk from one bedroom to the next. I love how the bedrooms are wrapped in corrugated steel- one silver, one copper. It seems as though Koolhaas wanted to take the material completely opposite to those covering the neighboring houses, and this was the best solution. It is just so unusual that you would find a house made of corrugate steel, yet alone a bedroom. But it works. I think the entire building works. It is exactly what I had always pictures, but it finally came to life. This is one of those buildings that will always be with me, in one of those weird, creepy ways, but it will always be a part of me and a part of my designs.

Venice

The last weekend, before heading back to Paris, three of us stopped in Venice to explore more of Italy before returning to France. We took a train from Rome to Venice and as soon as we got off the train, all of the beautiful images and words I've seen and heard of the city came to life. As soon as we exited the station the canal sat before us. There are absolutely no vehicles on the island, I didn't even see a single bike. It was a very strange feeling, I've never been in a city where it was completely pedestrian riden and it created a quiet and serene atmoshere. Venice is by far a tourists city, but it didn't feel like the same tourism as Rome. The streets were silent outside the major attractions and it gave a sense that you were the only one squeezed between all of the cramped buildings. Just the walk to our hotel was beautiful and like a dream, just gorgeous.

After dropping our bags off, we went to explore the city. The first attraction we came to was the Rialto Bridge. It is the largest bridge in the city and filled with shops in the middle of it's three sections. It was a beautiful view down the main canal. We hit it just as the sun was setting and the gondolas passed, just like a dream.

We passed over the bridge and continued on the other side of the island. The majority of the city, in all reality, is shopping. There were stores at the bottom of every building, and tourist stores at that. Not once the whole time I was in Venice did I see a grocery store. I think that this made it feel more like a tourist attraction than anything else in the city. Everyone that lives on the island has to work for one part of tourism, whether it be a shop owner, waiter, or captain of a boat.

We made it to the Basillica de San Marco before it closed for the night. The church was constantly added to over the course of hundreds of years and was like no other church I had been in. Most of the time churches are designed to show power, but this one took power to a whole new level. Every inch of the ceiling was covered in half inch by half inch pieces of mosaic, and mostly gold at that. Even the floor was made with mosaic marble. It is believed that most of the materials used to build the basillica were stolen from Constantinople. Even the famous four copper horses on top of the building were stolen. At the top of the basillica we were able to look out over the entire Piazza de San Marco. It was filled with all the tourists escaping from the narrow streets. There was a museum at the top as well which had a double bass belonging to the church for hundreds of years, also probably stolen. But it was brought to the church for their talented bassist, one I know very well, Dragonetti. He wrote some of the most famous bass concertos in the world, several of which I have played. I stood in awe in front of the bass, and even snuck a forbidden picture, but how could I resist!

Along the other side of the basillica was the Bridge of Sigh. It was a bridge not built for the everyday pedestrian, but for prisoners. It was there last gasp of air before they went from court to jail. Unfortunately it was under construction, and even more unfortunate, it was covered with ads. The large photo of a fake sky and model added a little something different to the bridge, but nonetheless, at least I could see it.

As the sun went down, it cooled off significantly and we walked the streets once again and grabbed an authentic Italian meal for dinner. Afterwards, we decided to take a look at the city at night. It truly changes as the sun goes down and lights come on. The reflections in the water change and it becomes a new city. Perhaps even more beautiful, maybe not, but then again it seems like this city could never look ugly.

In the morning, we walked to the train station to drop off our bags and decided to take a water taxi along the main canal back to San Marco. The city was beautiful from the water. I had seen several pictures of Venice and heard lots before I arrived, but it's a completely different feeling to actually see the water come right up to someones front door in person. It's almost unbelievable.

It started raining half way through the boat ride and by the time we got off, it was coming down pretty hard. We had hit the city during tourist off season, but we hit Agua Alta right on time. Supposedly it's a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the high tide in Venice, but it happens once a year just for a couple days. As we walked around the city in the afternoon, the water began to flood the streets. The majority of the Piazza de San Marco, along with the basillica was completely under water by early afternoon. There were some streets that were completely inaccessible without thigh high galoshes. In some areas, they put up platforms to walk over the water on. It was definitely a sight to see the line of people with their umbrellas walking on the wooden platforms throughout the plaza. It was even more amazing to see the marble mosaic floors of the church covered with over five inches of water.

But the water flooded streets gave an entirely new perspective to the city. New reflections were created and it became more unique and gorgeous. Although I got soaking wet, it was worth it to see the city under water, although something that may be much more common in the future.

We stayed in Venice until the evening and took a flight back to Paris before it turned Monday morning. I am so thankful to have been able to see Venice before I left Italy, definitely one of the most unique cities I have been to and one of the most beautiful at that. I've been thinking a lot about home though, and I miss all of you back in the states. Just a little over a month and I'll be back in Chicago. It's gone by quickly, but I'm also ready to see everyone back home and eat some real good homemade food- beef! I miss and love you all. Thank you for reading!