Category Archives: Architectural Education

Carlo Scarpa, Venice entrance pavilion

Architectural Education, Architecture, Travel

Carlo Scarpa, Venice entrance pavilion. Over the years, I have noticed that small, unobtrusive interventions are no longer discussed. Many of the intellectual riddles—especially in academia—now focus on the plethora of new, unexpected, bizarre, and even the fashionably ugly. If this is true, it is sad that what is now understood as architecture often no longer relates to how, in particular, small works of excellence contribute to the built environment.

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Jacques Gubler: what does an elegant solution mean in architecture?

Architectural Education, Architecture, Art & Design
detail of staircase

Jacques Gubler: what does an elegant solution mean in architecture? During a visit to Basel, Switzerland with a colleague of mine and architecture students, I rekindled my relationship with Jacques Gubler, an esteemed history and theory faculty who taught at the EPFL when I was a student there. It was a wonderful fully-packed afternoon, with visits to key architecture projects, a critique of the new annex designed by Christ & Gantenbein, followed by a tour of the Kunstmuseum Basel (Image 1).

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Prague: a lesson in stairs (Josef Plecnik)

Architectural Education, Architecture, Art & Design, Travel
instagram detail of staircase

Prague: a lesson in stairs (Josef Plečnik). There has always been for me delight in discovering in-situ urban places when studying famous, or not so famous, and, even better, relatively unknown architects. I will admit that I favor anonymous architects, as many of them have created stupendous works in silence; away from the unnecessary disturbance surrounding today’s star architects.

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Architectural sketching and how do I sketch

Architectural Education, Architecture, Art & Design, Painting
Study of Juan Gris painting

Architectural sketching and how do I sketch. This second blog of the series Architectural sketching is a compendium and illustration of conceptual thoughts offered in the previous blog of a similar title. The examples for this blog are taken from my own sketchbooks that span over several decades. Each example illustrates a particular architectural preoccupation through sketching.

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Lower deck lavatory: A340-600

Architectural Education, Architecture, Art & Design, Travel

Lower deck lavatory: A340-600. I have been fortunate to travel in many parts of the world since the age of nine. Although trains remains my favorite mode of ground transportation—especially in Europe where I grew up and during a day’s ride you can see the panoramic landscape transform in front of your eyes—taking an airplane is a must when speedy travel overseas is essential, of course, if you have time, a slower voyage across the Atlantic with the Queen Mary 2 is memorable.

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Blue Bottle Coffee: Hong Kong

Architectural Education
Detail of the windows of Blue Bottle Coffee

Blue Bottle Coffee: Hong Kong. Cafés are quintessential urban places that showcase the autobiographical identities of cities. In a past blog, I wrote about a famous café in Riga, Latvia: “…cafés are places where patrons often act as if the space was their own living room, telling me that these intimate conversations and social behaviors are meant to be seen and overheard.” In this new blog, I wish to reflect on another aspect that defines the cultural identity of cafés, where architecture is part of a larger sense of place. 

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