Ballenberg: a vernacular architecture museum. My first visit to the open-air architecture museum at Ballenberg, Switzerland took place during my first year in architecture school at the EPF-Lausanne. It was one of the few required excursions during my studies, and, with discernable reticence, we embarked on several buses to travel from Lausanne to visit one of Switzerland’s national treasures. 

Bathroom at the Novotel in Hong Kong. It is typical that many students in their early years studying architecture will find themselves in front of what they think is an unsurmountable challenge when tackling a simple yet robust project.

After investigating the historical origins of the Speicherstadt (blog) and its use of the neo-Gothic style I delved into how they functioned with an eye toward the future. 

“The distinguishing feature of great beauty is that first it should surprise to an indifferent degree, which, continuing and then augmenting, is finally changed to wonder and admiration.”
Montesquieu

Speicherstadt in Hamburg. Part 1. For reasons that I have yet to rationally pin down, I have, during my numerous travels to Germany, ignored the city of Hamburg. Other cities, such as Berlin and Leipzig (where my father had lived and studied), Cologne, Dessau, Frankfurt, Munich, and Weimar, along with the towns along the famous Rhine Valley, have frequently been part of my travels for both pleasure and work. Each of these visits arose from my interest in architecture, history, and culture, and, I will admit, have been slowly checked-off of an endless ambitious list of places that I wish to learn more about. Perhaps selfishly, I am trying to create my own set of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, which of course, will never happen.