22 January was a day of exams and marked the end of our intensive Spanish and City in Visual Culture classes. For the next few months, we will begin studios and other classes (while still taking Spanish, just not every day). The day was filled with excitement due to the awesome warm weather and early release.
We began to wander around the streets of L’Exiample district and came across a neat public exhibit of sculptures by Auguste Rodin. Among the dozen or so sculptures inculded one of his best known pieces, the thinker. While among the sculptures, we met up with mor of the group and headed towards the Gracia district, visiting a few shops along the way including a new personal favorite, Muji.
Our adventure landed us at a nice pizza parlor where Passeig de Gracia turns into Carrer Gran de Gracia. We enjoyed a new variety of pizza accompanied with some chocolate cake and an appetizer which is completely different from those pizza stops in the US. Our group headed thier separate ways from there and I headed up into the Gracia and Tibidabo/Sant Gervasi Districts which I haven’t spent much time in.
The dynamic and feel of this part of Barcelona is very different in an array of ways. From the size and directions of the streets and the variety of people in the area contrasts to the constantly busy small streets of the old town or the perfect grid filled with speeding mopeds and cars. In the spirit of adventure, I chose to stay on the paths less taken, avoiding traffic and stoplights and was amazed at the surprises the quiet corners of this area had hidden away. From small churches squeezed between 7 story apartment buildings to the neatly dressed older men out for a stroll, the area had more of the stereotypical European feel that Barcelona’s popular cosmopolitan districts have avoided.
My adventure led me into the streets above the metro/FGC’s L7 end station at Placa Kennedy and a Condis (spanish supermarket) which caught me by surprise. Supermercados are generally small stores squished in to a single small space and are everywhere. They generally will have 2 isles, and you would enter and follow one to the back of the store and then follow the other to the checker, or caixa. This Condis was neat in the fact that it was just a long hallway (larger then some supermercados) which lead to this huge store, the size of a medium American Albertsons or King Soopers.
After picking up a liter and a half of agua for 39 eurocents, I headed home for a siesta before heading out for a guest lecture on vertical gardens.
Located in the poblenou area of Barcelona, IAAC hosted botanist and vertical garden master Patrick Blanc. His talk was in English with his thick French accent and included a summary of the vertical gardens he builds along with a variety of projects where the architects used his material. From massive ceilings in Dubai to walls on Jean Nouvel’s latest projects, his work is impressive. Some of his walls include over 500 different native species! Definitely a material which will be a popular addition to many architects’ toolbox.
The IAAC also had their Solar Decathlon entry on display, with many models all made out of wood with laser cutters. The night ended with a stroll into the Gracia district for a few drinks at some neat bars.
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