The Villa Party

One of the most amazing things about studying abroad, specifically in the CAF Genova program, is that it is understood that all experiences—not just those in the classroom—inform our education.  While architecture students are among the hardest working majors, it is important for us to get outside the studio enough to absorb Italian culture.  The Villa Party, which took place February 27, is one such event specifically designed to celebrate this immersion.  Guests of honor include Clemson faculty and alumni, Italian friends of the program, and friends of the students who are able to travel to Genova for one night of food, drinks, music, and dancing.

While most think of the Villa Party as the social event of the season, it is also about showcasing our work.  We printed the best of our field sketches on vellum and hung them on the wall between the garden and studio.  The result was a lovely translucent gallery of our travels.  The images represent both the terrific talent of my classmates and a great example of how each of us sees the world differently.  

With our gallery complete, all the students worked to transform the studio into an elegant ballroom (well, if you use your imagination a bit).  Desks were cleared—which, mid-project was an enormous undertaking, given that architecture students are not exactly the neatest people—to make room for linen covered tables of food and flowers.  A dance area, bar, and stage for the band was set up.  Kyle put together a slide show of everyone’s pictures to play throughout the evening.

I think the ladies of CAF had just as much fun getting ready for the party as attending it.  In a flurry of makeup, high heels, bobby pins, and hairspray, we emerged glammed out for the evening—and ready to dance.  The boys cleaned up nicely as well, with most wearing jackets and ties.  Derrick donned his new Versace suit, while Jonathan, in his Fedora, brought to mind the Old Hollywood days of Sinatra.

The evening did not disappoint.  Over a hundred guests—including the US Ambassador(!)—graced us with their presence.  Angela’s spread of food was mouth-watering, David Carrol’s band, Louche, rocked out the house, and Harrison’s Italian DJ debut performance kept the party going until the wee hours.  It was an evening we will not soon forget.

Sketch gallery

(photo by Jonathan Edens)

AMAZING spread of food that Angela (pictured on left) made for the event

(photo by Jonathan Edens)

Villa ladies, all glammed up

(photo by Jonathan Edens)

Derrick and Jonathan with our wonderful Italian friends

(photo by Lindsey Edens)

Rocking out to the live band

(photo by Jonathan Edens)

Everyone enjoying Louche

(photo by Jonathan Edens)

Derrick with the three Villa angels, Andreina, Angela, and Silvia

(photo by Lindsey Edens)

DJ Harrison keeping the party going

(photo by Lura Blumenfeld)

Our 4th Day Trip: East Genoa

For our fourth day trip, Giuditta took us to some important architectural sites throughout Genoa.  We came to our first destination via one of Renzo Piano’s subway stations, composed of bright blue steel arches that supported a glazed façade.  From here, it was a short walk to one of Genoa’s landmarks: the Viaduct Genova-Savona.  This massive concrete bridge was designed in the early 1960s by noted Italian engineer Riccardo Morandi and serves a high volume of daily traffic into and out of Genoa.  While the bridge is impressive from a distance, our up-close vantage revealed that the scale of the structure dominated the modest neighborhood below, completely disturbing the quality of the ground level streets below.

Coming back closer to the heart of Genoa, we next visited the hillside school Gioventu’ del Littorio.  This building was constructed in 1937 to educated young Fascists-in-training.  The current condition of the building was poor, and I’m not sure how much better it would have been 70 years ago.  Within our group, it fueled the debate of whether or not it is right to admire buildings that were built to support and perpetuate Fascism.  Regardless, there was hardly a proponent of this rather unfortunate building.  

From here, we walked down the hill to the soccer stadium – a large mass of a building that looks more like a warehouse than a symbol of the city’s favorite sport.  Conceived and executed in the late 1980s, the abstracted massing and painfully repetitive façade was not much to look at and seemed a lesson in why not to get caught up in the latest architectural trends.  Our trip continued into the historic section of Genoa, past the Oriental Market from the late 19^th century, through the odd, triangular cloister and museum of Sant’Agostino, and ended at the Facolta’di Architectura – home to Genoa’s school of architecture. 

Overall, this was perhaps the most low-key of all the day trips, and though our stops showed some important buildings in Genoa, their importance seems to lie more in their historical significance than in quality, enduring work. 

Our 4 Day Road Trip: Switzerland, Austria, France, and Germany

Professor Sill organized an optional trip for us to see parts of Switzerland, Germany, and France and all of the students chose to attend. We rented two vans and a car that were paid for by the program. The first project we visited was Hans Isler’s Garden Center in Camorino, Switerland. This is a concrete shell that is used to house a garden shop. We then proceeded to see several bridges until we reached our hotel on the border of Switzerland near Bregenz. In the morning we went to see the Kunsthaas by Zumthor. We only had about a half an hour there before we moved on so we did a quick walkthrough of the art exhibits. We then loaded into the vans again to make our way to Munich. The first place we went in Munich was the Olympic stadium from 1972. The roof was composed of a cable net and a clear membrane. After lunch we headed over to the BMW showroom and headquarters which is an incredible display of contemporary architecture by Coop Hemmelblau. Next we piled back into the vans to make our way to our hostel in Stuttgart. On the way we stopped by the Stuttgart Airport to observe the unique branch columns. We began the next morning at the Werkbund Village where we saw experimental houses by Le Corbusier, Mies Van der Rogh, Gropius, and Behrens. Afterwards we visited the Porsche Museum and the Mercedes Museum, neither of which we had time to tour, and then we returned to our hostel. We woke up early the next morning so that we could make our way to Ronchamp to see Corbusier’s Notre Dame du Haut and saw plans for Renzo Piano’s project in the area. Afterwards we head to Vitra to see buildings by some of the most famous architects of our time including Frank Gehry, Tadao Ando, Alvaro Siza, Buckmaster Fuller, and Zaha Hadid. This was an incredible experience. After this we returned to Genoa exhausted but also extremely glad we had a chance to see all of these incredible projects.

Vitra Fire Station - Zaha Hadid

Kunsthaus - Bregenz  

Weissenhof Museum - Le Corbusier 

Vitra Conference Room

BMW Showroom

Garden Center

Our 3rd Day Trip: Milan

I think Mark Twain said it best in his book, Innocents Abroad, with his description of the Milan’s Cathedral.

“What a wonder it is! So grand, so solemn, so vast! And yet so delicate, so airy, so graceful! A very world of solid weight, and yet it seems ...a delusion of frostwork that might vanish with a breath!... The central one of its five great doors is bordered with a bas-relief of birds and fruits and beasts and insects, which have been so ingeniously carved out of the marble that they seem like living creatures-- and the figures are so numerous and the design so complex, that one might study it a week without exhausting its interest...everywhere that a niche or a perch can be found about the enormous building, from summit to base, there is a marble statue, and every statue is a study in itself...Away above, on the lofty roof, rank on rank of carved and fretted spires spring high in the air, and through their rich tracery one sees the sky beyond. ... (Up on) the roof...springing from its broad marble flagstones, were the long files of spires, looking very tall close at hand, but diminishing in the distance...We could see, now, that the statue on the top of each was the size of a large man, though they all looked like dolls from the street... They say that the Cathedral of Milan is second only to St. Peter's at Rome. I cannot understand how it can be second to anything made by human hands.”

Corner detail of Milan Cathedral 

Milan’s Cathedral dominated our day trip to Milan and with good reason.  This structure could be study for years on end and never fully covered. The cathedral of Milan is often described as one of the greatest churches in the world as it dominates the Piazza del Duomo. Construction began in 1396 on this late Gothic style church and was not completely finished until 1887. The roof is open to tourists (for a fee), which allows many a close-up view of some spectacular sculpture that would otherwise be unappreciated. Also views of the city are amazing from the top of the Duomo with the Alps as a backdrop. 

At the top of the Cathedral 

Milan and the Alps

Tower of Saint Ambrogio 

View through a door to outside patio

Other photos of interest:

Spires of the Duomo

Inside the view of the Cathedral

Statues from the cathedral

Our 1st 10 Day Trip: Florence, Siena, and Rome, Part 2

We arrived in Rome on Wednesday night (Feb. 4). We took a bus from Roma Termini rail station which dropped us off near our hotel. We were very fortunate with the location and quality of our hotel. We stayed in the Albergo Santa Chiara Hotel which was a stones throw from the Pantheon. It was surreal being able to walk out our door and around the block to see a structure that has stood for nearly 2000 years.

The next morning we had a few hours of free time after breakfast so a group of us set out for the Coliseum. We made our way through the Roman Forum exploring the grounds and taking lots of pictures. It worked out well because the ticket we bought for the Forum got us into the Coliseum as well. We were able to skip the hour wait and breeze right inside.

After a quick lunch, we met up with the rest of the group in Piazzo Del Campidoglio to start a Baroque tour with a guest prof. living in Rome. His name is Terry Kirk. He was a great tour guide for our walking tour because he was full of energy and extremely enthusiastic about the sites we were visiting. This helped the walking tour feel more like a conversation rather then a lecture. It made for a pretty interesting day. We were able to cover a large amount of the city. We visited various works by Borromini, Bernini, and many others. We ended the day with the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps.

On Thursday morning, we got up and made our way toward the Vatican City. We spent the morning in the Vatican Museum viewing works by famous painters and gazing at the Sistine Chapel. In the afternoon, we moved on to Saint Peters Basilica where the pope resides. We made the ascent through the cupola and we were able to see Rome from above.

Section view through the Cupola.

After taking our aerial photos, we made our way back down and then entered the church through the nave. We were fortunate to be able to take photos and videos inside the church.

On Friday, we visited Renzo Piano's Auditorium Parco Della Musica.

We were also able to visit Pier Luigi Nervi's Palazetto Dello Sport.

On Saturday, we got up early and caught a train to Tivoli. Then took a bus to Villa Adriana. It is a large archaeological site of Hadrian's country Villa. It was interesting to see such a large site of ruins and begin to imagine how they might have appeared in there time. The buildings were in various stages of decay so some required more imagination then others.

After we left the park, we headed over to another site in Tivoli named Villa d'Este. It is a villa set on a hillside. There is vast landscape park full of water features, gardens, seating areas, and a great panoramic view of the city. We only had a short time in the park so we were running around frantically trying to snap pictures. After we finished up, we had to hurry to catch our train back to Rome.

On Sunday, we visited the E.U.R. section of Rome which is where Mussolini tried to express his imperial dreams for a city. This section of the city is not one you would normally see on a tourist visit to Rome, however, with our fortunate length of stay, we were able to make the trip. The buildings all maintained Fascist design principals of minimalism and uniformity in materiality. We toured the area for a few hours and were unfortunately turned away at 3 of our sites due to unforeseen events occurring on site that prohibited us from entering.

On Sunday night, we made our way back to the hotel and collected our bags before returning to the train station. We made it back to Genoa around 10 pm then we hopped on a bus and headed for the villa. Another incredible trip in the books!

Our 1st 10 Day Trip: Florence, Siena, and Rome, Part 1

After spending the first three weeks in Genoa (with the exception of a few short trips) we were ready to get out and see more of Italy on our first 10 day trip.  We left bright and early for Florence, as we do for most of our trips.  After checking in at our hotel we were off to the Uffizi Gallery.  The Uffizi has a remarkable collection and contains many works that we had previously studied in art history classes. 

The Uffizi 

The next day we were led all over Florence by our tour guide for the day, Jane Zaloga.  In the morning we focused on the Medici and Michelangelo.  Our morning stops included: il Convento di San Marco, il Palazzo Medici Ricciardi, la Basilica di San Lorenzo, il Biblioteca Laurenziana, la Cappella dei Principi, il Tombe Medicee.

The Convent of San Marco was renovated and enlarged in 1437.  The convent now serves as the Museo Nazionale di San Marco.  The museum houses many Fra Angelico frescoes, the most famous of which is the Annunciation.  The convent expansion was designed by Michelozzo, including the cloister, the monks’ quarters and the library.   

Convento di San Marco 

The Basilica of San Lorenzo is one of the largest and oldest churches in Florence.  The exterior façade for the church was designed by Michelangelo but never built.  There was talk about building the façade that Michelangelo designed hundreds of years later, but by then the church was known as a church without a façade.  The interior of the church was incredible, a complete contrast to the exterior.  

Bascilica di San Lorenzo - Exterior

Bascilica di San Lorenzo - Interior

In the afternoon we visited il Battistero di San Giovanni, la Piazza della Signoria, il Palazzo Vecchio, la Galleria degli Uffizi, la Chiesa di Santa Croce and la Cappella Pazzi.

The mosaic ceiling in the Florence Baptistry (Battistero di San Giovanni) was incredible.  The ceiling depicts the Last Judgement with Christ in the middle, the saved at Christ’s right hand and the damned on his left.  The rest of the ceiling tells different stories from Genesis as well as stories about Joseph, Mary, Christ and St. John the Baptist.

Battistero di San Giovanni

On Sunday, we were back with Giuditta.  Our first stop was the Accademia.  The Accademia has housed Michelangelo’s David since 1873.  It was quite incredible to see what is regarded by many as the most famous sculpture in the world.  

Michelangelo's David

The rest of our day consisted of visits to the Ponte Vecchio, Palazzo Pitti, Chiesa di Santo Spirito, Ponte Santa Trinita, Palazzo Rucellai, Chiesa di Santa Maria Novella, Stazione Ferroviaria Santa Maria Novella and the Stadio Comunale Berta. 

The gardens at Palazzo Pitti were beautiful.  I can only imagine what they must look like on a sunny day.  

Palazzo Pitti 

Sketch from Palazzo Pitti 

There was a competition in 1418 for the design of the dome of the Santa Maria Novella.  Brunelleschi won the competition and the dome was completed in 1436. The façade of the Santa Maria Novella was designed by Leon Battista Alberti.  The dimensions of the façade are all bound to each other by the 1:2 ratio of the musical Octave.  

Chiesa di Santa Maria Novella 


Stazione Ferroviaria Santa Maria Novella

On Monday morning we woke up and climbed Brunelleschi’s dome at the Florence Cathedral (Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore).  There were 463 steps to the top, climbing inside of the double walled dome, and no elevator.  From the top of the cupola, you could see the entire city.  It was interesting to look out and find all the buildings we had seen in the past two days.  It was well worth the climb.

View from the top of Brunelleschi's Dome 

More Photos and Sketches

Day with Jane Zaloga: 

il Palazzo Medici Ricciardi

Tombe Medicee

Chiesa di Santa Croce

Day with Giuditta: 

Ponte Vecchio
Ponte Vecchio Sketch 

Stadio Comunale Berta