March 27, 2009

went on a mini field trip with Architecture in Context. First we went to see La Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista or, as it's more commonly referred to, The Highway Church. It's right next to the highway, so not a great location, but it's an awesome church. From outside, the forms look really strange and awkward, but inside they look much more graceful and organic. There are these big branching supports that might be inspired by trees. The ceiling hangs low and then swoops up really high as if it's a blanket or a tent supported by the trees. Towards one end, the ceiling comes to a point, making one think that maybe it's inspired by the hull of a boat instead. The whole church is made of really rustic stone and cement, so it's just really cool in a much more natural way than the overly extravagant churches of the Renaissance or Baroque times. After the church, we went to visit a fashion outlet center. I think we were supposed to see how the architecture of the fashion outlet is really fake and completely unlike the historical buildings but it looked just like any little mock-town shopping center at home. There was a Bose store, though, with a SUPER AWESOME video about their products. They had a little mini theater in the back and I don't know what it was, but the movie was so intense and had such amazing sound that by the time we left, everyone in the theater was in shock and wanted to go out and experience life (and of course buy a Bose system).

After the field trip I went out to sketch some of our topics for Architecture in Context. First I went to Santissima Apostoli. Then I headed up a huge hill to Forte di Belvedere which, unfortunately, has construction all around, so there wasn't much to sketch. Then I worked my way all the way down the hill just to go right back up another one to Piazzale Michelangelo. The road up to Piazzale Michelangelo winds its way up the mountain, but there are several pedestrian paths that cut across through the shrubbery and greenery. I wasn't content with following these paths, so when I saw a little hint of a path leading off into the trees, I decided to go exploring. The path led a little ways back down, but it come out to an overgrown circle enclosed by stones. It looked like it used to be the top of a tower but it was so overgrown it was just part of the nature now. When I walked into the circle, I realized there were two COMPLETELY overgrown sets of stairs leading out of the circle. One led down to the road below and one led back up to the hill. I took the stairs up, fighting my way through bushes, but when I reached the end, there was a fence blocking my way. I battled some more shrubbery to finally get back onto the path I was supposed to follow. The piazzale was pretty cool too, with nice views, but I enjoyed the climb up there more.