Final Thoughts

Now that my semester is over and I am back in America with a couple days to be able to digest everything here are my final thoughts. Studying abroad is the greatest experience that I have ever had. I highly recommend it to anyone who has the chance to go. You learn something knew every day. You are constantly outside of your comfort zone and being pushed to new heights. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to pursue my endeavors, architecture and otherwise, in such a culturally diverse and rich place.

To sum up my trip, I spent the last three and a half months in Europe traveling to eleven countries in all. My favorite countries were Italy, Germany, and Spain in addition to Switzerland. My favorite cities were Zaragoza, Munich, Rome, Venice, and Prague. The only city that I visited that I didn't really care for was Porto. While I have no regrets and I'm glad for every place I visited, I wish I traveled to more countries/cities. There is always so much to do and see that it was going to be impossible to see everything.

Some of the things I already miss are the walkability of Riva San Vitale and the access to the park/lake. I miss the small town quaintness. I miss always seeing mountains every time I look out of my window. It is the little things that are always present that are missed the most.

Here's to being back in America and becoming a thesis student at Virginia Tech. The countdown to graduation is on.

Arrivederci Riva San Vitale

Today marks the end of my residency at the Villa Maderni in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland. It also marks my last day in Europe. I've had the time of my life these past four months. Sure there's been ups and downs but it has been a blast. I'm going to miss living in Europe and being surrounded by the Alps. I have learned so much this semester and wouldn't trade this semester for anything.

Villa Maderni

I going to miss the friends I've made and ones I've grown closer to. It was such a great experience. While there was so much that I got to do and so many places I got to go to there is still so much more out there. It will be nice to finally have a break from studio but I would still love to travel more. Until next time Europe.

One Last Hurrah

Today was our last day of travel. We made it a joint trip with PGS to go see the Church of San Giovanni Battista in Mogno, Switzerland. It was about 2 hours north of Riva San Vitale. The church was designed by Mario Botta and completed in 1996. It replaced a church from 1626 that was leveled by an avalanche in 1986. The church looks really nice or so I assume if it wasn't covered in scaffolding. Workers were in the process of renovating it while we were there but that didn't stop us from sneaking in. A handful of us got our pictures before being yelled at in Italian and kicked out. It was still nice to see though.

Interior view

The rest of the day was spent hiking between a couple villages. Daniela likes to take the Villa on this end of the year hike and today wasn't any different. It was a beautiful day to go too. We made our way through a series of houses made from rocks. They were very nicely made and we even go to go inside one. There was a sense of modern meets old construction. We were old they are vacation homes.

We finally made it to the end of the hike to see this gorgeous waterfall. It is called Foroglio Waterfall in the Bavona Valley. The water plunges 360 feet off the side of the cliff. It has been called the most beautiful in Ticino. There is also a restaurant near the base of the waterfall. We all got to relax a bit and take pictures of the waterfall. It was a nice way to end the semester.

I leave on Wednesday to go back home.

St. Benedict's Chapel

Today we made the drive to Sumvitg, Switzerland to see St. Benedict's Chapel completed by architect Peter Zumthor in 1989. Sumvitg is a small town that is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It is about a two and a half hour drive through the Swiss Alps. It is a small, simple chapel but it is also very beautiful. The interior is almost completely wood. The floor is slightly raised with a reveal along the edge of chapel. The structure is exposed throughout. A nickname for this church is leaf chapel due to its shape. I am glad we were able to see this chapel even if we couldn't see Vals because it was closed.

Swiss Alps in Sumvitg

I'm not sure where the next trip will be but this weekend will be my last weekend in Europe and it is bittersweet. I hope to travel somewhere.

Monte Tamaro

Today we took a short train ride to Rivera, Switzerland where Monte Tamaro is located. We were going to see a chapel that Mario Botta designed. We had to take an aerial cableway up to the top of the mountain. It was such a long way up. It was a beautiful sight despite the fact it was overcast. Once we got to the top there was so much to see including the Santa Maria degli Angeli Chapel that looked like it was a walkway straight off the mountain.

The detail put into the chapel was exquisite. The siting of the building which was on the side of a hill at the top was perfect and added to the beauty of the building. I am sure on a clear day it would've been a lot better but even overcast it was really nice. There were so many moments that Botta designed that made it special. I really enjoyed my visit there.

Inside the Chapel

Exterior View

We had quite a bit of time at the top so some of us explored around a bit. The peak of Monte Tamaro sits a lot higher from the plateau that the chapel sits so we didn't go up there. It was beautiful though as it was still snow-capped. Without going up higher we were still at an elevation of 5180 feet so almost a mile up. I could tell that the air was thinner as I was out of breath easier. There was also an alpine coaster that was really fun.

Monte Tamaro peak

Later that night we went to an indoor water park called Splash & Spa which was in the town of Rivera. It was so much fun and they had a lot of fun water slides. It was a good way to blow off some steam and have a lot of fun doing it.

Our next trip is to be determined. I may go somewhere this weekend but haven't decided. Next week we might make our trip to Vals and Sumvitg but that is up in the air. Stay tuned.

Day Trip to Zürich

Today we left at the bright and early time of 6:30 to make our way to Zürich. I was excited to see another major city especially one located in Switzerland. On our way there we made a stop in Giornico to see the Museo La Congiunta by architect Peter Märkli. It is a simple building made of concrete with skylights that sits across the river from the small town. It housed a few sculptures. I personally didn't like this building as I don't think it had much to offer. Once we were done there it was time to continue the drive to Zürich.

Museo La Congiunta

The road to Zürich (or anywhere through Switzerland for that matter) is so beautiful. The road traverses the gorgeous, snow-capped Swiss Alps. When I picture Switzerland this is what I imagine. While on this road we had to pass through the Gotthard Road Tunnel which travels underneath the Saint-Gotthard Massif. It is 17 kilometers or 10.5 miles in length and it took us close to 15 minutes to get through. It was an incredible feat of engineering to dig this tunnel underneath the entirety of a mountain range. Later on we passed Lake Luzern which was amazing how the mountains met the lake. Everything about Switzerland is just so beautiful.

Swiss Alps

We finally arrived in Zürich around noontime and our first stop was the Kunsthaus Zürich. This is an art museum built in 1910 by Karl Moser. Hans wanted us to see the Dada exhibit. We had several hours to explore the museum. The exhibits were out there to say the least. The architecture of the building was very nice though. I thoroughly enjoyed what looked to be a newer section of the building. When we were done we met back up with the group and went to our next stop.

Interior of the Kunsthaus Zürich

Right around the corner is the Rechtswissenschaftliches Institut der Universität Zürich which in English is the University of Zürich Law Library. The original building was completed in 1909 by Hermann Fierz. That design left a courtyard open in the middle which the university wanted to replace in 1989. They had architect Santiago Calatrava design an addition which was finished in 2004. It is absolutely beautiful. It is also an engineering feat as it only seems to tie back to the original building at three points. There is so much I really enjoyed from this building and it is one of my favorite buildings I have seen in Europe thus far.

University of Zürich Law Library

Those were the two heavy hitters on the list to see in Zürich. We took some time to seek out other things to see. The first was the Cabaret Voltaire where the Dada movement originated in 1916. It wasn't really anything special but it carried a lot of history. Next, Hans showed us where one of the early study abroad programs for Virginia Tech was housed in 1976. It was on this nondescript street in the basement of a brothel. It was interesting to hear about some of the history of our program. After a good laugh we trekked on.

We made our way to the Bahnhof Stadelhofen which is a train station completed by Calatrava in 1990. It was interesting to see how he tackled the problem of the station being in the side of the hill and on a curved site. It was a beautiful solution in a typical Calatrava fashion. It was pretty enjoyable experience despite the amount people running around. To finish off the trip to Zürich we drove down to the waterfront to see the Centre Le Corbusier which is an exhibition museum that houses some of Corbusier's work. This was also the last building he designed before he died in 1965 with this building being finished in 1967. The interior was closed so we just photographed the exterior. I didn't really understand the building as it just looked like a pavilion.

Bahnhof Stadelhofen

Centre Le Corbusier

Zürich was a nice city but with these day trips it is hard to really explore and appreciate a city fully. It was a long day but I really like what we had to see. Our next trip is Thursday to Monte Tamaro to see a chapel by Mario Botta.

Mario Botta House

Today we got to go on a tour of a Mario Botta designed house right here in Riva San Vitale. It was completed in the 1970s and the primary material is CMUs or cinderblocks. It is a tower structure set back off the road, down an embankment. There is a bridge that connects the house to the street. The house has gorgeous views overlooking Lake Lugano and the rest of the valley.

The interior of the house was very cramped. The central staircase was small and narrow. There was also very little privacy throughout the house. Most rooms had three-quarter height doors and were open to multi-story atrium spaces such as a living room or kitchen. The house was 5 or 6 floors. I am not sure exactly because it was a bit disorienting. This house sure has its quirks and I am not a fan. I wouldn't give it a pass just because an architect such as Botta did it.