Moving between projects

I went into this semester without fully disengaging from my project from last semester. Over the short winter break, I kept working on the project from my last studio and I felt and still feel like I didn't conclude it to my heart's content. And I was working on a deadline for Gateway Portfolio submission so I really could utilize the break to wrap it up.

The realization that I am not fully engaged in the current studio and mildly distracted over the previous studio, happened today. 

I wonder how it is in professional practice? How do professional practitioners dance between multiple projects? Do they all end up having similar qualities? 

Now that my undergraduate education is drawing closer and closer to conclusion, I have been pondering various aspects of my future career path.

Do I go to grad school right after? Do I go to work for a few year before I go to grad school? What do I want to study at grad school -- meaning what is going to be my narrower focus? If I decide to work for a few years, what kind of a firm do I want to work for? I want to have my own practice one day so I want to be exposed to as many aspects of a practice as possible. So do I work for a small firm or a large firm? 

I am told I will find out when I do internships and such. I hope to intern this summer so I guess I will get a better idea then....

Coming back to the present moment, right here and now, I think I should get some rest and clear my head a bit so I can wake up early and work on that primitive object for my studio....

But let me share another realization I had today. I have faced many situations and overcome challenges in life. Many years ago they were external factors, things I had to overcome so I can get a good footing. Today, all my struggles and challenges are internal. I don't have to struggle with traditions, social and family pressures, and other baggage from the past. I have already have a good footing. Now my struggles are intellectual and even the emotional struggles are more intellectual and philosophical. I think its a good place to be. It is what is called a "good problem".

Today for the first time, a deep realization that how I move forward from now on is to complement the intellectual development with a balanced physique (soma) and take control of my energies (energosoma). 

I have to remind myself often never to forget all those who helped me get here, no matter how insignificant they may view it to be. I am a person who appreciate the little things in life, so I appreciate all those who helped me get here. 

With that, let me sign off for today until I find the time and the right mindset to make another entry..

Los Angeles

Since its the summer break, I've had a bit of time to Explore Los Angeles. Its an amazing city with a lot of beautiful places to visit.

According to the Urban Systems class I took in Fall 2011 Los Angeles is the first city in the US that was designed around the automobile. This meant that the city is very wide spread and a lot of people live in the suburbs. Also its a decentralized city, meaning contrary to most of the major cities in the world today, downtown LA is not as important for the city of LA. Most businesses are spread through-out the county and the public transportation system is not as dynamic as NYC or Chicago. Downtown LA is pretty small and is unglamorous than expected for the most part.

LA depends on the existence of a large network of freeways. Infamous LA traffic is personally a huge turnoff for me but without them I would not be able to get anywhere. Thankfully, on a daily basis I don't have to deal with highway rush-hour traffic. 


LA also used to have quite an extensive trolley system owned by various private companies. You can still see the trolley rails in various places downtown. During the past 20 - 30 years, Downtown LA has experienced major clean up and growth. LA live project revitalized the area and today downtown LA is home to many luxuary hotels, condos and apartment complexes. 

If you are visiting downtown LA, there are a few places you should definitely check out. 

LA Live is a huge tourist attractions in downtown. I haven't gone to many of the restaurants, the Staples center, many clubs, etc there simply because I'm taking it for granted that I live practically a few blocks away from it.


For art lovers there are a few awesome places one must visit. MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) is probably the most important museum in Downtown LA. LA Arts district also has many artist studios, galleries and lots of wonderful street art. 


Other museums in Los Angeles include Wells Fargo History Museum, The Garmmy Museum at LA Live, and The Japanese American National Museum. 


Also make sure to visit Little Tokyo and China town. You will be able to experience the Japanese and the Chinese culture, food, clothing and life-style in these areas.

Unless if you want to see the largest stable population of homeless community in the US, I would strongly advise you to avoid Skid Row area. Its sad that in a wonderful city of wealth and lovely culture, there are so much poverty and homelessness only blocks away from the fancy neighborhoods. 


Moving away from Downtown LA, there are many wonderful places to visit such as the Getty Center, Getty Villa, Santa Monica Pier, The Griffith Observatory, LACMA, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, etc. 


I will try to do an article about places of Architectural importance in LA as well as about other touristy places. Keep visiting the blog.


Cheers!

Thom Mayne Lecture: What's next?

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, Thom Mayne lectured at SCI-Arc on March 14, 2012.

This lecture was part of the wonderful series of lectures that happens every semester at SCI-arc. It was also a continuation of the dialog opened up after the Eisenman lecture.

 Thom Mayne @ SCI-Arc. 03-14-2012. (c) Manori Sumanasinghe

Click on this link to watch the video:


http://www.sciarc.edu/sciarc_player.html?vid=http://www.sciarclive.com/Lectures/2012_03_14_ThomMayne.flv&title=Thom%20Mayne


The videos is a part of the SCI-Arc public lecture archive

Student Tips: Model making with Styrene

I used styrene to make a 1/4" scale model for the first time.

Pros:

• Very easy to use in terms of score it, fold it along the crease in the opposite direction and it snaps out. Compared to acrylic, this is super easy to cut. 
• Also gives you nice clean edges. 
• Also much easier to glue than acrylic. 
• Much cheaper than acrylic. I was able to purchase a 1/16" thick 4' x 6' (48" x 96") sheet for $ 30 tax included.

Cons:

• Can't laser cut, it melts. Scoring is possible and snaps off pretty easily after scoring 
• I still haven't mastered the art of gluing it neat. I have to use gloves when I use the plastic welden and I leave smudge marks that catches dust so that makes it pretty undesirable. 
• If you were sensitive like me, all the glues I've tried so far that work with styrene gives allergies.

Types of glue to use: Plastic Weldene, Locktite.


Tips:

• If you have access to a laser cutter, score all the line work.  Use a mask when laser scoring styrene. The burn fumes are pretty toxic.
• Make a jig (a contraption that helps you maintain consistency and control quality) 
• Use little glue
• Definitely wear a mask (a respirator recommended). Weather you use the toxic or the non-toxic glue types they all are very strong in smell and the vapor causes breathing trouble.
• Work in a well ventilated area. 

 Using a jig to make a floor plate using styrene - (c) Manori Sumanasinghe 2012

Jeff Kipnis Lecture @ SCI Arc

Jeff Kipnis lectured at SCI-Arc the following day of the Eisenman Lecture. I loved Kipnis's lectures because they are engaging, its an on going conversation.

Jeff Kipins Lecture @ SCI-Arc. 03-06-2012. (c) Manori Sumanasinghe

I still haven't figured out how to embed the archive videos in my blog post. Please bare with me until then and use the link below to watch the video.

http://www.sciarc.edu/sciarc_player.html?vid=http://www.sciarclive.com/Lectures/2012_03_06_JeffKipnis.flv&title=Jeff%20Kipnis:%20%20Who%20is%20Moss?

He like the way he defined the difference between the East Coast school of thought vs. West Coast school of thought, which in his theory was the reason why Eisenman made the statement about how architecture cannot respond to social, economical and political situations.

Enjoy the video and stay tuned for the Thom Mayne lecture. I will post it as soon as it becomes available on the SCI-Arc website.

The videos is a part of the SCI-Arc public lecture archive.

Lecture by Peter Eisenman at SCI-Arc

I have the urge to apologize to you for not posting frequently enough. But then again, if you study architecture or know anything about the education of an architect you will understand therefore, forgive me for my not-very-frequent presence in the blogosphere. I am sorry and I will try my best to post more.....

We recently had Peter Eisenman Lecturing at SCI-Arc. I had the privilege to watch one of the reviews he took part, his lecture the same day evening and the Graduate Thesis Symposium the next day.

Eric Owen Moss Introducing Peter Eisenman @ SCI-Arc. 03-05-2012. (c) Manori Sumanasinghe

Graduate Thesis Symposium with (from left) Elena Manfredini, Hernan Alonso Diaz, Jeff Kipnis, Peter Eisenman, and Eric Owne Moss @ SCI-Arc. 03-06-2012. (c) Manori Sumanasinghe

Peter Eisenman, no doubt one of the most admired architects today, raised quite a debate during his lecture.

You can watch the lecture here:
http://www.sciarc.edu/sciarc_player.html?vid=http://www.sciarclive.com/Lectures/2012_03_05_PeterEisenman.flv&title=Peter%20Eisenman

He did confuse the audience quite a bit with the project vs. practice theory.

To paraphrase him "Architecture does not respond to social or political situations"... What do you think? I want to side with Moss, Mayne and Kipnis on this issue. Not because I admire them or they are attached to our school, but because my personal conviction is that architecture do impact people and architecture has the ability to reach out to people. See, I think that solutions for most of the social, political, and economical issues that are present in the world today can be found by addressing the problems from many angles. We live in a world today that everything is interconnected. Nothing exists in its singularity, on its own. The problems of the society themselves are a result of failure of many things rather than just a singular incident. Therefore the solutions should also be comprehensive and integral. I feel that architecture provides and opportunity to address these problems and is one of the many aspects of society that should contribute to the improvement of the overall human development. This is a topic I would like to discuss further as I go along. I would like to invite you to start a conversation with me on this ....

Following this lecture, the next day was the Graduate Thesis Symposium. The panel included Mr. Eisenman, Architecture critic Jeff Kipnis, SCI-Arc Director Eric Owen Moss, SCI-Arc Grad Director Hernan Diaz Alonso and Faculty Elena Manfredini. I hope SCI-Arc post that video as well because it was a great follow up to the debate and the topics discussed at the lecture the day before.

We had Jeff Kipnis lecturing the next day so stay tuned to that video link because his lecture took the debate a bit further and next week's lecture is one of my favorite architects Thom Mayne and I will post the links when they become available.

All the videos are a part of the SCI-Arc public lecture archive.

Some thoughts....

The past 1/2 year has been very strange. I moved city, lived apart from my husband the longest, getting used to a new school and its culture, and I've learnt so much.

SCI-Arc was intimidating at first. I must confess, it still scares me a bit. So much knowledge floating around, so much to learn, I feel inadequate sometimes. But this same sense of insecurity motivates me to learn more.

The caliber of people at SCI-Arc, be it the faculty, students, staff or administration continues to amaze me though. I feel like I am at a unique place among unique people doing the strangest and most wonderful things. Its crazy and I love it!!

Of course, I must confess yet again, I don't always love it. I hate it that I have to be away from my husband, I am not please I don't have time for pretty much anything else other than school, definitely not please we have poor indoor air quality at the school and that we don't have any plants. I miss that a lot - plants! I miss trees, plants, rivers and fish and the crazy colorful lizards and iguanas and beautiful birds... All that was amazing about the east coast. I think California has most of these things but I dislike that I have no time to see any of it. I miss having time to play with my cat!! But then again these sacrifices, I know are totally worth it...

I still manage to find time to go volunteer a few hours every week. I sometimes wonder, do I manage time poorly? Other times I think we have wayyyyyy too much work. Maybe the reality is something in between.

I disagree that while in school we should be all consumed by education and education only. I believe that college / university education should be in preparation to the real world out there. Not only give us the skills, horn in new skills but also prepare us to manage a balanced life. So far the way I've experienced architecture school is not that but then again, considering how much is there to be learnt in architecture its amazing that the B. Arch can be completed in 5 yrs...!!

Cheers!

Software

One of the things I love about SCI-Arc is the exposure to technology and software. For the past 5 weeks I've been here I've learned Maya, Rhino, 3Ds Max, Adobe Illustrator and Indesign. I've also been using AutoDesk and Photoshop as well.

Though I am still very new to Maya, I played around with it enough to be unafraid and I've been using it quite a bit in my design studio class. Maya, according to my Visual Studies instructor, was originally used for designing ships. It is widely used now for animation and modeling. If you spend enough time understanding the logic behind the commands, it is not that difficult to figure it out. It must be mentioned that Maya is very different from AutoCADD and Rhino. I am taking Visual Studies 1 class now and we are using Maya. I made below using Maya in my summer transfer digital design class.

Ducky by Manori Sumanasinghe (c) 2011

I've been introduced to Rhino and everyone uses it much more than I do and I plan to polish up my Rhino skills as well. Rhino works pretty much like AutoCAD and the commands are pretty similar. Can do accurate and precise drawings unlike Maya which is great for free forming and can do pretty accurate as well.

3Ds Max is a software that my current studio professor said he uses the most. He did a quick demo that really impressed us. It seems like a good balance between Maya and Rhino. I played around with a bit and I am still not using it for any classes but I plan on using it this semester for my studio classes as well.

I think its quite important to learn different software to be able to have the freedom to use different tools when we research and experiment various design ideas. I don't think we should stop making physical models but I think its very important to try it out in a software for accuracy and precision.

College Review: A student perspective - University of Miami

University of Miami (UM)

**Please note this review is mainly from a transfer student's perspective.

Location: Coral Gables, Miami

Degrees offered: B. Arch & M. Arch

# of Faculty: 75 full-time and part-time faculty and 7 associated faculty, collaborative associations among faculty and students are the norm. Of the 33 full-time faculty, 72% are involved in professional practice, 75% have terminal degrees in the discipline and the remaining 25% have terminal degrees in related fields, including fine art, art history or planning.

# of Students: nearly 400 students

Class size: small class sizes - around 10 students per studio

Cost: undergrad 2010/2011 Academic year

• Tuition - $ 38440 / yr
  
• Fees - $ 1214 / yr
  
• Books & Material - $ 4000 a semester ( from my experience this is actually like $ 6000 a yr but could be more)

Click here for all price details

Financial Aid & Scholarships: Available. Click here

Application Requirements: Application to UM (Common Application), Application to School of Architecture, Application fee, 3 academic recommendation letters, Letter of intent, resume, Portfolio, Letter from the dean of student services, transcripts. Click here for detailed description of transfer applicant requirements

Deadlines: Undergrad transfer Click here , Undergrad freshman click here.

Pros: Small class sizes, professional degree, aimed at professional practicing. Very convenient and beautiful location, the real college experience, experienced professional faculty

Cons: I loved the school setting so I am going to be bias. The biggest drawback would be the high cost.

Notes: Set in beautiful Coral Gables, a wonderful and a convenient location, UM is a school that offers small class sizes and probably the best Architecture undergraduate experience in Miami. A good place to study if you are planning to become a practitioner. Make sure to meet the dean of student affairs and find out what classes they will accept and what classes you can take before you transfer there. Their staff is very, very helpful.

College Review: A student perspective - SCI-Arc

I'm in California right now with a group from my school. We visited SCI-Arc (Southern California Institute of Architecture) yesterday. After the visit, I got an idea to review a bunch of schools I've visited. So let me start with SciARC

SCI-Arc

Location: Downtown Los Angeles, California
Degrees offered: B. Arch & M. Arch
# of Faculty: 85
# of Students: 500 (50% B. Arch 50% M. Arch)
Class size: 15 - 18 students undergrad
Cost: undergrad 2010/2011 Academic year

• Tuition - $ 15,125 per semester ($ 3o,250 / yr)
• Fees - $ 200 ($ 400 / yr)
• Books & Material - $ 4000 a semester ( from my experience this is actually like $ 6000 a yr but could be more)

Click here for all price details

Financial Aid & Scholarships: Available
Application Requirements: Application, Application fee, 3 recommendation letters, Letter of intent, resume, Portfolio, transcripts
Deadlines: Click here

Pros: Small & close knit architecture community, latest technology - equipment and software, lots of visiting lectures, All the professors are practitioners so you can land on internships and actual projects easily. Did I mention latest technology? You can bring your pets to school. They bring in the big guns to do the final thesis reviews like Thom Mayne.

Cons: Hmm... this is a tough one because I loved it there. But not everyone may like the warehouse-look of the building. It's a quarter mile long old warehouse building, nothing fancy on the outside. I would say looks definitely are deceiving - its like a nerd's dream school :) One more thing is that it's located in the warehouse district so not your fancy-neighborhood school. But most architecture students care less about stuff like these - I didn't find this a reason why I wouldn't go there. It's a private university. So it is a bit expensive. This is a bit of a draw back considering the high cost of living in LA. But it would be an investment in your future.

Notes: Like I said, I loved it. Los Angeles is full of architecture and SCI-Arc is definitely the place to be. I was there at SCI-Arc when the finals were going on, so it was intense. You can feel the intellectual intensity in the air. They have a bunch of installations inside the school and in the parking lot - made by students with faculty's help. They have a gallery with exhibits. They have their own library, supply store, print shop, workshop with industrial grade wood and metal tools, many 3D printers, etc. (Read more about the full list of resources here). They are bringing in 6 or 7 robotic arms that will be installed in May 2011. So latest technology ! You get to work with software like Rhino, Maya, 3D Max, Grasshopper and more. Very computer intensive environment. Students work hard - almost every single one I met and I like that about SCI-Arc. If you are serious about architecture, you want an experimental design experience, and a non conventional educational institute then you should check them out.

Education in Architecture

It is that time of the year when lower division architecture students start applying to upper division schools for transferring out.

Finding the correct school can be challenging and time consuming, also many factors should be considered while doing so.

Some schools such as the one I am in right now, has 2 year lower division programs. They offer an Associate in arts or architecture degrees. Then there are 5 year schools. They have both lower and upper division programs. They typically offer B. Arch degrees that are accredited by the NAAB (To find an accredited program click here) . Then there are 4 yr architecture schools that offer Bachelors in Science or Arts of technology degrees. These are not accredited meaning you will not be able to get your Architecture license registration with this degree but with an accredited Masters degree for additional 2 years you will be able to solve this problem. If you are in a 2 yr degree program like me, then you have to search for an upper division school to complete the rest of your education.

The most important factor as I see it, when trying to decide which school I want to go to, is to find out what is it that I want to do with my career - what are my professional goals, where do I plan to end up in 15 yrs?

In my case I want to pursue a career in design research. I do want to be a practicing architect but I also want to be an educator and I think I will be able to continue my research work at an academic background better. One thing about knowing what to do is accepting the fact that what you think what needs to be done changes over time. My idea of what I must do with my life has evolved, but I the basic idea still remains since I was 16. So I am open to the idea that this idea of what I want to do with my career will evolve and transform as I go along.

Once you have the answer to this question, it would be wise to look at programs that suits your career goals - a program that is likely to support you achieving your goals. Of course, the majority of the responsibility is in the student's hands. It is up to the student to work hard and take themselves there. Even though the school you attend may play only a small role in your career, things such as the direction of the program and the focus of the program could be important in giving you the exposure you need to get to where you want. For example, if the school you pick has a program that focuses on historical architecture and you want to study experimental design research, that school may not be the right fit for your career choice. So do a bit of research, look at student work and see if you would like what the school does.

Then I would consider the other factors such as location, tuition fees and scholarship opportunities. Some cities are a lot more expensive than the others. Some colleges offer full scholarships to deserving students. In state colleges are cheaper than the out of state colleges in some occasions. Some private universities have scholarship opportunities that is not known much.

Often architecture is perceived as just designing a beautiful building. This has been my experience with my friends and family who cannot be blamed for thinking as such because even most people who go into studying Architecture start out this way. I must confess, even though I knew to a certain degree my architecture education will involve addressing issues like structural stability and addressing various issues in the environment, until I started taking design studios I didn't know how much critical thinking, design intellect, how much communication skills, how much patience and maturity will be required of me to become an architect. I now know the profession requires me to be a scientist, a philosopher, a designer, a critic, a team worker, show leadership, be innovative. I am glad I picked this profession. But there is a long way to go for me to become an Architect. The next step is for me to find that right school.

Student Tips: Working with chemicals (Glues & Paints) for model making

There are various types of glues and paints out there in the market. You will have to use these and other materials that have chemicals in them at one point or another during your architecture student career.

During my first studio class, I noticed I started developing bad reactions to glues such as Loctite, Zap-a-gap, EZ bond, Super Glue, Crazy Glue, Weldon, etc. I tried the liquid glues, the gel types and I tried wearing a mask & goggles but I was showing signs of allergies to these chemicals. I think the chemical that I react badly towards mostly is Cyanoacrylate. Over the past 3 semesters it has gotten worse and now I can't even go near an open container of glue for a few seconds. I also realized, the hard way, that my body reacts the same way for certain types of spray paint and last time I ended up at the doctor's office having to take an adrenaline shot and Asthma medication.

If you are like me and can't use these materials anymore, don't give up Architecture just yet. I would like to share some work-around methods I've figured out that might help you as well.

• Use natural rubber based glues with wood and paper: there are so many brands out there in the market such as Tacky Glue, Sobo, Elmer's, etc. They work well with wooden elements and paper material such as museum board, chip board, etc. They do take slightly longer to dry than gel based chemical glues (maybe 1 - 2 minutes max). But it does the trick.

• Cut grooves & make joints: When using even small wooden elements, you can cut small grooves or make small joints so it gives extra strength to the bonds you make with the rubber glue. Some of the types of joints I do are: Butt Joints, Lap Joints
  

• Plexi glass: Plexi glass is hard to use. Cutting it is difficult, scoring it is difficult, handling it is difficult. The last thing you want is restriction with the types of glues you can work with. This is the biggest challenge I am facing right now with not being able to use chemical bonding glues. I have come up with 2 solutions for this. I use linear elements to secure the plexi glass. One of the methods is to drill small holes at the corners or identified places and use wooden linear element running through the plexi that will be glued to the main structure. The other method is to frame the plexi with linear elements. I am also going to try a new glue I found that doesn't have that chemical, I will use it later tonight or tomorrow for the first time and I will keep you posted about that.
  

• Use a painter's mask, goggles and gloves: Don't use a surgical mask, take my word for it, it doesn't stop giving you the allergies. You can buy a painter's mask at any Home Depot or similar store.

Good luck and I will share with you if I have any new info about these....

Student Tips - Understanding Architectural Principles

Understanding fundamental principles in architecture helped me when I started my design classes. It helped me work on a concept and design based on the concept that I selected.

Some of the important elements I got started with and still working on today are:

• Symmetry
• Axis
• Proportion
• Modular
• Scale
• Golden Section
• Hierarchy
  
• Limits, Boundaries & Edges
• Path
  
• Transition
• Transformation
• Order & Organization
• Epicenter

One of the best books that I referenced to understand these concepts were Francis DK Ching's Architecture: Form, Space & Order. If you are an architecture student, I would highly recommend for your personal library.

On the internet you can find many valuable resources too. I found this article on Vitruvius's Fundamentals of Architecture.

My design professor keeps urging how important it is to work on a concept and design based on that. Also that we should able to present and justify why we decided to design a certain element in a specific way and why it is in alignment with our concept.

Student Tips - Architectural Drawing

Most schools, if not all, will start their students with manual architectural drawings before moving on to computer based applications.

According to many experienced architects, free hand sketching is vital at any stage of an architects career. Since I have been drawing since I was in my teens, I found it quite enjoyable to start sketching again and I know most students in my classes carry multiple sketchbooks with them and sketch whenever they can. This is a good habit to get into early on....

Another thing that our professors have us practice is to make various drawings of constructs (Models) we make and make analytical drawings. These exercises were not quite enjoyable in the beginning but I have come to appreciate the analytical drawings a lot.

There are various types of architectural drawings. I found this article in Wikipedia that describe each type in detail. The main type of drawings one will do at the very beginning stage of their architectural career as a student are these:

Image from Wikipedia Gallery

One of the other most important type of drawing a student must try to understand and excel at are perspective drawings. Perspective drawings interpret apparent dimensions into a flat surface using a mathematical system.

There are a few types of perspective drawings:

• Single-Point Perspective - Lines extending from all objects in the drawing converge back to one single vanishing point in the horizon.

Single point Perspective drawing - (c) utdallas.edu gallery

• Two-Point Perspective - There are 2 vanishing points at the horizon. Lines originating at these 2 points define the depth and spaces in the drawing.

Two-point Perspective drawing - from utdallas.edu gallery

• There are also multipoint perspectives such as 3 point perspectives. I have not done any drawings with 3 point perspectives yet.

There are a bunch of videos in YouTube on how to draw perspectives. I like this one a lot...

Study Abroad Trip: Part 4 - Turkey

Day 9: Turkey

Turkey, to my surprise, was a lush, well cultured, rich and beautiful country that I would have never imagined I would be so taken by everything they had to offer. I was so fascinated and felt a very deep connection to the areas we visited, I made a mental note that this is a place I would want to visit and spend at least 2 weeks exploring the place.

We first visited the ancient Ephesus area. Most notably known for the Library of Celcus, the entire ancient city, in ruins today, spreads over a very large area. I would say, this city must have been one of the leading modern cities of its time; it had an amphitheater, hospital, advanced and complex waste water & portable water system, it had public bath houses, public toilet systems, it had a LIBRARY !!!, market place and of course housing.

Ephesus, Turkey - Images (c) Manori Sumanasinghe 2010

If visiting the ruins weren't enough, we had the opportunity to enjoy the local culture and hospitality a bit. One of the things I will not forget about Turkey was how nice all locals were. They are extremely friendly and courteous.

Then we made our way to Church of St. John the Apostle. It is quite amazing how after all these years since his time, a church with the final resting place of St. John the apostle is still intact.

St. John's ChImages (c) Manori Sumanasinghe 2010

We had an opportunity to visit a Carpet Weaving school of Turkey Ministry of Education. It was a beautiful experience. If you want to buy a Genuine Turkish Carpet, we heard this is one of the cheapest places you can find one.

Carpet Weaving School, Turkey - Images (c) Manori Sumanasinghe 2010

I have always admired the beautiful hand-woven rugs but never had the desire to make one mine. After visiting this place, I now can't wait till the day I can own a hand woven Turkish rug.

We then went to visit house of Mary, the place where Mary - mother of Jesus, spent her last days. A small charming chapel does not have a burial chamber for this is not her last resting place but they still have sermons for the tourists and the Christian Minority to take part in. I have never sat through an entire mass service and a sermon before and I had the privilege to do so here. Though I am not a Christian or Catholic, I appreciated the experiences.

House of Mary - Image (c) Manori Sumanasinghe 2010

I hope I get to visit Turkey in the near future and spend more time there.

Study Abroad Trip: Part 3 - Greece: Athens & Rhodes

Day 7: Athens, Greece

We weren't certain if we would actually get to visit Athens. It was only the day before our scheduled arrival, Greece had massive strikes and violence in Athens due to the failing economy. The port workers were also on strike so even if the cruise line said everything would be resolved by the time we were scheduled to arrive there, I was still skeptical. But thankfully, I was wrong and the strike ended at 6am and we birth the port at 9am.

Athens is a very interesting city. One of the oldest cities in the world, due to population growth and urbanization, the city has been pushed to its limits. For a European city its quite dirty but, then again it is one of the oldest mega cities in the world.

But it is still worth visiting Athens because there are only handful of places that can beat that experience.

The Acropolis: Athens, Greece - Images (c) Manori Sumanasinghe 2010

Athens is one of those places everyone should try to visit at least once in their lifetime.

Panoramic Athens - Image (c) Manori Sumanasinghe 2010

The other highlight of Athens was visiting the New Acropolis Museum. Photographs of inside of the museum were not allowed so I don't have any images to share with you. But this amazing structure by Bernard Tschumi is one of the most elegant, thought provoking architectural masterpieces I have visited this life.

It is pretty cool how the structure is build on an actual architectural dig, without destroying or blocking the site. You can still see the excavations happening below the museum. And through the glass floors of each floor, as you browse through the exhibits, you can observe the excavation from different angles.

The New Acropolis Museum - Image (c) Manori Sumanasinghe 2010

The Entrance to the New Acropolis Museum - Image (c) Manori Sumanasinghe 2010

The archeological dig underneath the New Acropolis Museum - Image (c) Manori Sumanasinghe 2010

The New Acropolis Museum - Image (c) Manori Sumanasinghe 2010

Day 8: Rhodes, Greece

This charming Greek Island played an important role in the ancient Greece. Rhodes, famous for Colossus of Rhodes has two main things one must explore. The old city, which is the city built in the ancient Greek days with the acropolis of Rhodes and the new city or the medieval city built by the Knights Templar.

The old city / The Acropolis of Rhodes - Image (c) Manori Sumanasinghe 2010

The Medieval City, Rhodes, Greece - Image (c) Manori Sumanasinghe 2010

Both days, I wish I had more time to see and to explore the cities and enjoy the beauty and the craftsmanship of these ancient creations.

Study Abroad trip : Part 2 - Naples: Pompeii & Mt. Vesuvius

Day 5:

After a day of relaxing on the ship, we arrived at Naples. Our first destination was Mt. Vesuvius. After quite a drive, we arrived at the vicinity of the mountain. Our tour guide provided by the Cruise liner, a native to the region informed us about the local culture, history of Mt. Vesuvius and about the current political, economical and environmental status of the region.

Mt. Vesuvius probably is one of the most famous volcanoes of our history, everyone knows about the massive eruption that buried Pompeii in 79 AD. It was not difficult to notice how the local flora & fauna changed as we approached the volcano.

Travel tip: An advantage of going on the cruise was that the entrance fee to the places we were going were already included (except for in Egypt) and we didn't have to wait in line to get the tickets

Climbing a volcano has been in my bucket list for the longest time and I was more than pleased I got to do it. It was one of the biggest highlights of my trip. It certainly did help that I was working out prior to the trip because climbing a volcano was no easy task. The first 5 minutes into the hike uphill, I nearly gave up. I was tired and my legs nearly gave up. Then I realized, the body takes a bit time to adjust to the high altitude, plus, here I am in front of a volcano and I have been wanting to do this for a long time, so buckle up Manori. I also realized, this is about as close I could get to intense and pure geo-energy so absorb all I can. All my buddies had already passed me but I stopped. I took a few deep breaths and started absorbing the energy through my feet. In less than 5 minutes I was feeling very energized, I felt like I was energizer bunny :). So I started climbing the mountain again, this time at a steady pace - not too fast and not too slow.

Climbing up Mt Vesuvius, Italy - Image (c) Manori Sumanasinghe 2010

When we started climbing, it was quite warm. But when we were close to the summit, it cooled down rapidly. You could see the surrounding towns in the horizon and fast approaching clouds seem lower than where we were. It was breath taking.

A view from Mt Vesuvius, Italy - Image (c) Manori Sumanasinghe 2010

We reached the summit and it was the coolest thing ever! The crater was deep but the very bottom of it could be seen from the fenced mouth of the crater. Around the rim, there was steamy smoke coming out in some places. There weren't any vegetation growth inside of the crater. You can walk almost all around the crater and enjoy the view from many angles.

The crate & smoky rim - Mt Vesuvius, Italy - Images (c) Manori Sumanasinghe 2010

At the very top, you can find a small souvenir shop. I bought a small sculpture of a ladybird or a lady bug as Americans call it, carved out of volcanic rock to remember being there - not that I would forget the experience anytime soon.

Me at the Souvenir shop, altitude 1167 mtrs - Mt Vesuvius, Italy - Image (c) Manori Sumanasinghe 2010

While we were enjoying the summit, the clouds rolled in covering the entire area in a foggy blanket. We could hardly see 50 ft ahead of us. It got chilly and We had to soon start our descend.

Travel tip: Don't spend a lot at the souvenir shop on top of Mt. Vesuvius. You can buy the same stuff for much cheaper in Pompeii.
We made our way back to the guided tour bus and started heading towards Pompeii. Our tour guide, the sweetest lady ever, first took us to a small tourist shopping area. In these shops, we found many wonderful things. I have a habit of buying souvenir magnets from places I go to and put them on our fridge. I learnt it from my sister-in-law. Among the many wonderful stuff we came across were the many curious sculptures of erected male genitalia. Inquiring after this (because it was extremely funny) we found there was a famous temple of fertility in ancient Pompeii.

Travel tip: Bargain with the shop owners. They usually tell a very high price if they know you are American. Have lots of change so you can give exact change amount for the price you bargained.
At the entrance to the ancient city of Pompeii, we were all given our entrance tickets and a map by our tour guide. One thing you will notice as you enter this place is the number of stray dogs roaming about. According to our guide, the legend says that these dogs were souls of those who were victims of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD.

Highlights of Pompeii:
There is the school of gladiators, Gladiators houses, the paved roads, The amphitheater, Ancient "restaurants", Water fountains, the brothel, the houses the temples & the museum with the petrified people. Remarkable amount of structures are in extremely good condition, preserved as they were buried under layers of volcanic ash, pumice and lava. (Difference between lava & magma read this article) The city was completely destroyed in 79 AD, forgotten for around 1600 years and rediscovered during late 16th century.

Ancient Pompeii, Italy - Images (c) Manori Sumanasinghe 2010

The architecture is amazing, the site is beautiful. Some of the paintings and tile work are still well preserved. Pompeii is a place that is worth visiting at least once in a life time....

TV interview :)

We did an interview on our school TV station on Consciousness & Architecture. Hope you enjoy it.

Back in Lisbon

We are back in Lisbon after visiting the campus. It was such a lovely experience to be there. Taking the labs and seeing everyone from around the world, you just can't compare the feeling to anything ...

We had one more day to do touristy stuff before we head back to US and we decided to make the best of it. We head back to square Rossio. There is an observation deck that you can visit near the square and you can see the skyline of the entire city. You have to take this beautiful old-style elevator to get to the deck. (Tip - If you buy an entire day pass for 4.50 Euros, you can use the train & the bus as much as you want. There was a bonus, we found out that we can gain entrance to the elevator using the same pass, for Free !!! )

The elevator itself was quite charming. It was built in Gothic style architecture, complimenting what you are about to see when you go up the elevator.

The Elevator - Image by Manori Sumanasinghe (C) 2009

Once we finished admiring the skyline, we decided to see what is at this level in the city. There is a small bridge from the elevator connecting to a higher elevation of the city. There were some ruins of what seem to be an ancient Gothic Cathedral or something like that and we decided to explore that. I must say, that was one of the best decisions I made during this trip.

The church of Carmo Covent from the Elevator - Image by Manori Sumanasinghe (C) 2009

The entrance to the church of Carmo Covent - Image by Manori Sumanasinghe (C) 2009

It was a structure that built in 1389 and was destroyed during the earthquake in Lisbon on the 1st of November 1755. Church of Carmo Covent was then turned into a museum and it houses all the remaining original pieces of the building and other artifacts from the monasteries of the era. The building is massive, one can see where the ceilings must have been looking up at the ruins of the vaults. Its a very tall building, typical of traditional Gothic architecture. Beautiful pointed arches and elaborate, decorated columns are just breath taking...

Outdoor displays at the church of Carmo Covent - Images by Manori Sumanasinghe (C) 2009

The indoor display section also house many, many beautiful artifacts.

Images by Manori Sumanasinghe (C) 2009

I have so many more pictures and so much to tell but I want to tell about the other places I went to so I would stop about the Church of Carmo Covent for now. But I would highly recommend for you to take time to visit this place.

Our next stop was to be the Castle you can see across from the Church / Museum. So we walked back to Square Russio. We didn't take the elevator, instead we walked through beautiful narrow roads of Lisbon. Its amazing how narrow the streets are but how people drive cars in both direction and still manage not to knock the pedestrians down.

Images by Manori Sumanasinghe (C) 2009

Back at the Square, it was packed with people. We immediately knew all these people were tourists from Bosnia who were there to see the Portugal vs Bosnia Soccer match. It was like a sea of people wearing Blue and Yellow clothing, drinking beer, singing (I assume) were Bosnian songs. It was quite entertaining actually.

Then we head off to the Castle. You can get entrance to the Castle of S. Jorge for 5.oo Euros if you are a student and I think around 15.00 Euros for others. By the time we arrived there, I was pretty tired so I didn't look around much for the history but I found some details in the internet later. You can read more about the castle here.

Images by Manori Sumanasinghe (C) 2009

We decided to walk down the hill instead of taking the bus down back to Sq. Rossio. On the way back we saw the most oddly shaped, majestic Gothic Church - Church of Santa Maria Maior.

Church of Santa Maria Maior - Images by Manori Sumanasinghe (C) 2009

Don't be fooled and think this is just a beautiful Gothic cathedral. Once you finish seeing the beautiful church, buy a ticket and go to the Archeological dig... You will be just fascinated - I was! This cathedral was built on ruins from 1st and 4th century A.D !!! Archeologists have dug up Roman streets, steps and stores; also Islamic and medieval structures. There are parts of structures from 14th & 18th Century as well. ....!! It was interesting, all that history in one place and to feel the energy from all these different times.....

Archeological dig at Church of Santa Maria Maior - Images by Manori Sumanasinghe (C) 2009

Church of Santa Maria Maior is a must see if you are in Lisbon.!!!

We are leaving Lisbon tomorrow. I'm sad. It's a beautiful city. And I haven't even seen a fraction of it's beauty. But I will be back again, hopefully next year. Until then ... Adeus Querida Lisboa..!!