Machu Picchu, Peru – I had the pleasure of travelling to this marvel of architecture and engineering in January of 2016. While so much about this place is unknown, there is no questioning the skill of the Incas in building a spectacular village perched high in the Andes mountains. Beautiful stonework, countless agricultural and retention terraces that grow out from natural outcroppings, elegant houses and temple structures that are clustered around the site, majestic views, and llamas…what’s not to love? Jon Toonkel, Associate

St. Barths – In October of 2015 my wife Kuk-Ja and I were in St. Barths to celebrate our 25th Anniversary.  We have traveled in the Caribbean quite a bit, but St. Barts is unlike any other place we have been.  It is small, quaint, and somehow manages to feel unpretentious despite the exclusivity. Anywhere you go on the island you have wonderful views of the ocean.  Clearly a place everyone should be lucky enough to visit at least once in their lifetime. Ted Houseknecht, Associate

Marble Quarries – What can I say, architects are weird. [Editor’s note: we prefer the term unconventional]. Craig Williams, Principal

Urban Parks –  Some of my favorite places are urban parks. Within vibrant and exciting cities, they provide momentary relief from all of the hustle and bustle of urban life. Among these, London has some of the best. Whether they are small and surrounded by charming mansions in Belgravia, or vast like Hyde Park, there are endless nooks and crannies to explore. No matter the weather, there is always beauty to be found. Elena Roth, Staff Designer

San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane – Rome, Italy. Designed by Borromini and completed in 1641, it is one of the most sublime and complex pieces of Baroque architecture on the planet! The “Quattro Fontane” refers to the four late Renaissance fountains that punctuate the intersection on which the church sits. Gregory Hoss, Principal

Piedmont Park – Piedmont Park, in my home state of Georgia, is a diverse cross section of both Atlanta and the American South and will always be a place I love. Whether in the city’s subtle fall and winter, exuberant spring, or endearingly miserable summer, the park, with its folds of landscape and skyscraper backdrop, provides a nostalgic rendezvous for memories of the friends and times that influenced my early life. Derek Marks, Staff Designer

Istanbul, Turkey – I love Istanbul because it is very unique. It is a mix between the Western world and the Orient. Hagia Sophia is a perfect example of that. A church converted to a mosque, it is now a museum that hosts both Islam and Christianity together. The city has a very beautiful architecture and intriguing topography, situated on both sides of the Bosporus. The food is great and the people are welcoming.  – Kal Yordanov, Staff Designer

Hestercombe Gardens – Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens with Gertrude Jekyll. Lutyens is one of my favorite architects and my wife Karen and I had the opportunity to travel to southwest England a few years ago to see some of his works. Karen is an avid gardener, so here was one place to visit that had something for us both. A wonderful marriage of order, spatial progression, beautiful plants, water, colors and textures. There are even extraordinary vistas into the surrounding countryside. Steve Knight, Associate

A quality-control check is conducted after a test run of printing for the third DMSAS monograph

Architectural monographs are generally all about the building photographs. When there is text, it is typically written by a single author, usually a specialist in architectural writing. Our new monograph is full of excellent photographs too, most of them by Steve Hall of the renowned Hedrich Blessing Photographers, but it is the multi-voiced narrative that makes this book unique amongst its peers.

This structure is appropriate to our architecture because it reflects our approach to design. When we design buildings, we strive to address the multiple ways in which diverse groups will interact with them. We design not only for the building’s owner and those who will come into it to work, live or use it directly, but we also think about those who will just walk by on their way somewhere else, those who may just live or work nearby – those who we call “passive users.” All of these people will be influenced by the new building in ways both forceful and subtle. They may have little or no say in creating the building, so we feel that architects have a responsibility to take their experiences into consideration during design. We want, as much as possible, to craft our buildings so that the most people will be beneficiaries of compassionate design, not victims of someone’s architectural agenda.

Similarly, producing a monograph written by 20 different authors made the publishing process far more complex but resulted in a book that says much more about our work.

We were already well under way with our publisher, Jim Trulove of Grayson Publishing, when David Schwarz floated the notion of multiple writers, including non-architectural writers. David had several conversations with Paul Goldberger and Adele Chatfield-Taylor to test whether the idea was feasible and reasonable. After thinking through the logistics we decided to add a year to production to allow for the extra effort. We added an editor to the team, Andrea Monfried of Monfried Editions, to help manage the writers and make their essays textually compatible. The principals at DMSAS brain-stormed ideas for who might be able and willing to write essays. Each prospective writer got a personal request from David to write an essay, no small effort for David, even though the final writers proved to be happy to join the project. Grayson hired all the writers and paid their fees or honoraria, just as was done for the single authors of the first two monographs. Monfried Editions managed the writer’s schedules and guided them in terms of voice and style. Jerry Marshall managed travel plans for those who needed to travel to see the buildings. Tom Greene oversaw the whole process, with Associate Jon Toonkel managing our graphics and Katie Garrett managing text. Our office had to provide project descriptions, photographs and drawings to each writer and sometimes set up on-site tours. Our project managers had to provide explanations of each project’s goals, how the final building design addressed those goals and reviewed final essays for factual accuracy. Grayson had James Pitman do the book design and produce the files that would go to the printer. James had also done book design for our two previous monographs. He had pretty much finished the concept and layout for the third monograph when the multiple writers idea required everything to be thought through again. In order to meet our schedule we had to lay out all the pages of photos and drawings before we had the essays to go with them.

Appearing in the front cover of David M. Schwarz Architects: 2008-2014, a list of every employee to work at the David M. Schwarz Architects since its founding (click to expand)

When we finally received the last essays, we were getting close to the absolute deadline for printing. Jim Trulove spent 18 days at the printing plant in Shenzhen, China overseeing the process. He made sure every promised printing press was dedicated to this book on the days agreed. With only a few last-minute reviews, corrections and approvals, Jim was able to air freight an advance shipment in time for our release party at Louis Vuitton in Miami. The bulk shipment, coming by freighter, is expected to arrive at the end of January. (It is already available for pre-ordering on Amazon.)

The third monograph on display during the release party at Louis Vuitton in the Miami Design District

Even though I have seen these buildings over years, developing from sketches and models to construction drawings to finished buildings, I can’t help but be impressed by the creative work of my colleagues when I see it all put together as a book. And as often as I have seen the designs, I still found new insights in the essays of these talented and observant writers. It may have taken more time and effort than it would have with a single author, but start with David Schwarz’s preface, “Design for the People,” and Paul Goldberger’s introduction, “An Architecture Worth Reading,” and see if you too don’t want to keep on reading all the way though.

Here, with much appreciation, is the whole list of contributing writers: David Bonderman, Adele Chatfield-Taylor, Tom Delevan, Michael Feinstein, Christopher “Kip” Forbes, Paul Goldberger, Gary Hanson, Cheyenne Jackson, Richard Joseph Jackson, M.D., Michael Lycoudis, Myron Martin, Jim Palmer, Robert A. Peck, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, The Honorable Joseph P. Riley, Witold Rybczynski, J. Thomas Schieffer, David M. Schwarz, Robert A. M. Stern, Elaine Wynn, Nicholas S. Zeppos.

The preceding was authored by DMSAS Principal-Emeritus Tom Greene. Tom has been with the firm from nearly day one, starting with DSMAS in 1978 just prior to receiving his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Maryland. 

Specific to performing arts venues, of which we have designed several, this process includes what is known as a tuning phase; a unique effort led by the project’s acoustician with key assistance from a large group of design team members, stakeholders and users. While we work in tandem with the acoustician from the start of the design process to ensure every form within the hall is functional, tuning is meant to acoustically commission the room so that the various types of performances held within the venue sound impeccable. This is most important with non-amplified music, where the right blend of resonance, richness, liveliness and clarity of sound are critical. The performance hall is often thought of as another musical instrument in this sense, and much like the strings of a violin, there are many components that need to be carefully tuned so that, together, they sound just right, before the performance begins.

A current example is the Gaillard Center, our project in Charleston, South Carolina, which is nearing completion. The 1,800-seat performance hall has begun the dedicated tuning phase, being led by Akustiks, the acoustical design consultant for the project with whom we have collaborated successfully on a number of projects. What follows here is a simplified explanation of the tuning process.

Listening for Quiet in the Performance Hall

One of the major determinants of a performance hall’s acoustical quality is its PNC rating, which stands for Preferred Noise Criterion. This is a measure of how quiet a hall is, or rather, how good of a job it does at keeping out unwanted noise. Listening to the hall, then, is just that: sitting in the hall with all of the mechanical, theatrical and other building systems operational to assess what, if any, unwanted noise can be heard.  This is also the first chance to test the functional effectiveness of the design as it relates to noise mitigation of air handlers, elevators, light dimming systems and so forth.

The main performance hall at the Gaillard Center, shortly after seat installation. 

Listening to Music in the Hall & Musicians Getting Used to Their New Home

The acoustician will then schedule different types of events or musical programs covering various genres to assess the quality of sound in the hall. Chief among these is a series of tuning rehearsals with the primary group of musicians who will be using the hall. In the case of the Gaillard Center, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra is that group. While a great deal of science, artistry and a well-developed knowledge foundation went into the design of the hall, this is the first chance for the acousticians to assess how music truly sounds within the space. They will listen from different seating areas because the sound can, and does, vary from one part of a hall to another. Furthermore, they will listen to different types of music by different sizes of ensembles to make sure the hall performs as needed for each variation.

The venue where musicians play has an effect on how they play, as well. During these early rehearsals, musicians need to play different kinds of music in different orchestral seating configurations.

Equally important to the acoustical quality of the hall for the audience is the acoustical quality on the stage for the performers themselves. Referred to as cross hearing, it is critical that sound energy distributes itself across the stage so that performers are able to clearly hear both themselves and the other members of their ensemble.

Tuning rehearsals are just as much a chance for musicians to tune themselves to their new performance hall as they are a chance for the hall to be tuned to the musicians. A good example of this that comes to mind is from the first rehearsal at our Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville. I remember very distinctly the trumpets sounding much louder and out of balance with the rest of the orchestra than they should have. When chatting about it with the acoustician, we learned that they were simply used to playing louder in their old venue because the acoustics of that space necessitated it, in order for them to be heard properly.

Early tuning exercise at Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

The First Concert

The whole tuning effort culminates in what is known as a hard hat concert. This happens at the end of construction, often before the building is formally allowed to be occupied, hence the name. While I am not aware of any hard hat concerts where the audience was required to wear construction safety gear, it is the first opportunity for the acoustician to hear music in the room with an audience present. This is important, because an audience actually absorbs sound, so their presence has a noticeable impact on acoustics.

The hard hat concert is aptly named because it is an opportunity for all who worked on the building of a hall – from the designers, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers – to see, but more importantly to hear, the fruits of their labors. It is a way for the owner and contractor to say thank you to all of the men and women who worked on the project by giving them a seat at the first true performance in the building and to be the audience that the acoustician needs for the tuning effort.

The Honorable Joseph Riley, Mayor of Charleston, SC, speaks prior to the start of the hard hat concert at the Gaillard Center.

Tweaking the Instrument

So, now that the testing and assessment phases of tuning are complete, what happens next? The acoustician spends time studying all of the measurements, data and impressions collected by them and others from the various rehearsals and concerts. Then, any proposed tweaks or adjustments to the hall and systems determined to be necessary are shared with the team and a program of implementation is developed.

Tweaks often include adjustments to the positions, configurations, angles and play heights of orchestra shell components. Additionally, minor changes are sometimes required for some of a hall’s absorptive & reflective elements, to refine the acoustic properties, or mechanical, electrical & theatrical systems, to mitigate unwanted noise.

The tuning phase is quite involved, but critical to the success of any performing arts venue. Because it is such an important part of the process of realizing a first rate performance hall, time for tuning is built into the project schedule from the very beginning. A great deal of time is needed to schedule all of the steps described here; however, taking a requisite one to two months of time to ensure a hall sounds great is a mere trifle in the larger scheme of things.

From left to right, Associate Steve Knight, Associate Jon Toonkel, Principal Craig Williams. All three worked on the design of the Gaillard Center.

The preceding was written by DMSAS Associate Steve Knight. Steve served as Project Manager for the design and construction of the renovation & addition to the Gaillard Center in Charleston, SC. Steve has been with the firm for 18 years and has served on most of the performing arts project teams.

Why did you choose your particular destination(s)?

For my thesis, I’m investigating formal and informal learning environments and how architecture can stimulate curiosity, enrich learning, create common ground and expand access to education. My research agenda and some key texts helped me determine that India and Turkey were appropriate contexts in which I could conduct field research and meet with local innovators in the field. India’s position as the second most populous country (along with the incredible density of citizens in New Dheli and Mumbai) allowed me to survey how informal economies and learning networks have been created in high-density urban settings.

In Istanbul, and elsewhere in Turkey, I was able to visit vibrant urban incubation hubs where I met with groups who programmed and designed entrepreneurial learning spaces. I wanted to use the architecture and use-pattern of the bazaar and marketplace as a precedent to study architecture that can generate curiosity and activity.

What techniques did you use to document what you saw, and how do you think they helped you to understand the architecture?

Depending on the circumstance and the time I had to spend in each place, I used different mediums to record information and visually represent the places and spaces I visited. I found that when I took time to pace out, observe and return to spaces at different times of day, I began to understand the buildings or spaces even more when I drew them. I  found assemblage, or collaging, to be useful when synthesizing key takeaways from a building or space I visited. I used assemblage  to speculate about how these spaces might relate to my thesis agenda. For me, drawing helps me record information and assemblage and charcoal drawing help me to remember the feeling of a space or place. Photographs, not to be forgotten, also reveal new insights each time I look at them.

Myra Lycian Tombs, by Valerie Sherry

How did the history, traditions, or politics of the place you visited influence the architecture you documented?

While traveling in India, there was a constant juxtaposition of timeless ancient sites and changing modern infrastructure. Everywhere I looked I could see a conflation of ancient and modern tradition. Where the ancient and modern met in the physical realm differed depending on the context. In some places, I witnessed a gradual overlap and palimpsest of history in the built environment. In other places I saw a clearly intentional distinction between old and new as manifested in the boundaries set up between these environments.

Politics influenced each place I visited in different ways. Perhaps this was most evident in Mumbai where the politics of development were plainly visible in the built environment of the city. An example of this is the hutments in urban villages which were built before the year 2000 are considered legal and those built after the year 2000 are considered illegal. The political implications are nuanced when developers are seeking to build new high rises. Many skyscraper new-construction projects are situated either next to a slum or next to a mid-rise apartment building that was mandatory to build for urban village/slum residents in exchange for using the land where they had previously lived to build the new luxury building.

Hutment in Mumbai adjacent to recent major commercial development

What was your favorite building, place or space?

Banganga Tank is a place that can be difficult to find without the help of a local resident of Mumbai. This sacred place is a peaceful oasis and water sanctuary in the middle of the bustling megalopolis.  It is a place of worship with a rich historical and religious heritage and is a pilgrimage site for Hindus. According to Hindu myths, the god Rama shot an arrow that pierced the ground and yielded fresh water. Geographically the site is located on top of a freshwater spring. The tank, and specifically its water, have been known to have healing and purifying qualities and can be used for ritual bathing. Beautiful ancient stone carvings can be found in subtle locations, carved into the side of the wall. Steps descend into the sacred water tank on all four sides and reveal traces of past water levels through their time-stained discoloration.

Banganga Tank – Mumbai, Inidia

My favorite buildings were from the abandoned city, Fatehpur Sikri.

Abandoned building in Fatehpur Sikri

Was there any architecture that was particularly moving/inspiring/depressing or that resonated with you emotionally?

The architecture of the bathhouses in Istanbul was awe-inspiring due to their sense of place, age value and their architectural detailing. Calming patterned light speckled the space. One bath, called Cemberlitas, was particularly beautiful to visit. It was built by the architect Nurbanu Sultan in the 16^th century. In Istanbul I looked closely at public bath architecture, public markets, bazaars and more formal educational settings, like universities, to consider the spaces people gather in or gravitate towards.

Cemberlitas – bath house in Istanbul, Turkey

What was the most valuable lesson you learned during your ten-week internship with DMSAS?

So far, the most valuable lessons I’ve learned is that ideas can come from anywhere and to trust the process of design. I’ve also had a window into the organization and coordination it takes to keep drawings up to date and coordinated and how to push ideas forward into systematic documentation. One of the lessons working at DMSAS has reiterated for me is that throughout this process of design, coordination and “architectural accounting”, it is paramount to ensure design intent is maintained and the design options are still explored.

What was your favorite souvenir of your travels, either purchased for yourself or something chosen as a gift?

The charcoal drawings and the sketches made in my notebook are my most treasured souvenir of my travels. These drawings remind me of conversations sparked with others through drawing and they remind me of the spaces and places I experienced and will be able to use as a catalog of precedents in the future.  I  learned the great value not only of the product of the documentation, but also the process, thought and analysis that occurred while documenting sites.

Simena Passage Covered In Between Spaces, sketch by Valerie Sherry

What was your most interesting culinary experience on the trip?

This is a hard one to choose! Food was a deeply ingrained part of the travel experience in each place. Eating Indian Thalis is a delightfully interesting experience because the food keeps coming until you are full! Thali plates differ depending on which Indian region or state they are from. Many urban residents originally traveled from their homes in villages across India to work in the city of Mumbai. Delhi and Mumbai are thus melting pots of Indian cultures and so I got to taste many different kinds but I especially liked Gujarati Thalis.

There’s a lot of research and preparation that goes into proposing the itinerary for travel, so fellows often already know a good bit about the places and buildings they’re visiting before they get there.  What was one thing that left you completely unprepared/surprised?

Dhobi Ghat is one of, if not the, world’s largest open air washing machine. Its physical footprint is massive and exists in the center of Mumbai and represents a crucial portion of industry. Every hotel in the area sends its laundry to this place and if you send your clothes out to get “dry-cleaned”, this is likely where they are washed. I was unprepared to see with my own eyes, such a degree of organization and efficiency at such a massive physical scale.

Dhobi Ghat

I was also unprepared for just how much one can communicate with others even if we are not fluent in each other’s languages. I formed great trust with several people I encountered while traveling. Usually conversation was sparked by people interested to see what I was drawing. Two individuals I met had an incredible story when they explained they were part of a group called the Dabbawallas. As it turns out, they are couriers in a highly respected, complex delivery system that logistics managers worldwide still cannot comprehend. Dabbawallas deliver millions of home cooked meals from homes to office workers every day throughout the city of 19 million. It was impressive hearing how many times these meals change hands before they are delivered to their final destination. What shocked me the most was hearing about the trust Dabbawallas have within their teams and the general respect people have for the work Dabbawallas do. They leave their to-be-delivered meals on the street, knowing that no one will steal them because no passersby wants to interrupt their progress. Instead, bikes holding the meals are left on streets and other members of the Dabbawalla team pick these up for final delivery.

Valerie with two couriers, part of the Dabbawallas

To check out past Travel Fellow Q&As, click here. check back often, we will posting more Q&As from 2015 Travel Fellows in the coming weeks.

Why did you choose your particular destinations?

I spent three weeks exploring the United Kingdom and Ireland studying adaptive reuse.  My study focused on buildings of both historical and architectural significance that have undergone radical changes in function. The UK and Ireland have a rich tradition of preservation and reuse of buildings, but have also undergone major urban changes and modernizations in the last few decades.  The interplay between those two seemingly competing things made the area ripe for my research.

Market Hall aeronautics museum

Some fellows have done photographs, hand-sketches, watercolors, or even 3-D models of the buildings and spaces they’ve visited.  What techniques did you use to document what you saw, and how do you think they helped you to understand the architecture?

I talked! Asking people about their experiences with the buildings and neighborhoods yielded much more colorful and ultimately richer histories of the space than sketching or reading about the architecture alone.  I got the best understanding of a place by spending time there, sketching major spaces, reading the history, taking photos, and speaking with people who use the building regularly.  Luckily, nearly everywhere I visited had a café; many pleasant hours were spent drinking tea while gathering and creating all of the previously mentioned documentation.

What was your favorite building, place or space?

Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh was a really wonderful space. It’s a tapestry studio and art gallery that has been around since 1912 and recently moved into a trio of previously derelict Victorian Era buildings, including an old bathhouse, just south of the Royal Mile.  Dovecot is home to some of the best weavers across the region and is also used for special events and exhibitions. The main weaving floor is the former pool area of the bathhouse and is absolutely stunning.  Just walking around it inspires creativity and collaboration.

Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh

Was there any architecture that was particularly moving/inspiring/depressing or that resonated with you emotionally?

Albert Dock in Liverpool was amazing! It’s a collection of dock buildings and bridges built by Jesse Hartley in the 1840s to house goods and ships during the peak of Liverpool’s trade industry.  The buildings were revolutionary at the time of their construction as they were essentially fire- and theft-proof.  However, as the shipping trade changed, these buildings fell out of use and were even bombed and left unrepaired for decades following WWII.  In the 1980s, their new life began when a developer partnered with The Tate, a private museum with a number of art galleries across Britain, to launch Tate Liverpool as the anchor of a new cultural quarter for the city.  Today, the collection of buildings house three other museums, a collection of great restaurants, apartments, hotels, shops, casual cafes, and lots of happy people. It was fantastic to see such a successful outcome for an adaptive-reuse project.

Albert Dock in Liverpool

What story about your travels have you repeated the most?

When I arrived I happened to be in Liverpool on the day of the “Three Queens Rendezvous.”  Cunard Cruise Line has a strong presence in Liverpool. To celebrate the company’s 175^th anniversary, their three huge ships all came to the city on the same day.  The Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria, and Queen Elizabeth cruise ships came down the River Mersey and sailed in formation and performed what the news called “a water ballet.” An estimated 1.2 million people came to Liverpool that day to see the ships. I arrived in Liverpool the day before the big event and I was pleasantly surprised by how active the Merseyside/cultural center of the city was! There was music and happy people everywhere. I had no idea that the event was happening until I checked into my hostel and heard two women who had traveled day and night to be there talking about all of the coming day’s events.

A very crowded Merseyside on the day of the Rendezvous

How has the fellowship influenced your professional development and career goals?

The fellowship has strengthened my resolve to work with historic properties to create spaces to benefit the community and city as a whole.  Seeing great examples of repurposed buildings gives me confidence that American industrial cities can adapt for a new economy while keeping and capitalizing on their historic building stock.

What surprised you most about your experience working in an architecture firm?

Projects are real! Going from school, where everything is so theoretical, to an office, where most things will one day be tangible, is such a refreshing change. It’s neat to see models of past projects around the office and then later see pictures of those same buildings fully built.

What was your favorite souvenir of your travels, either purchased for yourself or something chosen as a gift?

A print of an amazing painting called The Liverpool Cityscape. The original was commissioned is 2008 when Liverpool was the European Capital of Culture. The painters looked at over 3,000 photos of the buildings of Liverpool, consulted with architects, historians, and locals, and logged 24,000 hours of painting to finish the 16-foot long aerial view of the city. It shows the huge diversity of Liverpool’s architecture and urbanism, and when I look at it I see something different every time.

What was your most interesting culinary experience on the trip?

On an unscheduled afternoon in Edinburgh I decided to go to The Scotch Whisky Experience – and what an experience it was. People at the hostel described it as “Malt Whisky World”, and I think that’s an accurate description.  The first part of the “experience” is a Disney World-style ride in which the ghost of a whisky maker guides your giant wooden barrel ride vehicle through the distilling process.  The fun displays are topped off with all of the sounds and smells of the process.  After the ride, guests enjoy a whisky tasting, tour the largest collection of Scotch in the world, and then, of course, end up in a bar that also serves as a gift shop.

There’s a lot of research and preparation that goes into proposing the itinerary for travel, so fellows often already know a good bit about the places and buildings they’re visiting before they get there.  What was one thing that completely surprised you?

There is a second complex similar to Albert Dock in Liverpool! I saw an arrow on my map pointing up to Stanley Dock and decided to walk there.  About an hour later I happened upon a beautiful hotel in an old dock building, nearly identical in structure to the ones of Albert Dock. The hotel has only been open a year and there’s a gigantic derelict warehouse across the slip that’s in the process of being restored and adapted.  I’m curious to see how successful both ventures will be in the coming years.

Hotel Titanic in Stanley Dock in Liverpool

Where did you meet the nicest/happiest people?

The people in Glasgow were so friendly! There were giant pink banners everywhere that said “People Make Glasgow”, and either it was a self-fulfilling prophecy or the people really were that kind. But as for the dogs, I met the most perfect bulldog in Dublin.  If I could have taken her, she would definitely have been my favorite souvenir.

Me and the nicest/happiest dog on St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin

To check out past Travel Fellow Q&As, click here. Check back often, we will posting more Q&As from 2015 Travel Fellows in the coming weeks.

Chicago, Illinois (submitted by Intern Architect Kal Yordanov)
It might not be as exotic as some other places, but what makes it unique is the combination of  architecture and  well-maintained urban beaches. You can literally go swimming downtown in front of the John Hancock Center. The water is clean – they thoroughly maintain it because Lake Michigan is their fresh water supply. There are also many non-beach things you can do in Chicago, and many beautiful contemporary and historic buildings to see. It is basically NYC with (arguably) better architecture and cleaner streets and beaches.

Japan (submitted by Intern Architect Erik Kom)
Specifically, Tokyo & Kyoto or, if there is time, get up to Sapporo and down to Naha.  All of Japan – its history, culture, architecture, etc. – can be found in these cities.  The summer weather is never unbearable, crime is unbelievably low, and there are things to do 24/7.  Public transportation goes everywhere – trains in Tokyo, buses in Kyoto.  In Tokyo, check out the Edo-Tokyo Museum, Meiji Shire, Ginza shopping district, Harajuku (for the costumed locals), Ueno Station Museums, Palace Gardens (when available), Yokohama Bay Bridge (observation deck under the bridge at the midway point) Ferris Wheel and tower and, of course, after an all-nighter in Roppongi, the freshest sushi is available at Tsuiji Market. Then take a 200+ mph bullet train southwest to Kyoto. There are plenty of big tourist spots, but the Gold and Silver temples are a must-see, as is the Yasaka-no-to Pagoda near the center of town. This, of course, just scratches the surface of what there is to do in these historic cities.

Cape May, New Jersey and Central Coast, California (submitted by Associate Steve Knight)
Central Coast, California: We have made a few trips here over the years. We go here for the natural beauty of the landscape and the great weather in summer (yes it’s hot, but it’s a dry heat). We love wine and the area in and around Paso Robles offers numerous great, small boutique wineries, many offering tastings during the day. We took this photo from a hilltop vineyard during a sunset tour at Tablas Creek Winery.

Cape May, New Jersey: Both my wife Karen and I are pasty-faced whities, so we are not naturally inclined towards the beach in the summer. That said, we love coming to this historic seaside resort town and have made doing so an almost annual tradition. The town is quaint, historic and walkable. We love exploring it on bike or foot, admiring the many Victorian, Stick and Shingle style houses and inns. We always stay at the historic Chalfonte Hotel, pictured here. You can’t beat their southern style cooking, especially the breakfast buffet: scrambled eggs, biscuits and fried fish!

Marrakech, Morocco (Submitted by Intern Architect David Aybar) What fascinates me about Marrakech can be summarized in a simple word: contrast. I find it incredible that just after a short flight from my native country of Spain, you can be in a world so strikingly different not only in terms of architecture, gastronomy and religion, but also in the flow and philosophy of everyday life.

If I had to recommend a site to visit, it would definitely be the Ksar of Aït-benhaddou, a vernacular Mud Brick city on the edge of the High Atlas Mountains. It is on the UNESCO World Heritage List and has been featured in many films, including Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator and Game of Thrones. A meal not to miss: lamb in any of its versions in the world famous square, Djemaa El-Fna – a vibrant food night market in the ancient wall of the city’s medina quarter.

Mt. Gorham in Mount Desert Island, Maine

Mount Desert Island, Maine (submitted by Principal Craig Williams)
After 36 years at DMSAS (and school before that), 90%+ of all infrequent vacations have revolved around looking at buildings, but sometimes one just has to get out in the backwoods, onto the water and eat some lobstahs.  On Mount Desert, you find the sublime combination of hiking, sailing, vistas, ocean, seafood, ponds, kayaking harbors and Somes Sound, the only fjord on the east coast of North America.  The island is home to a diverse landscape featuring, as seen in the above image from the summit of Mt. Gorham (near to far): Sand Beach at Newport Cove, Great Head, Mount Desert Narrows and Schoodic Point on the Schoodic Peninsula.  PS – Some culinary advice: Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin is an excellent pairing with steamer clams and butter.

Southern Vermont (submitted by Associate Ted Houseknecht)
My family often spends our summer vacation in Southern Vermont. We mostly spend our days hiking to fire towers or swimming in rivers, lakes, quarries, and other watering holes.  One of our all-time favorites is the Dorset Quarry – an abandoned marble quarry now ideal for swimming and jumping from the rock ledges. Dorset is enticingly inviting on a hot summer day, though a little less so during the winter. Evenings often involve long dinners at small country inns. Vermont provides a very different environment, and welcome respite, from our year-round neighborhood in a very vibrant section of downtown Washington, DC.

We would love to hear about your favorite getaway spots! Feel free to share them with us in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter.

The “Reclaiming Franklin Street” Phase 1 report highlights the disruption in the city’s fabric caused by the Franklin Arterial

Each year my family and I plan a trip north to visit my mother outside of Portland. It is quite a trek from our home outside Washington, DC, but, having spent all my summers there as a child, the fond memories of cool sea air and sandy beaches make the trip seem worthwhile. This years’ trip was planned around paying a visit to the site of my thesis, as I had recently learned that the city was actually planning to do something to ameliorate the urban blight it inflicted on itself when naively building the Franklin Arterial connector from 295 to the downtown waterfront decades ago.

I was excited to read in a newspaper article my mother sent last winter that other people actually agreed something should be done to fix the presumably well-intentioned mistake. Unfortunately, when we visited, there were no signs that anything would happen any time soon.

A view from Franklin Street, looking east

In spite of this scar across the north end of the city, Portland remains an incredibly pleasant, intimate, waterfront city. Walking along the spine of Congress Street one gets a sense of the city’s history. While it is evident that they are struggling to repurpose some of the city’s older buildings, it at least appears as though they have learned from past mistakes of razing such structures and are looking for ways to preserve and maintain quality pieces of the urban fabric.

New businesses in old buildings

At the East End of town, the Eastern Promenade is clearly showing signs of a renaissance with freshly painted clapboards and manicured lawns. And the ever-popular Old Port is still bustling with tourists.

Through all this surface improvement you can see signs of real growth (not just seasonal, summer tourist stuff): investment in infrastructure; new businesses adaptively reusing old masonry buildings; and even newly refurbished lobster boat wharf areas. Seeing that Portland is investing in itself is very encouraging.

View looking north on to Exchange street from Fore Street, two blocks from the waterfront

As for the Arterial, progress has been slow. A 2007 citizens meeting formally kicked-off the current revitalization efforts and initiated  the “Franklin Street Corridor Study.”. The 2009 “Reclaiming Franklin Street” Phase 1 report sounds promising. A Phase 2 Feasibility Study was started in 2010 and showed that there is great interest in adding bike paths, reconnecting parts of the city, and building more appropriately scaled development along this corridor. Recent Portland Press Herald articles indicate that efforts “to undo the 1960’s project could enlarge Lincoln Park and reunite parts of Portland,”so I am optimistic that the current momentum will continue. As an architect now more than 20 years removed from my thesis project, it is nice to know that there is still hope that the spirit of my 1994 proposal may one day come to fruition!

The preceding was authored by DMSAS Associate Ramsay Fairburn. Ramsay joined the firm in 1994 after receiving her Master of Architecture from the University of Maryland. 

One question asked by the movies’ creators, outside of believably scripting characters, was how to engage the viewer in a galaxy from long ago and far, far away. Part of the answer: architectural familiarity.  Every die-hard fan knows that Tatooine, Luke’s home planet, is the real-world desert landscape of Tunisia.

But, did you note the clever mix of Byzantine and Baroque architecture in the capital city, Theed, on Naboo?  Though the exterior of the Royal Palace might remind one of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, it was actually directly inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Marin County Civic Center. Scenes of the Palace interior were filmed in Reggia Di Caserta (Palace of Caserta) in Italy.  This combination plays to both the civic importance of the building and the stately grandeur of a parliamentary monarchy.

What about the brief shot from space of Coruscant?  The intergalactic capital planet-city looked surprisingly like Paris or Washington DC at night, with its grand boulevards and public circles.

The Senate and Executive buildings are similar to Oscar Niemeyer’s Brazilian National Congress building.

The Jedi Temple (later the Emperor’s Palace) is meant to invoke a monastic feel by placing a five-spired temple on a ziggurat base.  Clearly, some thought went into how the audience could relate to or recognize a location based on the functional style of the architecture.

That was Episodes I, II, and III, before the fall of the Galactic Republic and the Rise of the Empire.  Episodes IV, V, and VI followed the Rebel Alliance from secret bases on the ice planet Hoth, aboard Home One (Admiral “It’s a Trap!” Ackbar’s flagship), and eventually the forest moon of Endor.  Not too much architecture to speak of on the Rebellion side (even by Marc-Antoine Laugier’s standards), but the simple, almost cliché, interplay between light (good Rebel Alliance) and dark (evil Empire) in all three movies should be noted.

Of course, a Star Wars blog posting is not complete without the mention of the infamous Death Star (shown above with its real-life architectural doppelganger, Rem Koolhaas’s RAK Convention Center).  Despite its awesome power to destroy whole planets, the Empire built it twice, with the same flaws – a shaft with direct access to the power core and poor defense against smaller ships like an X-wing or, everyone’s favorite 12-parsec Kessel runner, the Millennium Falcon.  To be fair, the second Death Star was under construction when it was attacked…but come on, Vader.  You have command of the most powerful military in the galaxy and no budgetary limit.

Regardless of the epic fails in military architecture and other debatable critiques of Star Wars films, time was given to the appropriateness of the architecture and the correct backdrop of every scene.  Personally, I look forward to the next and final(?) trilogy.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go get some power convertors at Tosche Station.

If you just can’t get enough Star Wars, we recommend you check out Wookieepedia for seemingly endless Star Wars facts, photos and trivia!

The preceding was authored by DMSAS intern architect Eric Kom. Prior to joining DMSAS in 2014, Eric received his Masters of Architecture from the University of Miami.

During the initial discovery phase of design for Schermerhorn Symphony Center, DMSAS Principals and key project stake holders traveled to some of Europe’s most remarkable concert halls. While geographically disparate from Europe, Nashville’s aspirations to be ‘the Athens of the South’ made these precedents contextually relevant studies.

Think again about your neighborhood and some other attributes likely enter into your film strip. Do you not also see memories, events (historical and otherwise) and even particular people? And, if you’ve lived in a place long enough, maybe you’ve taken this a step further in your mind by incorporating something aspirational, like an idea of what that place or context should or could be.

When seeking design inspiration, we often find ourselves facing this interesting conundrum: how can the design address the physical attributes of a context – the prevalent building types, commonly-found palates of materials and oft-occurring architectural styles – as well as the ephemeral attributes of context, history and lore of the city or region and the goals and aspirations of the particular community.

A small portion of context and iconography images gathered during early phases of design for the Fort Worth Arena, which will be primarily used to host the annual Stock Show & Rodeo.

We are often asked to strike a delicate balance in our designs to improve the site while doing so in a way that fits within the already established context. Understanding context means more than delving into architectural guidebooks or looking at surveys and photographs of a site. It means that we have to go beyond the immediate boundaries of a building plot and look at the larger influences of a neighborhood, a city or even the region in which a project is located. And when all of that study doesn’t reveal a particular feel or vibe, it likely means we haven’t dug deep enough. We need to look farther and wider to discover the context. This further study often requires talking to people in the community, looking into the history and tradition of the particular building type we find ourselves designing, studying users’ behavior and asking users about their motivations, desires and expectations. Above all, determining context requires a level of deference and curiosity.

With no architectural style indigenous to Las Vegas, a city notorious for constant renovation and momentary-monuments, the firm drew inspiration for The Smith Center for the Performing Arts from the area’s greatest enduring structural achievement, the Hoover Dam.

Why does any of this matter? It matters when a designer wants their work to be relevant to the owners, users and communities their buildings will serve. Context, in all the variants described here, has always been a major influence on our work. Our firm cut its teeth doing projects in Washington DC’s many historic neighborhoods and, in so doing, we had to develop a deep understanding and appreciation for the physical contexts of these well-established places in order to be successful. [In the interest of full disclosure, the firm’s early body of work was all completed before I came here, but it is nonetheless what drew me here in the first place.]

One of the firm’s earliest projects, 1818 N Street demanded both contextual and historic sensitivity. Transitional stepped massing was used to preserve the feel and scale of the historic townhouses while appropriately blending them with the surrounding office buildings.

Fast-forward to today and a current project I do know quite a bit about: the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina. You might readily ask, what is it about the context of Charleston that could present a problem? It is, indeed, a perfectly lovely historic city, comprised of many elegant, older single-family, detached houses set amid gracious gardens and woven together by beautiful tree-lined streets. It is, seemingly, a well-defined context. The problem is that our project, technically a renovation and expansion of an existing 1960’s-era municipal auditorium, is a huge building (over 260,000 SF) and larger than anything Charleston has seen constructed in some time.

The original Gaillard Center featured a monotonous facade lacking articulation and detailing.

The Gaillard, both in its original and expanded forms, is an enormous intrusion into the City fabric. The original structure was very much a product of its time – an act of urban renewal (several historic homes were torn down and parts of Charleston’s quirky street grid were changed to accommodate it) expressed as a modernist edifice intended to look ahead rather than to the City’s past. While the old Gaillard grew outdated, both aesthetically and functionally, the community’s views of itself and goals for its future evolved; with the new Gaillard the community now chooses to celebrate its past, instead of ignore it.

Faced with expanding an already-too-large building, we found an opportunity to fashion the additions using discrete and articulate massing that breaks the bulk of the building down into pavilions, hyphens, towers and bays. The massing is then complemented with a layer of detail and ornament that is friendly, meaningful, scale-giving and inspired by the historic forms of Charleston’s most beloved buildings. No, all of these things won’t make the new Gaillard Center disappear, but they will help this new building to fit within the community and the context of the City of Charleston.

Water color rendering of The Gaillard Center as seen from Calhoun Street

What to do when that larger context either doesn’t exist or isn’t well-defined? Look harder. And, when you look harder and the aspirations and ephemeral context appear to be different from the physical context that is there, you may just have to build it yourself. Designing with this particular attitude towards context does not mean we will arrive at one universally perfect solution every time if we follow this formula. We will, however, most likely be assured of arriving at a building that will be relevant to, embraced and even loved by, the greatest number of people who will see it, visit it or touch it on any given day. This result, to me, is a major benchmark of success for our projects. Remaining relevant to the communities where I work is very important to me and what keeps me interested and engaged on any given day.

The preceding was authored by DMSAS Associate Steve Knight. Mr. Knight joined the firm in 1997 and has worked on many of the firm’s performing arts venues, including the Gaillard Center, Schermerhorn Symphony Center, The Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts and The Smith Center for the Performing Arts.

Below is the interview originally conducted by the Museum with Mr. Schwarz.

National Building Museum Online (NBM Online): How and when did you begin collecting?

David Schwarz (DS): I started collecting art when I was in my early teens. At first, my collecting was a little haphazard. When I was in my early twenties, I discovered that art collections need to have a focus. So I sold everything that didn’t fit with the theme that most interested me, which was urban images. It’s that collection that I started when I was 14 and have been working on ever since.

NBM Online: It’s extraordinary that you began collecting so early. How did that come about?

DS: My father was an art collector. I had grown up in a family that had a high reverence for art. My father had an extensive collection, and was probably one of the larger collectors of Edvard Munch prints at that point in time. Collecting was something that was a part of my upbringing.

Louis Lozowick, Cleveland
Oil on canvas, ca. 1924-27
Image courtesy of Mary Ryan Gallery, New York

NBM Online: What is your collecting strategy? Has that strategy changed over time?

DS: I don’t know that I have a strategy per se. I am very interested in artistic interpretations of the built environment. So much of my life is about making buildings. I’m not so interested in looking at my own buildings, but I am interested in seeing other people’s interpretations of the built environment. I find it very enriching.

NBM Online: What advice would you have for people who are just beginning to collect art?

DS: At any price level there’s always good art. I think you should buy what you love. At the moment, fashion has become too instrumental in art collecting. I don’t think that in the long run fashion dictates which art will last and what will be good. Buy what you love, and buy the best of what you can afford to buy, and buy with a focused intent. I think the most unsatisfying collections are those that don’t have a theme.

Howard Cook, Harbor Skyline
Soft-ground etching and aquatint, 1930
National Building Museum

NBM Online: Are there items in your collection that have particularly strong resonance for you personally?

DS: It’s interesting: this is a place where my art collecting and my architecture have a very similar place in my psyche. There is no one building of mine that is of seminal importance to me—rather, it’s how they talk to each other over time and space. It’s the same with my art collection. The art is more important as a whole. There are some [works] that have an emotional connection to me, but it’s because of the circumstances of their acquisition rather than their subject matter.

NBM Online: How has your collecting influenced your work as an architect, and vice versa?

DS: I don’t know that either has affected the other specifically. I think they come from the same sensibility. I think that the art I collect explores some of the same themes as the buildings I design. The linear or rectilinear nature of the art collect is important—one thing a lot of the images have in common is their verticality. One of the things we tried hard to do in our [architectural] work is to accentuate the vertical, which can be hard to do in Washington, D.C. I think these prints explore some of those same notions—a balance of the horizontal and the vertical.

Jolán Gross-Bettelheim, Home Front (Assembly Line)
Lithograph, ca. 1942-43
National Building Museum

NBM Online: Why do you think architecture has long been such a popular subject for artists, particularly during the early 20th century?

DS: I tend to think of architectural art as being another form of landscape—it’s just an urban landscape as opposed to a rural landscape. If you look at 18th-century painting, the rural landscape was celebrated. As we came into the 20th century, it became more about machines for living. We became a much less agrarian society after World War I, which had a huge impact on the world—the death of the British Empire, the rise of the machine, the beginning of urbanization. I think that era came to an end with World War II and the birth of the suburb.

Louis Lozowick, New York
Lithograph, 1923
Image courtesy of Mary Ryan Gallery, New York

NBM Online: What does your collection reveal about the time period between 1920 and 1950?

DS: I think if one looks at the imagery of the built environment over time, the way we celebrate it has changed. Art between the wars was really about fantasy and reality—a celebration of the works of man. Man can control his environment. I think that was a pervasive view in the interwar period, which continued through the 1960s. It’s interesting to note that when Disney was founded, it was all about the future—what can happen, what will happen. Now it’s all about nostalgia. It’s all about looking backward.

Art both leads and reflects how we are thinking about ourselves at the point it is made. I think the art in my collection talks about the heroic nature of the creations of men.

The featured image of this post is a depiction of  Jay McVicker, Small Town Elements | Etching and aquatint, 1949. Credit: National Building Museum