test by email

Test by email

Madrid,Spain

Spain is located in Southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Among all the cities in Spain, I chose Madrid which is the capital and the largest city in Spain. Madrid is located in a little north easte from the geographical center of the Iberian Peninsula, in the middle of the Spanish central Castillian plateau.1

The reason I chose Madrid is because of the ecentric and dynamic culture and art. Nowdays, Madrid is known to be the city that is full of new architecture, culture, and style. The one thing I am most intrigued by is the art of architecture in Madrid. It is unbelievable to see many architecture of the buildings such as royal palaces, cathedrals and museums that are from many years ago. From viewing those old monuments, we can see the different styles of Medieval architecture and learn from the old designs.

Also, Spain is full of great art by artists such as Miro, Picasso, Dali etc whom are the artists that I most admired. I think I would get different feeling when I see all the works by these artists in Spain because they were all from Spain. I definitely think it would be special experience to see their works in Spain than seeing them in any other museums.

by Elyssa (Eun Young)Lee

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Malawi, Africa

In contrast to Western prosperity, imagine a place stricken with poverty and illness; a place without the post-industrial consumer; a place isolated from modern advancements in medicine, education, technology, production, transportation, and building; a place where sustainable living occurs by default. In Malawi, Africa, circadian patterns of everyday life hinge on survival and persist according to available resources. Within mud-hut, thatched roof villages, Malawian women spend their days grinding their own grain, carrying baskets of water on their heads, carting firewood for cooking, washing clothes by hand, and laying nsima (similar to grits and made of ground maize) on bamboo mats to dry in the sun. On the other hand, the men hand make sun-dried clay bricks and gravel, transport barrels of wood on bicycles, fish, and farm using a drip irrigation system (mainly for the production of maize [corn]).[1]

In an age overrun by industry and its sustainable countermovement, studying a culture that survives without industry becomes increasing relevant to understand how design results from necessity, functionality, and resourceful invention. To a certain degree, the countries primitive state acts as a pre-industrial blank slate. For a similar reason, Rem Koolhaas desires to study the “self-organization” and informal development within various regions of Lagos, Africa because he “professes to be seeking in his own design practice ‘to develop more informal ways to plan cities.’ ”[2]

While designer have a unique ability to learn from the vernacular traditions this antiquated culture, they have an equally unique opportunity and responsibility to aid in the development of Malawi. Much of their progress in terms of education, medical facilities and medicine, orphan care, and sustainable agricultural solutions[3] is the result of faithful organizations, such as the Malawi Project. With the aid of the Malawi Project, hospital equipment and mattresses (20-30 years old) are being replace, 80,000 mouths of orphans are being fed with VitaMeals (produced in a local plant near Lumbadzi), and housing projects, such as Mtendere Village houses and educates orphans (There are approximately one million AIDS orphans in Malawi.)[4]

Posted by: Linnea Cook

[1] www.malawiproject.org; www.flickr.com/photos/malawiproject
[2] Joan Ockman (in class reading)
[3] such as a portable chicken coop designed by David Goolsby with Healing Hands International in order to “protect poultry and contain chicken manure” but to be later moved, so that the manure can be used as fertilizer
[4] www.malawiproject.org; http://www.flickr.com/photos/malawiproject

Pakistan

The one place I am intrigued with is Pakistan. Pakistan is my neighboring country as it is situated on the border of India but I have not got the opportunity to visit the country yet due to the political strife. Pakistan was once a part of British India but it became independent in 1947. The spilt 1947 between the Hindus and Muslims gave rise to a new state, today known as Pakistan.
In New York I have been surrounded by Pakistanis and I believe that Pakistan has many similar traditions as India though some of the religious and cultural beliefs are very different. Hearing about the culture through them and also watching Pakistan in Bollywood movies I would like to go to witness the traditions. It will also clear some of my stereotypes and will make me appreciate and relate more to my own Indian culture.
Pakistan has a very rich history as one of the world's most ancient civilizations was discovered in the Sindh province of Pakistan. The Indus Valley Civilization which was excavated by archaeologists in the city Mohenjodaro had great architecture and city planning. It was beautifully and brilliantly designed and I learnt about it in detail in my South Asian History class. The houses they constructed were very well suited for the climate and there drainage system was also quite advanced.
A lot of the artifacts and ancient scripts and engravings still remain today though most of the architecture did not survive. Anthropologists have found evidence that it was a very well developed city . Therefore a designer or an architect should visit this place to study their art objects and urban planning as the earliest Indian art emerged from there.
Hence i believe that since Pakistan was once a part of my own country, visiting it would teach me a lot about my own culture.

- Radha Kapoor

Ireland

There are many reasons why people travel. While often it is to experience an unfamiliar culture, people also travel to discover one’s own. It is important for some people to discover their own heritage because it gives them a sense of identity and belonging, especially if they grew up in a country that is a melting pot of various other cultures such as America. Even though I was born and raised in the United States, I feel more of a belonging and nationalism towards the country of my Irish ancestors than America itself. I find it interesting that I feel more of a tie to a country that I have never been to than to the country I have lived in for my entire life.

The island of Ireland lies to the east of Great Britain and is divided into two jurisdictions: Ireland and Northern Ireland, which belongs to the United Kingdom. Because of its physical separation from the rest of Europe Ireland has a very old and preserved history, which has now become a huge tourist attraction. The countries modern growth of urban centers are contrasted with other parts that remain largely untouched by modern urbanity. The islands traditional values combined with a growing economy led to Ireland being named the best place to live based on quality of life in 2005 by the Economist magazine.

Whether my curiosity with traveling to Ireland is based on family history or a romantic notion, it is a country that should visited for its unique culture and history. Whether to expand ones experiences, to pick up a new cultural aesthetic, or simply to find ones family origin, traveling for the discovery of culture is way for a designer to find something new. Visiting Ireland would be a personal travel of self-discovery that I feel is important for every designer.