Dachau concentration camp- We started our day by going to one of the first concentration camps. This was, as expected, incredibly moving and sobering. Just to be in the presence of where all of these awful things took place made my heart ache for these people. Since Dachau was one of the first concentration camps, it was referenced in everyday conversation…. “Shut up or you’ll go to Dachau” was a common phrase of the day among Jewish people or a-social groups. I don’t really want to go into detail about everything they did there, but I’ll share some things I didn’t realize beforehand. I didn’t realize that this particular camp was for mostly men. I guess I hadn’t thought about people being separated by groups for any particular camp from another. We learned how incredibly hard life was for the prisoners at the camp. They had to make their straw beds every morning. They were in bunk beds that were all connected, and if one bed was so much as a millimeter taller than another they would be punished. If a speck of dirt was found on the floor – punished. Their punishment was often to have their arms tied behind their back and then hung from their wrists for an hour. I also didn’t know that there was a difference b/w a concentration camp and extermination camp. Dachau did have a gas chamber and crematorium but it was said to not have been used for mass murder like you think of. We were able to go in the gas chamber. This was a pretty chilling experience that just brought tears to my eyes, but its something that is good for people to see. Like one of our professors was saying, we learn so much about this and see so many pictures in history books, museums, movies, etc. that we are almost desensitized to it, but once you are there seeing images taken from where you are standing, it really hits home.
We also were able to see a Coop Himmelblau project - the BMW Welt. This is a well known project in the architectural world mainly known for a “whirlwind” cone in the front of the building. Inside was basically a really fancy dealership. There was a restaurant and snack bar, and a parts and souvenir shop. It also contained a interactive museum of sorts that let people understand the different technologies that bmw uses. It was a fun little area, and kids were climbing all over the place. We got to go behind scenes for a bit and see the storage area for the cars. The was an interesting space. You don’t think about how places like this store hundreds of cars. This was basically a huge scale technological version of cubby holes. There were mechanical pieces that lifted cars and turned them to get them in and out of the right hole.
Across from BMW Welt was the 1972 Olympic Park. Being built in the 70’s, it is a little dated now, as far as wear and tear, but still very modern and really quite timeless stylistically. You’ve all seen tent/canvas like structures that are held up by tension. This was a glass/plastic version of one of those tents. The structure of these buildings was pretty incredible and very complicated. It was neat to see a different material used as a fabric connecting these different areas together. The structure that was brought to the ground was massive and acted as a play area for kids (and adults for that matter) to climb or sit on. This enabled the building to become very interactive, and that is something we all strive for as architects (or we should in my opinion). Another thing I was impressed with was how many people were still using the space. It was drizzling and honestly yucky outside, yet there were still lots of people riding bikes, running, swimming in the pool, and just hanging out. I think that is a really important thing to think about not only in terms of Olympic parks for later use, but what our projects can do In the future and how they can be adapted to serve another function. I think the fact that there are so many people still using the space speaks a lot about the successfulness of this project.
Later a group of us went to a architecturally significant church for a Bach concert – Herz-Jesu Kirche by ASW Architects. I don’t care if you like modern architecture or not, this church is beautiful. The exterior is a glass cube. Once you enter the space there is a wooden cube within the glass cube offset enough for circulation in between. The wooden cube is made of louvers. Inside the chapel light gets filtered through the translucent glass and then through the louvers. It was so nice. I was also excited about the Bach concert. Hearing classical music in the heart of its birthplace was one of my goals for this trip…. Check! The concert was on the organ and quite impressive. I was glad I got to experience that.
MUNICH CULTURE: We got to eat at a local Bavarian restaurant. I had a dish that had potatoes with chicken on top sprinkled with cheese, bacon, mushrooms, and lots of really good and tasty spices. That has been my favorite dish so far! Yummmm Munich strangely reminded me of Dallas. We didn’t get to experience a lot of the town life, but just driving around it looked like a nice place to live. It’s a decent size city, but with the city feel of Dallas instead of the hustle and bustle of New York.
No comments:
Post a Comment