Journal of Architecture, Travel & Books
Next stop on my trip was Freiburg im Breisgau, the fourth-largest city in Baden-Württemberg. Freiburg is located on the Dreisam River, a tributary of the Rhine, and sits on the western edge of the Schwarzwald (Black Forest). Looming over the town is a large hill called the Schlossberg. It is home to a university, a medieval church, and a lot of interesting features for a wandering tourist.
Continue reading “A Rainy Day in Freiburg”
“I saw Heidelberg on a perfectly clear morning, with a pleasant air both cool and invigorating. The city, just so, with the totality of its ambiance is, one might say, something ideal.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
I recently took a trip to Germany and France. First stop on my trip was Heidelberg, a quaint city located along the Neckar River in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. One of its most famous attractions is Heidelberger Schloss (Heidelberg Castle) that sits on the lower slope of the Königstuhl (King’s Chair) hill in the Odenwald mountains. The weather was cold and rainy and perfect.
Continue reading “A Rainy Day in Heidelberg”This summer I was asked to answer some questions about traveling for a luggage company. A few of my responses were selected for inclusion on their website. One of the responses that wasn’t selected was about my favorite travel memory. I chose to write about Paris. Paris was my first solo trip abroad and the memories I made there inspired me to start this blog. The photo I am using for my profile photo is the one my friend took of me after we walked around the Rodin museum. My goal with this blog has always been to inspire myself and to inspire anyone who reads it.
Here are some photos from Paris and my favorite travel memory.
Continue reading “My Favorite Travel Memory”
“…and if I see but one smile on your lips when we meet, occasioned by this or any other exertion of mine, I shall need no other happiness.”
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus
Frankenstein; Or The Modern Prometheus is an epistolary novel written by Mary Shelley that focuses on the tumultuous, and ultimately tragic, relationship between Dr. Victor Frankenstein and the creature that he reanimated from the dead one night in a demonstration of awesome science. The Creature, as he is simply called, spends most of the novel in an existential fight with himself over the big questions that we all struggle with: who am I? And why was I put here?
Continue reading “The Vision of A Madman: Frankenstein; Or The Modern Prometheus”“[Those] who do not understand the science of scale, through which the geometric concept is fitted to the actual size of the landscape itself, cannot be regarded as landscape architects.”
Vincent Scully, Architecture: The Natural and the Manmade
In the previous essay in our series, we created a basic outline of the house. The focus was on the interior layout. With that finished, I would like to turn our focus to the exterior. Before we begin, let’s look at some examples of landscape design.
Continue reading “Designing a House Series: The Landscape Design”“I live my life in widening circles that reach out across the world.”
Rainer Maria Rilke
Continue reading “A Sliver of Gray”“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Pasadena City Hall is located in Pasadena, California and was constructed in 1927. It was designed by an architecture firm based out of San Francisco called Bakewell and Brown.
I took these pictures when I was in town for a work trip in July. I was waiting to go to the airport and it was a beautiful summer morning. Sometimes, the best mornings are spent sitting in front of a fountain listening to the sound of running water.
Continue reading “An Architectural Icon: Pasadena City Hall”
“Mais que diable allait il faire dans cette galère?
(“But what the hell was he going to do in this mess?”)
Molière (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin)
Continue reading “A Wonderful Mass of Life: War and Peace”“Every general and soldier felt his own insignificance, was conscious of being a grain of sand in that sea of men, and at the same time felt his own might, being conscious of himself as part of that great whole.”
Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace, page 301
“Heavenly clouds, eternal travelers”
Mikhail Lermontov
“All gardening is landscape painting”
Alexander Pope
Here is a photo series from New York City from April 2023. The flowers in Central Park were in full bloom and everything was fresh and green. It rained most of the weekend and the colors of the park and architecture were glowing with dazzling splendor. It was interesting to see the skyscrapers plunge headlong into the low-hanging clouds. My favorite seasons are spring and fall and I have now visited New York City in both.
Continue reading “New York City in the Springtime”“There must always be an end in view, and the end must not be final.”
Eliel Saarinen
New York City on an unseasonably warm autumn weekend. This was my third trip to the city. Like my second trip, this trip was spent exploring Midtown Manhattan, Central Park, and the Upper East Side.
Continue reading “Scenes from New York City”
A Walk Through The City 