What a Wednesday!

 

Today was another packed day full of work, meetings, site seeing, and events. I began my day by going to work, then had an awesome lunch with my boss at an Italian restaurant (gelato- check!). After lunch I headed to the Heritage of London Trust to meet with their director and get to understand more about their charity and what they do to preserve buildings, structures, landscapes, etc. They do pretty amazing work and have helped restore everything from a crumbling house to important figures tombstones. I am actually going back tomorrow after work to go on a tour they are giving of the Tower Bridge. After this I walked around a bit, went to see Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square again, and then stumbled into St. Martin-in-the-Fields. They were having a choral concert at 5pm, which I stuck around for. It was amazing, the beautiful voices combined with a beautiful church were breathtaking. You cold definitely get lost just listening to the music and staring off into the beauty of the building. After this, I then made my way to an architectural lecture which is part of the London Festival of Architecture this month (perfect timing). The lecture was held by ICOMOS-UK, which is an organization worldwide (ICOMOS) that aims to preserve sites and monuments; the city of Bath is deemed a World Heritage Site by ICOMOS. This lecture was really interesting and gave me some new perspective to design, which is always good. One of the projects they talked about was the usage of a castle in ruins to make a new home. The architects created a new home within the ruins of the old castle, which had been built in the 12th century. They focused on creating an open and inviting space that highlighted the ruggedness of the crumbling building, while still creating a distinctive stability with the new pieces. It is amazing work, and really makes you think about what one can do with crumbling structures. I found a BBC article and video if you are interested in learning more about the project (click here!).

 

Okay, now to the good stuff. Below are some pictures from my exciting and jam packed day! I will definitely have a bunch more tomorrow too, so stay tuned!

 

This is a cab stand, one of 9 that Heritage of London Trust has preserved. These were used by cab drivers to obtain free food and drink for free, beginning around the temperance movement to avoid cab drivers from getting drunk.

 

 

 Stay tuned for another round of photos tomorrow!

 



Newport, Almley and Hereford

 

Today I made my way to Wales, briefly, before heading to Hereford. I set off to do two more impact assessments of churches, one in Newport (Wales) and one in Almley.  Both were pretty nice, they were older churches with modern attachments to serve as a space for much needed water closets, a kitchen, and communal flexible space. I will definitely post pictures of all the churches I visit once I am done with my assessment and report! Stay tuned for that! Meanwhile, I get to spend some time in Hereford before making my trip to two other churches tomorrow, and then back home. I walked around a little bit after grabbing a bite to eat, and saw some pretty buildings surrounded by hundreds of shops, restaurants, and corner stores. Here are some of the photos I took while walking around.

 

I think I should just start a separate page of random elephant sightings....

 

Again, an obsession with doors and any sort of architectural opening. Well not too many pictures for today, I think the last several posts that had about 20+ pictures was over kill. But don't worry, I am sure it will happen again. I cannot wait to see some more of England tomorrow, and then get home to my nice bed at my flat for another two days before heading out to Cambridge! Super busy week, but I'll manage somehow...

 

Back home in London, for now

 

Today I decided to visit some museums in London, before heading out again on Monday and Tuesday for several impact assessments. I ended up going to the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Natural History Museum. Both are really good museums, though the Natural History Museum's exhibits are more geared towards children. Either way, I really liked visiting both of these (free) museums. The V&A has so many great exhibits and is filled with beautiful art pieces, you could easily get lost and spend hours in the museum, and still not see it all. I would highly recommend visiting the V&A, especially if you like art, and not just portrait paintings or landscapes. These museums are close to Hyde Park too, so on a beautiful day you can go relax in the sun after visiting these museums. Here are some pictures from these two awesome museums!

 

The V&A also has a huge collection of dresses, jewelry, shoes and handbags from all time periods.

 



 

 

He looks so happy.

 

Another great day exploring what London has to offer. There is still so much left to do! I cannot wait to see more of the city, but first, I am off to Newport, Hereford, Telford and West Bromwich to do some impact assessments for the National Churches Trust. I still have a long list of things to see in London, including the interior of Westminster Abbey. Hopefully I will get to see it all (or at least most).

 

 

 

 

Goodbye for now

A little side ways-- I was standing on a bench and leaning over the rail-- safety first...

Bath is probably one of my favorite places in the world now, and I have only been here less than 72 hours. The architecture, the art, the people, are all wonderful. It is an amazing get-a-way, whether you want to see the unique Roman baths, or watch a rugby game. It is a city, a small city, that has an intimate feeling unlike any other city I have been to. Built on several hills, it can be difficult to walk at times, especially if carrying luggage, but the views and the experience is worth it. For my final day I went to the Victoria Gallery, then walked to the Building of Bath Museum for a meeting. Afterwards, I went to the No. 1 Royal Crescent Museum, which gives you a unique insight into life in the Georgian period. I then walked aimlessly around the city before going to Timothy Richards studio. Timothy Richards, and members of his team, are amazing architectural plasterers. After spending nearly two hours at the studio, I learned about their techniques and business, and had some great insight about design and what it means. Overall, all of my experiences in Bath have really solidified my interest in conservation, architecture history and craftsmanship-- something that I will hopefully carry into my future schooling and career. As I wait for my train back to London, I cannot wait to come back to this historical city, see more of its sites, and reconnect with the amazing and helpful individuals I have met here. This has been a great experience, but my trip isn't over yet! I still have time to take the knowledge I have gained here and apply it to my future adventures in London and Rome!

 

Now that I have lost many of you, I will skip ahead to pictures that I have taken today as I wandered around this amazing city.

No. 1 Royal Crescent Timothy Richards plaster model.

 

 

Of course I found an elephant...

 

 

Such a fun day and filled with amazing experiences! I learned so much about the city of Bath, and design and architecture in general. I was even given a hefty book list by the curator of the Building of Bath Collection. I cannot wait to learn more, see more, and actually put this knowledge to work. I hope you all enjoyed my posts of my experience in Bath, keep checking for more England adventures!