Day 49 (5/9/11)

Today we met in the studio nice and early, discussed some logistics for the weeks to come and then met for desk critiques. Last night after my shower (where I always do my best thinking) I did some quick sketches of a possible form for our building. I was interested in how our reversal of the Nolli map to attain solids rather than voids could be illustrated in multiple ways. If the pieces we use were to recreate a condition similar to the map: a very dense mass with small holes punched in it, the reversal would remain intact in that the pieces make up the mass, but would be different since we used pieces rather than a solid. These solids would be lifted off of the ground to create a roof-condition (mimicking the “inside while you are outside” condition that the streets of Rome give off) and to mimic the view of the map from a higher vantage point. The forms would mimic the trees that we have seen all over the place, and the vibe of the space would end up like an “urban forest.”
We discussed this for a little while and came up with some new explanations and some tweaking of the concept before meeting with the professors. They ended up really liking it, especially the program we decided to put in it. After some pointers that should really help our development, we said goodbye and got to work on planning our weekend. A large group of us have been planning a trip to Turin and Milan for a little while, and we finally found some great deals. By signing up for a traveler card (free) we got a half-price ticket to Turin, and the ticket from there to Milan is only ten euro. Once we had found a cheap hostel, we set off for the train station to buy our tickets. We basically shut down the only ticket-buying machine since we were buying for eight people. Everything went as planned, except our return to Rome was slightly changed, so on an off chance we checked for a train directly back to our neighborhood and found a train for only 40 euro!! So for all travel and accommodations our total for the weekend is only 85 euro!!! We are extremely excited and our itinerary should be set pretty soon (if anyone knows of anything or wants anything from these two areas let me know!).
After our adventure with the tickets we stopped at a new gelato place called Ping Pong and got a pretty good deal (tre gusti for only due euro!) before stopping for a suppli (of course) and heading home. After a quick dinner it was time to head back out to Renzo Piano’s auditorium for an orchestral concert that we got tickets for as a group! We took a bus out to a stop for the Metro, took that to Termini station, and then took a subway out to a train station, which we took back to the awesome church we saw on day 38 (I still love it!) before finally making it to the auditorium. I was pretty excited to see the “pill-bugs” all lit up, but unfortunately there wasn’t really anything happening outside. However, all was not lost since we finally got to move past the ring of the entry area! The staircase up (we are in the very highest seats) was pretty great, and the moment when we walked into the auditorium was amazing!!
The view down to the main stage was breathtaking due not only to the beautiful light and warmth of the space, but because of the steepness of the angle down. The entire interior was made of beautifully crafted wood, and the design of the roof looked like an inverted turtle shell with the lumps over-articulated. Sadly, the lighting made all of my pictures come out orange, but they still look pretty good. The structure that held the lighting and sound mechanics was pretty great, and although there was a lot of it there, it really didn’t affect the space very much. My seat ended up being the exact middle of the very back row, which was actually pretty amazing since I came to listen rather than watch; therefore I got to enjoy the grand view of the entire space! The performance was pretty great, they did a few short pieces (no one clapped in between and I couldn’t figure out how they knew when to clap!) before a guy came out and lead them on cello through a half-hour composition with no music!!! He then did a solo piece that put me to sleep a little bit but I got nice and refreshed during intermission. The second half was a fantastic Brahms piece that was pretty epic so it kept me up!
After the show was over we walked back and caught a bus to Termini station and then a second bus back home! It was a pretty amazing night and by the time we got back we were all exhausted so after some goofing around we all went to bed.