Spring break: Part 2 of...a lot

I keep telling myself I will write an epic post and catch you up on everything we did in Austria.  Unfortunately, I am getting very behind in blogging and I just haven't written the epic post yet.  So this one will have to do.  It's a good start at least. And I will be back with more as soon as I can!!

Wednesday, April 20^th

Well, I am now sitting in the Barcelona airport waiting for my flight back to CPH.  I really thought I would write more posts during the trip but…you probably know how traveling is, not a whole lot of down time and sad to say, blogging was not always the first thing on my mind.  I didn’t have internet in Austria except for the night before we left and then I was only on long enough to know I had a place to stay and a place to meet my cousin Hannah in Barcelona.  Other than that I have been somewhat without internet and completely without my phone service.  Anyway, Friday evening we wrapped up our Austria trip and I flew to Spain.  I guess the easiest thing to do for now would be give you the highlights of Austria before I delve in to the amazingness of Barcelona.  

Here is Austria in a nutshell: 

We did a mixture of academic and cultural visits. Some of our academic visits included a lot of culture too because we were specifically looking at Sustainability IN Austrian Architecture.  All semester we have been looking at projects in the state of Vorarlberg, which is the western-most state in Austria.  It is supposedly the fore runner in sustainable architecture.  It is really neat studying a society and then actually visiting the state and seeing why it is known for its sustainable initiatives.  Our academic visits were the following:

-An architecture firm called Dietrich-Untertrifaller:  We were shown many of their project plans and how they are sustainable through the use of local materials and working with the climate (solar energy, wind energy, ect). 

- An indoor and outdoor theatre called Bregenzer Festspiele (also an important cultural visit):  This theatre is known throughout Europe (maybe even throughout the world) because they put on such unique, spectacular shows.  There are a few indoor stages but the main attraction is the outdoor, floating stage.  It is right on the lake so there is an amazing view.  They have one opera that runs for 2 years at a time.  It performs every night during the one-month long festival in the middle of the summer.  The set is very elaborate (that is why they only change it once every two years) and they just cover it up for the winter and then fix it up again when summer hits.  They have many special effects and a superb sound system so it is a really unique and amazing experience.  Too bad we were not there when one was performing.  I would have loved to see it.  Maybe one day I will take a trip back to Bregenz just to see that.  Here is a photo of the current stage- it is amazing!

We were able to take a guided tour of the Festspiele building and we learned about how the architect added on to the old building in a very unique way that makes the most out of the beautiful scenery, the available light, the indoor stage space and the public area outside the main entrance.  They created a very nice square that people enjoy even if they are not there for a performance.  During the festival it houses a restaurant/bar and some shopping.  This is really the cultural heart of the town. Like I said earlier, Bregenz is about the size of Galesburg but it has a more thriving cultural life than an even larger town like Peoria. People come from all over Europe and all over the world just to experience this stage.  The town has a good economy with lots of newer hotels and restaurants to supply all the tourism.  So Galesburg, I guess this means you better work on building a floating stage out on Lake Storey, right?? 

- Firestation in Wolfurt (small town outside of Bregenz):  From the outside, this building was a little plain. It was made all of concrete and was just a rectangle with one tall tower. 

Despite its plain looks, it was actually a very interesting building.  The architect and the head of the building committee from the community gave us a tour of the station.  It had to be made of concrete because it was located directly beneath electrical wires.  It was very difficult for them to get permission to build underneath the wires in the first place because damage to the wires would be extremely expensive as those wires exported energy to Switzerland and other countries.  Therefore they were only allowed to build so high and it had to be completely fireproof.  A low, concrete building was necessary.  This building was also highly sustainable.  The walls were very thick concrete with insulation and the windows were multiple-paned to keep warmth in.  The firemen in this town are all volunteer so they are not there 24/7.  There are a few rooms where they can relax, talk and eat food after a rescue, so those are heated and there are some conference rooms and offices that are heated, but the big garage for the firetrucks is not heated.  It was vital that they keep the temperature stable but save energy also.  They installed devices that rid the space of exhaust without also losing heat.  If the people working in the firestation do not put effort into closing doors quickly, using natural lights and conserving water, then the energy-saving initiatives might not work.  However, so far the building has been very successful and it is good for the community to see sustainability in a building that is so important to them.   

- A wood company called Berchtold Holzbau:  Just across the road from the Firestation was this company that supplies the wood for houses and builds staircases.  We had a guide (the son of the owner) explaining how the wood is cut and we got to tour the area also.  It smelled so good in there. I could not stop taking deep breaths…you know, that freshly cut wood smell?  Mmm…it was all local wood too and was being cut right there.  

That's it for now. Stay tuned!