Re-envisioning Rio Vinalopo

Rivers have historically shaped how cities develop, therefore protecting landscapes that are part of a cities natural fabric are vital in preserving a cities identity. It is interesting to see how a river with a diminished water flow has been transformed into a recreation area and outdoor art gallery. Elche turned a river crisis into a transformative urban space for its residents to reutilize. As the city experienced drastic droughts leading to the abandonment of the river. The city of Elche was able adapt to this environmental change and address this issue by constructing hiking trails and bridge pathways throughout the city to connect residents to the river. This intervention circumvented the abandonment of this space and created a new purpose for the river as a public space. As cities become strained by environmental changes, I believe that it is detrimental to our health and well being to maintain connections to the natural world.

Rodrigo Ramirez

American Food Chains in Europe
-Leslie Gonzalez

Traveling through Europe - Amsterdam, Netherlands, Berlin, Germany, and Prague, Czech Republic - during our independent week travels definitely held a different experience at each of the three locations. However, the one thing I noticed was the same in all three countries was that American food chains had found their way into these old cities. Before coming to Europe for the first time, I knew American food chains were very large so they could be found internationally but I never really acknowledged this fact because it wasn't visible to me, but when I saw it, it really changed the way I saw Europe. I always had in mind that since Europe was a place with such a deep history and culture, there would be no correlation in the businesses that originated in the United States and their food.

I was very mistaken to think this way because I probably ran across a Dunkin' Donut, Taco Bell, McDonald's and Burger King, in every city my group and I visited. I was disappointed to think that beautiful, old, architecturally and culturally rich cities like these had American food chains instead of having more businesses that accentuated their culture and foods. I even had trouble figuring out which foods originated in the cities we visited and finding places that sold these authentic foods.

I attempted rationalizing why Europeans would allow this on happening. I then understood that with the large amounts of tourism and popular businesses, people are attracted to these sort of places and this creates profit for the food chains but also the cities. This made me ask myself: is the culture still preserved in these cities with the incorporation of American businesses, and not only with the food businesses but also with clothing stores? How do these stores affect the evolution of these cities?

I feel as if it isn't the same as it used to be in these European cities, everything is becoming more about tourism and not so much about the culture of places anymore, but there needs to be a way to integrate both the original culture and the culture that is becoming because change is inevitable and American chains are bound to continue spreading. 

El Castillo de Guardamar???
-Leslie Gonzalez

Usually, when you think of a castle, you imagine it as an extraordinary palace where royalty lived and ruled. However, El Castillo de Guardamar is a place that overlooks the city of Guardamar, but only that, it is an urban space that now is not used or visited by the people of the city. Despite its archaeological reconstruction and preservation that is currently happening, there isn't much emphasize to this landmark.

The number of important landmarks in Guardamar del Segura is impressive. From the Castle to the archaeological ruins, the history of Guardamar lies in many cultures through the progression of time. However, the people of Guardamar don't seem to acknowledge the richness of history that the city contains.  If the castle were implemented in more of the events and festivals, the people of the city and visitors would be more aware of what this site holds. It is as if it's past is gone and no ritual or tradition that was once held at the castle can be replicated as part of a tradition at Guardamar. The view from the castle is looking down on a city that has forgotten where it came from [to a certain extent]. With simple actions, such as the citizens of Guardamar going up to the castle more often or exposure and reference to the castle around the city, this site would become popularized and its history would relieve once again.

I do realize that the people of Guardamar have most likely been to the castle at least once in their lives, and this is the reason they don't return, especially because there really isn't much to do there, but when you have something available at the tips of your fingers for so long, one tends to take it for granted and forget it is even there so it makes sense that appreciation for what is there is also now lost. An intervention, just as the one we came up for the archaeological ruins, would benefit not only the castle but also the city and its people as a whole because then any castle traditions that have died could come back to life. An intervention such as a gathering space near the castle or right outside its perimeter could help, just as long as people are physically close to this rich site.

....so is this what defines a place to be a castle or what does???

Architecture in the Mediterranean (Urban Spaces)

Mediterranean architecture is like poetry. It tries to say everything without really saying it. One takeaway that I remember from our class's visit to the University of Alicante is that a hallmark of a Mediterranean building is finding ways to bridge the outside and inside while still clearly defining a building. For example, at the University of Alicante, the architecture department connects several parts of a single building using covered walkways. Although the walkways are open to the outside air and to the elements, they still very much contain a feeling of being "within" the building, due to its structure and design.

Similarly, the Caixa Forum in Madrid is an example of defining a plaza without setting up a clear perimeter. Instead it defines the plaza's edges through the ceiling, with the overhanging building defining what is "in" the plaza or not.

Section view of the Caixa Forum in Madrid.

The urban spaces in Spain are meant for ritual, both the mundane and the spectacular. Plazas are built for the daily walks around the block that residents routinely take. But they're also built for the grand, wild bonfires that happen once every year. During the midday siesta, they're empty, burning hot concrete spaces that teens loiter on. The urban spaces really come alive during these majestic ceremonies, but they breathe when they host their everyday, normal ceremonies.

This being our last day in the class, I have to say that I'll miss everyone dearly. I'm so thankful for this summer for teaching me to think a different way and for forever changing the way I look at cities in the future. Thank you to Alejandro, Heidi, Bernie, and Iris for being fantastic instructors, to my classmates for being great people to learn with and from, and to the lovely staff at the Pension and at Movellan for feeding our hungry selves and always having a smile on their faces. It was an amazing summer, and I'm so happy to have spent it with you all!

- cynthia

(blog 2/3)

Bye Guardamar!

            It is approximately 2:04am on Wednesday, July 31, 2019. We have just gotten back from an all-day trip to [redacted in case Alejandro wants to surprise the next class]. Today is my last day in Guardamar del Segura.

            I’ll admit, I was a little dismayed when I saw the program was based in a little coastal town that no one has heard of, but now Guardamar has a place in my heart. I’m actually glad that the program wasn’t based in Madrid or Barcelona. It’s the small towns like Guardamar, Santa Pola, Elche, Toledo, Segovia… that really captured my heart. You can see Spain for what it really is; cobble stone roads, old castle walls, history of the past conquests. This is what I wanted to see. Not Five Guys or Burger Kings or any other chain I can find in American cities. I can’t put my tongue on it, but je ne sais quoi. 

            Looking back, it all feels surreal that I’ve spent 2 months in Spain; whether it was digging for pottery, taking a ferry to Tabarca, avoiding getting hit by cars in Toledo or running away from a costumed Chucky character in Madrid. I won’t get to say ‘Buenas’ to Vincente, the owner of the Pension, nor “Me pones…” to the extremely nice waiters at Café Movellan, or ‘Perdon’ to the townspeople as they pass me by to get to the mercadillo. I’ve developed a certain routine coming here, and it makes me a little teary that I’ll finally leave this place. I’ve had a lot of experiences coming here (getting my money stolen, going to a hospital at 1am in Granada, etc…) but as much as I said I wanted to go home, I don’t regret studying abroad here at all. It’s bittersweet to leave because I’ve gotten close to some people, even Alex, and it’s strange to go our separate ways. Some people are going on to graduate school, others are coming back to Berkeley, but I am going to miss living together with my friends and coming down to the Pension for lunch. Spain is a beautiful country, and I am definitely coming back when I have the opportunity to.

Building Communities Through Plazas

During the first interaction and lecture with Alejandro, he discussed the concept of an occupational hazard in Madrid. The occupational hazard of an architect is the inability to be a “tourist.” Architects continuously analyze spaces wherever they go, making them unable to visit a place for pleasure and take in the “prettiness” of a space.

As our initial studies and observations in Madrid focused heavily on the plazas that remain key tourist attractions in the city, I easily became intrigued with the concept of plazas and the use of this urban public space in Spain. After examining, sketching, and studying plazas in Madrid, Segovia, Toledo, and Valencia and the cultural, historical, and sociological significance of those plazas to each city, I quickly became aware of the use of these spaces by locals and tourists and its relationship to shaping the surrounding community.

Upon arriving in Guardamar, I immediately realized the lack of plazas and its use in the community compared to the other cities we visited before. The first plaza that we encountered in Guardamar was the open rectangular space with white plastic palm trees. Although we came across this location during mid-day, the plaza was empty and quiet even with the few restaurants that surrounded the area.

In addition to the month-long observations of the city, while living in Guardamar, our Guardamar project proposal helped me realize the importance of plazas once again. We proposed a multi-leveled plaza in our project due to its ability to improve social communities. From the locals gathering at the same restaurant and coffee shop each morning for breakfast, older women with grocery bags chatting in the corner of a small street, and grandparents people-watching outside in the patio, there exists a sense of community in Guardamar that we were not able to see in big cities like Madrid. However, even with these strong social connections, we still believe in the power and cruciality to create a designated space for these social interactions for both locals and tourists.

As I slowly saw myself adopting the occupational hazard of architects, the ability to analyze these urban settings are pivotal in our understanding of how a city works and the relationship of a space with its community. I am now extremely excited to observe urban spaces in Berkeley as I now comprehend the powerfulness of a plaza. The next time I come across Sproul Plaza, I will understand the intentions of the architect in creating an urban public space that encourages a strong community within our university.

- Julia

(Blog 4/4) 

Self-consciousness of the Racial Minority

Self-consciousness of the Racial Minority - Miles Yun

Throughout my entire life so far, I've never lived in a place for an extended period of time where I wasn't surrounded by a plethora of Asian people. Born in Seoul, South Korea, I spent my first year there under my grandparent's care. Then moving to Palo Alto, I lived in Stanford Graduate Housing where my friends were other graduate students' children. After my father completed his doctorates, we moved down to a highly Asian populated suburban city in Los Angeles. And when college came around, I ended up at UC Berkeley, an institution known for its high asian population.

I always had the intention of finishing my college tenure with a study abroad experience, but I always imagined and thought of the cultural exposure I would receive, and the sites I will experience and see. What I didn't consider was the interactions I would have with the people of the country or region I would visit.

Towards the beginning of the trip, traveling through densely populated, high tourist attracting cities and areas, the presence of an Asian male walking through the streets did not capture any attention. However, as we reached the small, coastal city of Guardamar, I began to attract much attention. Every time I walked down the street, the elderly Guardamarian population turn their heads and examine me walk as if I were an exotic beast. I felt this the most when I went to Total Fitness (the gym in Guardamar). Every time I went in to get a quick workout done, the entire gym would start eyeing me, from the tip of toes to the top of my head. If it were glances, perhaps I would have been less uncomfortable, but they weren't even remotely discrete. Even when I stare back, the eyes would stay locked on me.

My initial reaction to all this unwanted and seemingly judgmental attention was anger and resentment. But I realized that it isn't necessarily entirely their fault. Humans are attracted to novelty by nature and a Korean male walking around and working out in a remote, coastal city of Spain is pretty novel. Although I do believe that people should be cognizant of the uneasiness their attention creates for the "novel" people, I also understand that their perception of a specific group of people, Asians in this case, is almost solely based on me, and watching me is one of their rare chances to perceive the Asian race. As a result, not only did I feel uneasy whenever I attracted unwanted attention, but also I felt a burden and responsibility for all the other Koreans in the entire world in regards to the people of Guardamar's opinion and perception of my people.