Posts in the ‘Fun!’ Category

AAI Student Rep for UCD, Amy O’Connor on a recent trip to London

The first year architecture students from UCD embarked on a class trip to London last week. Although the trip was only for one night, the excitement at the airport was palpable. Many of the students had never been to London and those who had been were looking forward to seeing some familiar sites as well as some new ones. 

The trip started off shakily when the pre-booked coach didn't show up to the airport. Despite this little mishap the group piled onto a train and headed into the city enthusiastic nonetheless. On arrival at the impressive Liverpool Street Station (designed by engineer Edward Wilson) we divided and went to find our hostels. That afternoon we met at the British Museum for a short look-around. We were all thoroughly impressed with Norman Foster's glass-roofed 'Great Court' and spent the time sketching and photographing the glazed roof and reading room in the centre. After this we walked to the John Soane Museum where we were booked in for the next two hours. 

If I was to advise on one must-see London building for architecture enthusiasts it would have to be the Soane House. The house is an incredible maze through the three houses John Soane bought and the numerous extensions and refurbishments that he designed and commissioned throughout his lifetime. Highlights include the 'Dome Room' which is full of plaster casts and models that Soane collected, the gallery room in which the walls open out to display concealed paintings, and the candle-lit crypt below which houses the sarcophagus. Overall the building is full of nooks and crannies, narrow passageways and complex methods of illuminating the spaces. It was an amazing experience and I would definitely go again if given the opportunity. 

Having seen the building we came to see the group went on a walking tour down through the city. We stopped briefly at Covent Gardens, Leicester Square and the National Portrait Gallery Situated there, and Trafalgar Square before meeting the rest of our class at the National Theatre. Here, among the array of restaurants and bars, we had dinner and a few drinks before going out for the night. 

The next day we arrived bright and early to the Tate Modern art gallery. For me this was the highlight of the trip. There was a Gauguin exhibition going on, as well as Ai Weiwei's Unilever Series which includes the piece 'Sunflower Seeds 2010'. This piece encompasses a large part of the room by filling it with ceramic seeds that the artist made. An unusual moment occurred when a man hopped over the small wire barricade to sit in the middle of the vast pit of seeds whilst ranting about art being not being accessible to the public (the piece was deemed unfit for the public to walk on due to the dust that arises from the ceramic). In addition to this we visited some of the permanent collections and saw (among others) artists such as Dali and Warhol. All in all a brilliant morning. 

Before we made the trip back to the airport, we took a walk through the Barbican. This is an area of London which was designed with a view to urban planning. The thousands of residents have in their vicinity schools, shops, an art gallery, a library, a theatre and impressive gardens to name but a few amenities. The centre was designed by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon in the Brutalist style and is an impressive area to visit. It was voted "London's ugliest building" in a poll in 2003 and it's not hard to see why. 

So finally we returned to Ireland, exhausted, with empty stomachs and full notebooks.