Wrapping It Up

My summer studio is officially over - my final studio within the landscape architecture program at UC Denver. This design proposed an urban-agricultural community incorporating residential, industrial, commercial, and mixed-use buildings. We wrapped up everything yesterday and had a nice farewell dinner with our group and said goodbye (for now) to all our new Chinese friends.

Here are a few members of my group (TA10+) presenting the overall master plan before our professors and two guest reviewers.

My dorm roommate John presenting his sweet metro system design. 

Studio Nanjing 2012 Pin-ups & Sight-seeing

Last Friday we had our first studio pin-ups from our three 10-person studio groups. We had to put together a framework plan with circulation, land-use, design principles and a vision statement. It was a lot of work to coordinate between ten oft-opposing opinions, but we made it work.

 Here's Alexander showing his group's ideas. Tons of plans and diagrams in about three days of work. This was just the pre pin-up before our "formal" Monday presentations. 

 Andy presenting our group's "Urban Agriculture" master plan. We have a  pretty solid team of urban designer, urban planners, architects, and landscape architects from both the SEU and UCD students. Our self-given nickname is 'team awesome,' or TA10+ for short. 

 Taylor (John) presenting his group's big idea with Shigeki and Lin. 

We have been working a lot, but are still taking time to see the city. This is a view of the Xuanwu Lake from the city wall. 

 Here is a view of a Chinese temple from the city wall with the world's 6th-tallest tower - the Zifeng tower- looming in the fog behind. China's cities have proven to be a contrasting blend of the old and the new.

And here's me at Fuzi Miao - a Confucius Temple in Nanjing surrounded by shops and touristy things. It was re-built in the 80's like just about every 'historic' Chinese tourist attraction.

Nanjing and Southeast University

After a long week in Shanghai full of sites and firm walk-throughs, we boarded the hi-speed rail to Nanjing. This is a second-tier city and has a slower pace of life than that of Shanghai - although the population is well over 6 million. It is also much warmer and drier than Shanghai; yesterday's high was 99F with a humidity between 80 and 90%. Here I am at the golden wishing tree in front of the Confucius Temple.

 We are joining forces with a group of design students from Southeast University, a prestigious institute of 26,000 known throughout China, to work through a one-month urban design studio. The campus is very nice with neo-classical stone buildings, large grass quads, and hundred-year-old plane trees planted in 1925, in memory of Sun Yat Sen. 

This project will entail the master-planning of a long, narrow section on the South border of the ancient city wall. Here we are in our studio space listening to a presentation from the Urban Planning Bureau of Nanjing. SWOT analysis anyone?!

Chinese Lessons, Xintandi and the Planning Museum

This morning's Chinese language instruction class. Ni Hao. Wo Shao han yu!

It's actually more simple than I thought - no verb tense conjugation. Although the four tones and the soft tone are difficult to master. 

 Yesterday on a visit to Xintandi, a refurbished "longtang" neighborhood consisting of shikumen housing - a westernized version of the traditional courtyard housing. Now it is an ultra-posh pedestrian promenade, also the home of Shanghai's first Starbucks. Btw, a latte there costs 35 rmb, about 6 bucks US. WTF?

 This afternoon we checked out the Shanghai Urban Planning Museum where they have a scale model of the entire city complete with lighted skyscrapers and all the bells and whistles.

Inception

 Good morning Shanghai. This is the view out of my friend's apartment in the Changning district. I got into town around 9pm last night and went out for a Japanese meal and an impromptu walking tour of the area with Will, my friend from high school. It's always good to have some guanxi - connections. 

On my way....

I'm on my way out of the "west" and off to the west coast for a connection in Los Angeles. This is just the beginning of my journey to the Far East, where I'll be arriving tomorrow evening. I'm on little sleep, and probably had too many last night celebrating with friends, but I am excited to embark on this monumental trip. Shanghai, here I come! (Please pardon my clichés)

My long-awaited return to the land of the Giant Sea Cucumber

Off I go again, to the motherland of noodles, sake, and cheap tech gadgets. This time I am embarking on a study-abroad trip with UC Denver's Urban Design department. China's urban centers are growing at a rate we'll never experience in the US, and is therefore the perfect laboratory for learning from new ideas (both good and bad). I am leaving bright and early this Thursday for what I expect to be an eye-opening experience in the far east. First, we are off to Shanghai to see some recent projects as well as historic sites. Then we are headed to Nanjing, the nation's former capital, for a 4-week studio project on the outskirts of the ancient city walls. Stay tuned for more...