First, we began our day by walking through the Garden of Luxembourg, a beautifully perfected garden. There we were able to look at a French Senate building, and start our morning with classic French architecture, a perfect example of mansard roofs and their stylistic significance to engaging the skyline. Afterward, we walked to Notre Dame, studying the outside of the building before entering the cavernous space inside and sketching its details. In this part of the city, we were able to take in the view of Paris’ amazing bridges crossing the Seine. From there, Sergio, Clive, and Rudy led us through the city to Renzo Piano’s Building Workshop. This had an incredible street side model shop and an otherwise unassuming facade. After waiting in anticipation, we finally were let in and were able to tour the studio with one of Sergio’s past students from UT Austin. It was, safe to say, considerably the most fantastic studio any of us had ever seen.
Following, it was time to break for lunch, where we all went separate ways and then met back at the Pompidou where we were able to eat and sketch one of Piano’s works. This provided a perfect transition into further navigation of the built environment, when we ended outside the Louvre and broke for the night.
PSU ARCH HAITI PROJECT 