This is the St. Antoine Hospital Kitchen located in Paris, France. This building was designed by architect Henri Ciriani and was completed in 1985.

The building  features a courtyard and utilizes brick and glass block as its primary construction materials. Ciriani applied his signature approach to architecture in the St. Antoine Hospital Kitchen by “carefully maintaining the street line with cut-outs and a framing device at the upper levels that forms a screen to the building behind.”  These elements are in many of his modern buildings he has designed.

Ciriani’s design for the St. Antoine Hospital Kitchen was nominated for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture (EU Mies Award) in 1988.

References:

https://eumiesaward.com/work/1263

https://books.google.com/books?id=LmFooNzPaN0C&pg=RA2-PP1&lpg=RA2-PP1&dq=St.+Antoine+Hospital+kitchen+building+in+Paris&source=bl&ots=Ht5-AoeT-W&sig=ACfU3U2obANyPkADtmokdpQAfgESHOuGKg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjvjOHq3eboAhVS-qwKHZFPCr8Q6AEwDXoECA8QKA#v=onepage&q=St.%20Antoine%20Hospital%20kitchen%20building%20in%20Paris&f=false

This is the Museum of the Great War located in Peronne, France. This is a very unique structure because the modern museum was designed around and incorporates a 13^th century castle in Peronne. The castle is located at the heart of where battles were fought during World War One also referred to as the Great War. The castle marks the entrance to the museum and is a symbolic site of WW1 history and culture. The permanent exhibition in the modern part of the museum was designed by architect Henri Ciriani and was completed in 1992.Ciriani became the architect for this project after he entered into an architectural competition in 1987 and won. Ciriani used white concrete, to emphasize “the nobility of the material, on the same level as stone, brick and marble.” The white concrete structure creates a unique building that looks modern and clean. Ciriani utilized stilts in his design and incorporated a lot light inside the building to erase any effects of heaviness linked to the use of concrete.This is the biggest museum in Europe about WW1. The website for the Historial de la Grande Guerre describes that “The historial was designed by Henri-Edouard Ciriani who used its architecture to express with great emphasis, the building’s vocation, which is to explain the history of WW1in a different manner, without reducing it to battles alone.”

References:

https://www.historial.fr/en/presentation-2/around-the-historial/

https://books.google.com/books?id=XEYEDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA56&lpg=PA56&dq=contest+to+build+historial+de+la+grande+guerre+museum&source=bl&ots=uWJgVcfR_Q&sig=ACfU3U01OzbmotjRtOUbC2vuYu979iLDGw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjLgOHvqOboAhUQSK0KHRbdBNEQ6AEwAHoECAsQKA#v=onepage&q=contest%20to%20build%20historial%20de%20la%20grande%20guerre%20museum&f=false

This is San Felipe Residential Complex that was designed by a team of architects that included architect Henri Ciriani. The project was completed by the Peruvian National Housing Board during the years 1962 through 1969 and was strategically constructed on land of high economic value in Lima, Peru. This is an important work for architect Henri Ciriani because this complex is still considered one of the most important housing projects in Peru.

The Residencial San Felipe is described as an urban project aimed at the middle class. The project “would put into practice new concepts of modernity”, and provided a housing solution and opportunities to people that would otherwise not be able to afford their own home in such a central location in the city of Lima.

This housing project was built in three phases. Ciriani designed the first version of the project along with architect Mario Bernuy, that is located on the southwestern corner of the land. This part of the project included 268 homes that were divided into three types: flats in towers, duplex apartments, and two- story townhomes.

References:

https://www.plataformaarquitectura.cl/cl/787669/clasicos-de-arquitectura-residencial-san-felipe-enrique-ciriani-mario-bernuy-jacques-crousse-oswaldo-nunez-luis-vasquez-nikita-smirnoff

This is an Archeological Museum located in Arles, France. The museum was designed and built by French/Peruvian architect Henri Ciriani.

Ciriani designed this modern triangular, blue ceramic-clad  building in 1984, and the structure was completed and opened in 1995. This museum houses a large collection of artifacts that date to back to prehistoric times, and go through the end of 6^th century. The Museum features a terrace which gives visitors a view of the building’s triangular shape.

The museum’s website describes that Henri Ciriani’s “triangular layout symbolically incarnates three functions”.

• The transmission and presentation of collections to the public;
• Conservation and restoration, with a mosaic conservation and restoration workshop and an archeology laboratory;
• The reception of different kinds of publics (visits, workshops, internships)

When I was looking on Tripadvisor.com to gather more information about this modern building, I found that most reviews loved one particular artifact, the 2000 year old Roman boat that is on currently on display. However, upon further research I found an interesting article that summarized the law suit in which Henri Ciriani sued the museum owners because his “intellectual-property rights were violated by an expansion project that altered his original design”. The  suit argued that the Arles Archeological Museum “added on to the structure in 2011 without his consent”

The “rectilinear box” was added to one of the buildings corners to house the Roman boat.  

Because this building in one of Ciriani’s most prominent works, the architect argued that he should have been consulted about the changes made to his original design. The French court agreed with Henri Ciriani and he was awarded a settlement for damages.References:

https://www.paintsquare.com/news/?fuseaction=view&id=9074

This is Pompeii, an ancient city located near Naples, Italy. I could not choose a specific building because the entire city as a collective was just so impressive. The city was buried in ash for several centuries due to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, so many structures are well preserved and each building told a different part of the story. The architecture gave me a peak in the life of people that inhabited this area almost two thousand years ago.

There are a variety of buildings, the most impressive ones for me were the elegant homes of the wealthy that included beautifully preserved courtyards, fountains and frescoes. The bath houses were also something to be admired because I could not believe that the infrastructure and technology was available for such efficient water distribution. Although, part of the tour did state that lead pipes that created such magnificent bath houses and fountains were also harmful to the residents of Pompeii because they were made out of lead.

Two other buildings that also caught my eye were the Temple of Apollo and a brothel. The temple is not as well preserved as some of the other buildings; however, it features columns, podiums and steps that just make the temple look important and highlight the influence of Roman and Greek architecture. Another feature that makes the Temple of Apollo stand out is its location, the temple is centered to align with Mount Vesuvius, so it makes for an impressive sight to have such a powerful force of nature be the backdrop for a building. The second building that caught my eye was one of the brothels in town, because it shows that architecture serves all kinds of purposes, and honestly, I was not expecting to see this kind of building featured in the tour. The brothel had many small rooms with beds that also included a pillow made out of stone.

The entire city of Pompeii is a great experience.  I loved being able to see the purpose that architecture served in this ancient town, the materials used for construction, and how the ingenuity of the builders of Pompeii created such a magnificent city.

This is the basilica of the Sagrada Familia. I took my first trip to Europe in early March of 2016 and absolutely fell in love with the city of Barcelona, the architecture, the food, and the slower pace of life made Barcelona a great city to explore. Prior to my trip to Barcelona, I had never heard of the Sagrada Familia or even seen a picture of this highly beautiful and ambitious project. However, as soon as I arrived in the city, the Sagrada Familia became a focal point in the city for me, and I had to find out more.

The Sagrada Familia simply cannot be missed if one is visiting Barcelona. The size of the structure alone, the unique and intricate gothic design and even the simple color make it completely stand out in the landscape, even in a city that is already filled with such unique architecture.

The experience of visiting this structure was absolutely positive, although when I first arrived at the basilica, I found out it was an active construction zone and was a bit hesitant. I was still very curious, so I purchased a ticket for a tour for the next day. After, a two hour wait in line I finally went inside the basilica and WOW was it worth the wait. The Sagrada Familia was unbelievable! I felt incredibly small in the huge interior of the basilica. With a ceiling that seems to go on forever, beautiful stained glass that lit up the room with amazing colors, and so many intricate details in the design, it was difficult to not to be completely overwhelmed with the experience.  There are so many particular details in the tour, and the architecture design itself that it was difficult to take it all in, the entire time I was just blown away that someone would have the inspiration for such a spectacular building.

The Sagrada Familia is still under construction and has been for the last century, but the spectacular interior and the unfinished outside of this structure are still absolutely beautiful and worth the visit.  I hope to return and see the finished masterpiece!

I visited the Amazon Spheres located in Seattle, Washington in June of 2018. The Spheres is a conservatory made up of three glass domes that come together to create one amazing building.

The largest sphere is like a beautiful tree house that is enclosed in a glass, and is temperature controlled. As soon as I walked inside, I was met with a soothing waterfall, a comfortable temperature and lush greenery that was brought in from all over the world. The building made me feel like I was somewhere tropical and was a nice escape from the gloomy and cold Seattle temperature (even though it was June). There are pathways that take you through the various ecosystems and allow visitor to enjoy the plants up close, the pathways even took me to a giant birds nest that hosts meetings for Amazon employees. There is a total of four levels at the Spheres, and the higher I went up to the higher the temperature increased, and the sunshine became more plentiful. At the highest point in the Spheres, II found some lounge chairs and the atmosphere reminded me of taking in some sun in Los Angeles, which was both familiar and calming for me. I enjoyed all the features of this building including the many lounging areas and coffee shop, however the feature that most caught my eye was the vertical garden wall that is in the center of the building and spans all 4 floors, it was beautiful.This is one of the most interesting and unique buildings that I have ever been in. The Spheres were designed to serve as an employee lounge and workspace for Amazon employees, so its limited primarily to Amazon employees. I was fortunate enough to attend with my brother in law and was extremely envious because my work lounge looks nothing like this.

I am absolutely amazed by this ambitious building and loved their innovation to create a space that is both beautiful and functional. I loved going inside the Spheres and wanted to live there!

This is the Griffith Observatory located in Los Angeles, CA. This building has affected me in a very positive way, throughout my life. My first interaction with this building was when I went on a school field trip when I was seven years old. I remember being so impressed with the building itself because it looked so different with its unique architecture and the planetarium dome. I thought that the observatory looked so futuristic, however later that day I found out that this structure had a long history and had actually been completed in 1935. The interior of the building however was not as impressive as the exterior. The building was kind of run down and the space exhibits were underwhelming. However, I still appreciated the location of the building, and I was so excited to be so high up on the mountains overlooking the entire city.

One of my most prominent memories related to the Griffith Observatory was how big of a deal it was when the city announced that the building would be closed for a period of four years for renovation. Citizens took this building for granted and loved visiting and were outraged that the building would be closed for that long. However, the city of Los Angeles realized that the building was worthy of restoration, and the almost 100 million dollars that would be spent so that future of citizens of the city could further enjoy this building.

Over the years, I visited this building many times. I have many good many memories of meeting up with friends and hiking from the base of Griffith park the whole way up to the Observatory. The Griffith Observatory to me represents a quintessential Los Angeles building, reminds me of my childhood, and to this day is still a building that catches my attention.