FIELD TRIP

As a part of our architectural lectures we take a field trip every Wednesday to an area around Como via chartered bus. One of our professors is an architect, as well as a boat designer and he was able to arrange a tour of the Tullio Albate boat fabrication shop in the mountains North of Como. We were able to see how the boats were assembled, repaired and how the fiberglass molds were made. While we were there they were currently working on the fabrication of a race boat and we got to watch as they laid down the fiberglass into the mold. The process is long and slow as each layer is applied with a coat of resin and layered with fiberglass sheets.

Fiberglass molds

We also got to peek into the woodshop where the templates are made and the test pieces are assembled.

After we made our way through the shop we all loaded back on the bus and headed down to the lake to see where the boats are launched. Thanks to our professors’ connections, Tullio Albate’s son took all sixteen of us for a ride in a 1500 horsepower Power boat. With two V-12 motors in the back the boat had no trouble carrying all sixteen of us and I was thankful to be in the front because it was a rough ride. We hauled ass out on the water with the front end high in the air and every time we would hit a wake the boat felt as if it went flying through the air and would hit the water with a smack. Almost everyone was sitting in the back of the boat with only each other to hold on to… luckily we made it back to the dock without anyone going overboard. While we were out on the water I took a short video that I think captures how fast we were going. Be sure to watch everyone on the back of the boat…

Tullio Albate, boat manufacture on Lake Como.

2 V-12 motors, 1500 horsepower

When we went to Bellizona over the weekend and we didn’t realize that it was going to be part of our field trip today. This time we explored the Castle, got a history lesson along the way from our professor and saw a few other buildings we missed the first time. Of course while we were in Switzerland we bought some more chocolate and then it was back on the bus.

View from under the Castle wall...

Just down the road was a famous little town, Montecarasso that was master planned by an Architect named Snozzi. He reconfigured the building regulations and made many changes that were influential to the cities development. Montecarasso can be described as a city that has been developed under the banner of “New Urbanism” but I think according to Snozzi it is a result of common sense and functionality. I really enjoyed the short time we were in Montecarasso because I am really interested in urban development and the town stands as an example of the impact an architect can make on an urban scale. This type of urban thinking is the future of our cities, and I think we will start to see more towns like them popping up in the U.S. and before long there will be a few with my name on them.

Montecarasso, Switzerland

The Mayor's house, designed by Snozzi.

Our next stop was a granite quarry up in the mountains and I was extremely excited to get there. The quarry was full of activity and we got to see many of the various stages of the process from blasts in the mountain to the water polishing techniques. It was incredible to see how one of the workers was able to take a large block of granite and break it into narrow strips with only a chisel, hammer and a few wedges. One of the most amazing sights was the huge carbon blade used to cut the large rocks into narrow slabs- soon to become kitchen counters.

We were trying to take a souvenir home...

At the end of the day we stopped by a house our professor designed and we got a private tour. Perched on the edge of a mountain over looking Lake Como, the house had an amazing view and I was able to get a couple great pictures when the sun went down. The clients had asked for a few proposals from different architects and our professor decided to submit a wild idea because he had plenty of work at the time, and he won the commission. Our professor told us that, “I happened to find a client that was even crazier than I was”… from my experience all clients are crazy!

Well that was the end of our day and it was a great one!