July 3, 2013 by shannonchance

Passage in Toulon

I’d forgotten how much I love Toulon, France. It’s a naval town, and the sister city of Norfolk, Virginia, where I live in the States.

The little plazas–scattered throughout Toulon–are amazing. Full of character and life. And, they are so close together that you’re never more than half a block from a lively public space.

Our Hampton University architecture program has worked with officials and urban planners in Toulon each summer since 2010 to develop design strategies for revitalizing the city using architecture and urban design.

This year’s HU students in the plaza in front of the opera house, on the way to an event.

Reception hosted by the Sister Cities organization in Toulon.

A sketch I made this year of a pedestrian friendly street in Toulon. We got to see inside an apartment on this street in 2010.

This refection photo from Toulon was part of my recent exhibition.

June 29, 2013 by shannonchance

Drawing Conclusions in Paris

Sketching in Luxembourg Gardens

Pam Eddy and I attended the World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology (WASET) International Conference on Higher Education yesterday. We each presented a paper. When the activities wound up, we headed out in different directions. Pam went to hear a lecture at UNESCO that she’s received a special invitation to attend and I went to study the architecture of Paris.

I sketched in the Luxembourg Gardens and in a church that I’d discovered two days before.

Pam and I met back up for dinner with Pam’s husband Dave. After dinner, we strolled through central Paris–discussing things we’d concluded about the city on our earlier explorations.

A discussion group at the conference, lead by Pam.

Luxembourg Gardens

The Pantheon in Paris… feels like Rome.

Sketching in St. Etinnene du Mont church

caratids

Shannon Dave Pam pre-dinner

Dave Pam Shannon dinner

book benches

Passage Vivian by night

June 28, 2013 by shannonchance

Quintessential Paris

An evening reflection from Arrondissement 9 in Paris….

Paris reflection

June 27, 2013 by shannonchance

Pyro-technics at Pont du Gard

The Roman aqueduct, Pont du Gard, lights up once a year for just four nights. And thanks to Hampton University’s Prof. Mason Andrews, I’ve had the chance to see the animated light show twice… once in 2010 (the first year such an event occurred) and now again in 2013.

The 2010 show depicted the history of France. The 2013 show was titled Ulysses the Pirate. The event planners (F Group) expanded the effects significantly over the years–they have added many new pyrotechnics.

This year’s production included some of my favorite animate footage from 2010 (illustrating structural characteristics of the Roman water bridge) as well as animated projections onto a nearby building and cliff face.

Pont du Gard crowd

Pont du Gard pyro-technics

Pont du Gard fireworks

June 27, 2013 by shannonchance

Discovering Uzes, France

I’d never been to Uzes, France even though some of my Hampton University architecture students had. Uzes is home of the famous urbanist, Leon Krier, though we didn’t get to meet him there this year. We often use his book, The Architecture of Community, in my Urban Theory class.

Visiting Uzes made for a wonderful day of learning and exploring. I even wrapped with two decent sketches of my own.

Arriving in Uzes, Mason sent us off…

…into the market…

…and lunch on our own.

Then to work–sketching…

…and discovering details of the town.

Learning to sketch from Ray Gindroz…

…a famous architect and urban designer.

One of my sketches in progress.

A courtyard of Uzes.

A street in Uzes.

A small little plaza along a street in Uzes.

My sketch of the market square, after the market finished.

The trees make this plaza very pleasant.

June 26, 2013 by shannonchance

Arriving in Nimes

Nimes is a beautiful town in southern France that is chock full of Roman artifacts. It’s where I met the Hampton University architecture students, mid-way through their study abroad program in France. I typically organize one of these trips each summer. This year, Prof. Mason Andrews had the whole cohort of third-year architecture students on the trip to France–some years we offer two different trips.

The new plaza outside Nimes’ train station

The organizers of the 2013 Hampton University architecture trip to France: Mason Andrews, Ray Gindroz, and Dave Chance.

A church in Nimes.

The Roman arena in Nimes.

An arch at the Place Marche.

The Masion Caree… freshly renovated.

Dave and his cafe gourmand.

A modern housing complex outside the historic center.

June 24, 2013 by shannonchance

Fête de la Musique

The summer solstice brings throngs of Parisians to the streets. They sing, play, and dance the night away on the longest day of the year. The annual event is called the “fête de la musique” or festival of music. I’ve shown pictures of some street performers, but there are also large-scale events. There were rock bands in St. Eustache all day long, for instance.

This year marked my second fête de la musique in Paris. I was there as part of Hampton University’s architectural study abroad program… my colleague, Prof. Mason Andrews, always makes sure we get to be part of this fun cultural event.

June 24, 2013June 24, 2013 by shannonchance

Paris’ St. Eustache

The interior of St. Eustauche, in central Paris.

The interior of St. Eustache, in central Paris.

Stephanie Bossert Gupton, a friend from my days at Blacksburg High School who is now a professional photographer, responded to an image I posted on Facebook recently. She asked me to post more, so here’s a start (thanks to a decent internet connection and a day to relax in Paris).

This is a panorama taken inside Paris’ church of St. Eustache.

As you can see, I have a lot of fun with my iPhone!

June 1, 2013 by shannonchance

Porto — Obrigado!

One last glimpse of my beautiful Porto and my Fulbright trip there, just before I introduce you to Problem-Based Learning in Belgium….

I travelled half the coast of Portugal during my week-long stay.

I found…

…exquisite architecture…

…elegant detailing…

…and beautiful…

…public spaces.

Not the least of which…

…is Porto’s waterfront…

…which glistens…

…at night.

By the time I hit the airport I was exhausted…

…but did manage to note…

…the beautiful detailing…

…and finally discovered the spelling of “thank you” in Portuguese.

May 29, 2013 by shannonchance

Guimarães: Birthplace of Portugal

Helping with the founding back in 1111 AD. 😉

Guimarães is an architecturally stunning town, and it is the place Portugal was born in the year 1111. Following my visit to the engineering program at the University of Minho and my Fulbright lecture/workshop, my hosts took me to visit the historic center and enjoy lunch in one of its very fine outdoor plazas.