One week

On Wednesday 23^rd Kiran, a friend from England arrived in Vienna. A few days before he came, I kindly composed a teaser poster to get him psyched up for his visit.

Kiran arrived in the evening so we dropped off his bags at my apartment and went to Travel Shack to meet the guys. Whilst waiting for the pool table a fairly drunk Austrian girl popped up beside me and mumbled something in German. “Sprichst du Englisch” I instinctively replied. “Yes… well no, not very, where are you from?” she asked. “England” I said, “Oh so it’s true!”, “What’s true?” (no answer) ”Can I give you my sister, she wants you?” she said next (very good English indeed), gesturing over to a less drunk, but far more embarrassed looking girl at another table. I smiled and replied that her sister should have come over herself and that I was here to play pool with my friends. I’m still curious what was “true” about the English.

Arriving home I got to work editing some film Şefkat had helped me shoot earlier for a project due in the next morning – I shouldn’t have procrastinated, but I didn’t compromise on quality and even had 1 hour left to sleep!

Still from the film project which had to include a transportation effect

Obviously architects use this all the time

On Thursday morning Kiran came with me to a Diagrammatische und Hybride Entwurfsmethoden lecture (film editing class) and that night went to Prater Dome. The next day we joined a BBQ at Donauinsel and went for a swim in the river before rushing home early to prepare food for a dinner night I was hosting.

Donauinsel BBQ

I cooked cottage pie with vegetables and gravy. It was a very difficult task to prepare the meal for 12 people with only two hobs and a microwave so the food was ready an hour later than I had initially promised. I had never before made cottage pie – or anything similar – but the result was edible and more importantly everyone had a good time! After the dinner we went on to Gasobar where Kiran and I formed an unbeatable team at pool.

Kiran, Marco and Federico at my English dinner party

On Saturday 26th Kiran, Mỹ-Lan and I went to Heldenplatz to attend the solidarity rally for Tibet and see the Dalai Lama who is travelling around Europe to create awareness for the situation in Tibet.

The Dalai Lama at the Solidarity Rally for Tibet

That night we went to a fancy dress party in the Molkereistraße party room organised by some Spanish students. The party was very boring so we decided to go to Dick Mack’s Irish pub at Schwedenplatz for a foosball tournament with Kiran and Federico against Guillaume and I. The next day I took Kiran around the city center to see the tourist sights of Vienna. In the evening we went out in a group but gradually lost each other at different clubs and pubs until it was just Kiran, Loïc and I in a bar.

Stephansdom transformed by coloured canvas covering the windows

On Monday 28^th Kiran and I visited the Hundertwasserhaus, an expressionist landmark and working residential building in the Landstraße district. We then went to the Schloß Schönbrunn and dragged ourselves around the large landscaped gardens. That night we decided to give ourselves an easy night and went to the Salm Bräu restaurant (very recommendable) in the Belvedere vicinity with Fabian.

Hundertwasserhaus

Tuesday 29^th was Kiran’s last day in Vienna. We left in the morning to get to the City Airport Train at Wien Mitte. Unfortunately we forgot to get a U-Bahn ticket for Kiran (€2 for a single journey) and got checked by the ticket men. They issued a fine of €100 Euros - not likely to be paid by a student leaving the country that day – hopefully Kiran enjoyed his first and last visit to Austria!

You can leave your hat on

On Thursday 17^th Bas, a Dutch Erasmus student, held a “22.5” Birthday party in the theme of ‘Pimps and Hoes’. Federico and I realised it there was a theme at the last moment, so our pimp customs were extremely improvised, unfortunately we forgot to take photos. The next day we found ourselves dressing up again for another party; everyone must wear a hat!

Not having a hat at the ready, I employed my architectural model making skills and fashioned myself a rather trendy top hat from a few empty cereal boxes.

Poisoned Vodka Jelly

On Saturday 19^th I met with Stéphanie and Tiphaine in Museums Quartier for a couple of drinks. The girls ordered their beers and were initially surprised when I asked for just a coke, reaching into my jacket I brought out a bottle of whisky in explanation – I’m a poor student after all (and whiskey is very expensive from the bars here).

Museumsquartier (MQ)

Ich lieg gern im Gras

On Wednesday 9^th I had an exam for ‘Ökologie und nachhaltige Entwicklung’ (Ecology and Sustainable Development). Despite being associated with Architecture on the online course system, the lessons had almost nothing of relevance to architecture; one of the exam questions even asked for the equation for respiration! Later that evening a group of us met up at flex café for a few drinks by the Donaukanal. With the temperature now warmer in the evenings, it was great to sit outside, have a few drinks and chat to new people. Şefkat had a friend to visit from Istanbul and Chris (the Greek) had Patra from Athens. Having lived with a girl from Athens last year, I took the opportunity to show my (very limited) knowledge of Greek.

There is a running joke amongst the Italians that I only know the ‘bad’ words and phrases (they encourage it and I indulge them). Unfortunately for Greek, this is actually true – but I see a positive side – boring things like “how are you” don’t get any laughs. Rule; if you’re only going to learn a few things in a language, make them interesting!

Patra, Me, Epic Photo-bomb Guy

On Thursday night we went to Prater Dome as usual, and then went to Wiener Prater public park to relax and eat a sandwich. The next day was the long planned beer-drinking contest on the Donauinsel. We arrived midday, and with a bit of luck, found an empty public barbeque by the river; these can be reserved online, or you can find one not being used and hope nobody has reserved it – alternatively there are designated ‘grillzones’ where you can make your own fire. It was great to chill in the sun and then dip into the Donaukanal for a swim to cool off - definitely something to do more often.

Fabian, Guillaume, Michel, Pelin, Xavier

It’s a small world

On Monday 30^th April I had another presentation to give on the factory work of Peter Behrens (1868 - 1940). Starting out as a painter and then graphic designer, Behrens had no formal training in architecture, but became a very prominent and influential architectural figure in Germany. His protégés, amongst them Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe, and Le Corbusier, subsequently spread his ideas throughout the world. My chosen topic focused on his work with the Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG – General Electricity Company), arguably his most celebrated achievements are from this collaboration.

Behrens became the first to apply the principles of the ‘Deutscher Werkbund’ of 1907; an alliance between industry and the decorative arts (inspired by the British Arts and Crafts movement), with the aim to produce high quality goods for mass consumption. He initially started by designing marking graphics and domestic products, but later designed AEG factory buildings and workers housing. His co-ordination and consistency within this work generated a unified appearance, establishing a visual identity for the AEG which is now known as ‘corporate identity’.

By far his most celebrated architectural project for the AEG, was his Turbinenfabrik (Turbine Factory, 1910) on the Moabit factory site, which was the principal focus of my presentation. Of interest is the structural system (triple-hinged girder construction) which is articulated on the façade. The building was Behrens’ first industrial building project. It should be noted however that, with Behrens’ inadequate knowledge of engineering for such an undertaking, the design was a collaborative endeavour with engineer Karl Bernhard. Today, due to his work with the AEG, Behrens is often recognised as the father of German industrial design and the founder of corporate identity.

Study of the AEG Turbinenfabrik

That evening I had just got off the U-Bahn at Karlsplatz station and was heading to a design meeting when I spotted a familiar face. Adrian, my housemate during my year in professional practice, was visiting Vienna for a few days. Unfortunately I had caught him on his last day in Vienna, so after chatting for a short while I said farewell and promised to meet up again when back in England. I’m still amazed that I would bump into an old friend so far away from home.