We would like to start off by extending our deepest sorrows for the horrific incident that happened in Manchester this week. It was heartbreaking to see the country at such a terrible time, but also incredible to see the people come together in strength. Please keep all of those affected by this tragedy in your thoughts and prayers. Day 5Buckingham Palace Changing of the Guards...NOT | We came to Buckingham Palace today to see the "Changing of the Guard Ceremony" which only occurs every other weekday...unfortunately, they cancelled the ceremony! It was still lovely to see the palace on such a beautiful morning. Piccadilly Circus & China Town | Piccadilly Circus is such a bustling area! It was really cool to see all of the theaters they have in this area. We also visited an AWESOME Chinatown! We saw people walking around with these scrumptious looking desserts and couldn't resist. We present to you...the "Bubble Waffle"!!! It is a waffle cone (with bubbles, of course), filled with gelato and all kinds of delicious toppings. It was well worth every penny! "Platform 9 and 3/4" | We stopped by the train station to find the Platform to Hogwarts! Foster + Partners Firm Tour | Today, we were given the great opportunity to visit a major London (and worldwide) architecture firm, Foster + Partners. The firm was HUGE! They have a massive campus, with 5 buildings. Our wonderful tour guide, Miguel Vidal, showed us the largest building, informing us that the London office has 1,300 employees. There were so many things we loved about this office: it had a fantastic open plan with a lot of natural light. There aren't any closed off, private offices (that we noticed), creating a feeling of openness. This firm boasts their sustainable design standards, with a 'green team' specific for ensuring that all projects meet the firm's standards (which go above and beyond typical standards). They have every discipline imaginable, from architects and product designers, to engineers and graphics teams. It was also interesting to learn that this firm follow's the US Sustainable Standard, LEED. Day 6The Tower of London | This Medieval Tower was like a step back in time! It was incredible to walk around such a historic place, where so many major historic events have taken place. We even got to see the Crown Jewels! (No pictures, sorry). We also learned that this tower used to house a menagerie of exotic animals, from lions (hence, the use of lions in all kinds of country emblems) to ostriches, and everything in between. Fun fact, the animals were later donated to the city to start the London Zoo. Tower Bridge | Two words: GLASS. FLOOR. We were able to go up in the very top of the iconic Tower Bridge of London, and walk across the floor made of glass. (Well, Katlyn walked across...Becca's fear of heights only allowed her to look over while she deathly gripped the bars). This iconic bridge was built because the London Bridge was unable to accommodate all of the London traffic. We were also able to see the engine room that powers this draw bridge (we even got to see the draw bridge in operation to allow a boat to travel through!). We had a magnificent view of London from up here. St. Paul's Cathedral Tour | This cathedral by the famous architecture, Christopher Wren, is absolutely breathtaking. Built in the Baroque style and influenced by Roman architecture, the detail of the paintings and mosaics in this church were hard to wrap our minds around. We weren't able to visit the very top of the cathedral dome today (due to safety restrictions), but we were able to walk up a winding staircase to the "Whispering Gallery" (257 steps to be exact), which was reeeeeeeeally cool! Here's how the "Whispering Gallery" works...Katlyn went across to the other side of the dome, and we each put our ears up to the wall. We were then able to whisper to one another and still hear each other! The roundness of the dome carried our whispers all the way across the suuuuper wide dome. Shakespeare's Globe | We showed up to tour Shakespeare's Globe, and it was CLOSED because they had a performance! (We just don't have very good luck today!) But we were able to snap a couple photos of the outside and walk through the Shakespeare Museum Exhibit, so we didn't leave empty-handed ;) Westminster Abbey | Words can't describe how amazing this place is, and how many powerful and influential people have been here! The Abbey is the burial grounds for Charles Darwin and Sir Isaac Newton, has been the Coronation Church since 1066 (yes, 1066), and has been the place of 16 Royal Weddings. This is also th burial place of many past Kings, Queens, and distinguished figures. We also saw the OLDEST DOORS IN BRITAIN (we are apparently obsessed with doors)...Overall, an amazing place on our journey. Kensington Palace | As the place where Queen Victoria grew up, as well as the home of many of the royals today, it is a beautiful place. The gardens were stunning, and the palace (although surprisingly not as elaborate on the exterior as we expected) was beautiful. It was really fascinating to step back in time and see how the royal families lived and used their palace. We even saw authentic attire from the time (I don't know HOW those women wore those dresses!) "DIANA: Her Fashion Story" Exhibit | We were SOOO fortunate to be able to see this exhibit! There was a special exhibit dedicated to the fashion evolution of Princess Diana. We were able to see some of the iconic outfits she wore, and learned about her influence in the fashion industry. (It's not really architecture related, but still really cool to see!) P.S. For those of you who don't understand our "Mind the Gap" reference...Everytime we boarded a train in the subway, there was a recording (and signs EVERWHERE) that said, "Mind the Gap!"...meaning, "watch out for the gap between the train and the platform, and don't drop your phone down there!"
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We know, we know...it's been a while since we've posted an update. We have been running all over the streets of London, that when we get back we fall right asleep! So we're pushing through the end of our busiest day to catch all of you up on our journey. London is AMAZING. It is quite a difference from Dublin...we went from being able to walk to all of the major sights in Dublin to need public transportation to hop through the city of London! So it's no wonder we've become masters at the subway system. Okay, maybe not masters...but we can get to our destination without the need to backtrack ;) Now on to filling you in... Day 3: Sustainable LondonSo...as some of you know, we are actuallly traveling Europe to learn and study architecture, not just sight see! Part of our research project is to compare some of the highest ranked 'green cities' in Europe, and compare them to what we see in the US. So today, we travelled to some of the most sustainable/green buildings in London and analyze/study the different features of the building. We did not have any official tours of these buildings...just self-guided walk-throughs and conducting our own research of the buildings. Even if the descriptions don't mean anything to you, it's still worth looking at some of the awesome pictures of these forward-thinking buildings :) 52-56 Minories and Portsoken Street Gardens | This building is a student accommodation building in the city, with a large Green Wall on the north side of the building, facing a public garden area. The garden won 1st Prize for Small Public Garden Spaces in 2012, and it rightfully deserved that title! The garden was a beautiful oasis, and there were plenty of people enjoying the green space in the city. We loved the variety of plants on the green wall, and the fact that there are windows within the green wall for the residents to have immediate access to beautiful, green views. Like MANY buildings we have seen in the city, there are solar shading fins for reducing solar gain. 7 Pepys Street, Double Tree Hill Hotel | Contains the tallest green wall in Europe. 75% green roof coverage, and a BEAUTIFUL rooftop bar. There is an abundant amount of natural light (at least in the public spaces we could view), and there wasn't much of a need for artificial light in these areas. The rooftop bar had large sliding doors to allow natural air flow, and the building also had operable shading devices to help reduce solar heat gain (they were on a huge track system around the exterior of the building!). The building also uses ground source heating and cooling. There was a large internal light well to allow light into the interior rooms, and all the way down to the lobby. 20 Fenchurch Street, "The Walkie Talkie": Uses fuel cell technology and PV roof panels. This building also uses certified timber from sustainably managed forests. 96.4% of the construction waste was diverted from landfills! (WOW!) The noise and air quality were monitored during construction. Of course this building also has a sky garden! Has the largest green wall in Europe, measuring 60 meters by 12 meters (It is MASSIVE). The green wall uses a hydroponic base, with plants that are easily adaptable to the local environment. One New Change | Largest commercial ground source heat pump in Europe, incorporating the geothermal loops into the below-grade stricter, and it meets 10% of the energy demand. The system itself is estimated to save 800 tonnes of carbon! This was a really cool indoor/outdoor mall, with the doors wide open for natural ventilation. It was awesome!9 5 Broadgate | This was a huge building in the city that was surprisingly not ALL glass! There was a large amount of solid wall using steel cladding, and the exterior walls are 65% solid. This allows the building to have a high performance facade that reduces solar heat gain and reduces the need for additional heating/cooling. This area was very pedestrian friendly, with a lot of green areas, trees, and open-air restaurants. The building also contains solar PV roof panels and rainwater harvesting, with a storage tank in the basement. In addition to our sustainable learning extravaganza, we also visited the National Gallery and the Bourough Market. The market was AWESOME! There were so many street food.vendors, fresh food, vegetables, and fruits. We ordered fries...excuse me...chips from one of the "best fish & chips joints in London". The National Gallery was even more interesting than we expected! Even though neither of us knows much about art, it was really neat to see works of Van Gogh, Canaletto, Rembrandt, da Vinci! We never thought we would have the opportunity to see any of these works in real life! Day 4We quickly stopped by the Bartlett School of Architecture. Unfortunately, we weren't able to wander around the school, so we had to move on after getting a few quick photos of the main spaces! Natural History Museum | It is so cool that the museums throughout the city are free! The building had a double skin facade (yay!). We got to see dinosaur bones, a WIDE variety of different animals, and much more! The Dino bones were by far our favorite, though. Hyde Park | We came to Hyde Park looking for the Serpentine Pavilion, but were disappointed to see that it wasn't there and they were preparing for next season's pavilion! But the park was BEAUTIFUL nonetheless. It is so amazing to see such beautiful green parks and spaces right in the middle of a city. You don't even know you're in the city! We also stumbled across the beautiful memorial of Princess Diana. Buckingham Palace | We got to see one of the many places where the Queen lives!!! There was a "Garden Party" occurring today, so the front of the palace was packed with people! The palace was breathtaking. Parliament | We couldn't complete our day without stopping to see the Parliament building. The amount of detail on this building is difficult to even put into worlds. I cannot imagine the amount of skill it took to create such a detailed, intricate, yet MASSIVE structure. And of course we had to say hi to Big Ben...and Winston ;) Westminster Abbey | WOW. This cathedral is INCREDIBLE! We are so excited to be coming back here to tour the entire abbey in a couple of days, but looking at the exterior alone is enough! It is unbelievable to think of all of the powerful individuals who have been coronated, married, and buried in this beautiful structure. Until we meet again, Westminster! Portcullis House | Designed by Michael Hopkins & Partners, and 95% of the water usage within the building is provided by 2 bore holes under the building (WOW). The water also provides cooling for the building. The building also uses a greywater system for flushing the toilets! We wish we could tour the inside of the building,but we will have to make do with viewing it from the outside. We are off to bed for now, but come back tomorrow for more updates about our CRAZY busy day today!Day 1...the day of perseverance...Perseverance (noun) - doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. This is the definition of our day :) Our first day was quite an interesting one! What started out as a well planned-out, organized day, turned into a hectic extravaganza of Katlyn and Becca roaming through the cities of Dublin and London, attempting to figure out public transportation. As Katlyn says, "We were on the Hot Mess Express to nowhere". We waited for an airport bus that never arrived, grabbed a ($$$) taxi to get to the airport, couldn't figure out how to find the place we were staying, and took a few too many wrong trains before figuring out the London subway system. But don't worry, we pulled up our fanny packs, tightened our shoe laces, and persevered! Now on to the good stuff! The Dublin Airport | The airport literally looked like Macy''s! Our plane was a LOT smaller than we were expecting! We even got to walk across the tarmac to board the plane. And we sat in the very last row of the plane. I mean, very last. Lunch at the Hydrant | We were STARVING by the time we got to London...so right when we got into the city we walked right into the restaurant. Becca tried Fish and Chips with 'mushy peas'...which were actually quite delicious! We learned that you don't have to tip in restaurants, and the city of London has free wi-fi everywhere in Central London! The Monument | 1671-1677, designed by Christopher Wren and commemorates the Great Fire of London (1666, burned for 3 days). What a beautiful and intricate monument! You could pay to go inside, walk up a spiral staircase, and look out over the balcony...we opted out of this one... We found the London Bridge, and had an awesome view of the Tower Bridge and the Shard! The Tower Bridge | So...we thought this was the "London Bridge"...but were apparently very wrong! The London bridge is much less extravagant, but has an awesome view of the Tower Bridge. This was probably by far the most crowded spot we've been so far. The Tower of London | This is an enormous building right next to the River Thames in Central London. We are really excited to come back and tour this place in a couple of days. Day 2Day 2 was a much smoother start than yesterday! We are SO exhausted in the mornings because of how far we've been walking every day. And I think we can now say we have a better handle on using the subway (AKA the "tube'). Today was jam packed with awesome sights. The British Museum | WOW! The British literally have everything. This place was AMAZING. We made sure to walk through every gallery that was open, and were here for nearly 3 hours! We saw the Rosetta Stone, an Easter Island Head, a totem pole, parts of the Parthenon, a real mummy, and 982397424 other things. It was so neat to be able to see some of the actual artifacts we had studied in history classes. This was amazing! Trefelger Square | We weren't here for long, but will definitely be coming back! The London Symphony Orchestra was playing a free outdoor concert, so we were able to listen to them for a bit! We even said 'hi' to Big Ben :) The London Eye | We spotted this feat from far away! This HUGE Ferris Wheel is right by the river...but we most likely will not be taking a ride all the way up to the top. We can get a good enough view from the street ;) Random Sight-Seeing of Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, South Bank
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