It took 5 years...

le raincy 05, originally uploaded by julienpaul.

...but I finally went to see the Church of Notre Dame du Raincy by Auguste Perret and Gustave Perret. We had studied it in class and, along with the Maison de Verre, it remained an architectural must-see in the Parisian area. It was an early reinforced concrete church and the first to express the concrete as a material in its own right, rather than covering it up or having it imitate masonry.

More photos can be seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/darkcorners/sets/72157615254238701/

paper, paper everywhere

paper, paper everywhere, originally uploaded by julienpaul.

I went from a sustainable architecture firm in Sydney where we recycled and carbon offsetted everything to my current firm in paris, where the TONNES of paper we throw out every week goes straight into general waste.

I was shocked when I first arrived and the simple answer to my question "why don't we recycle" was "apparently you need to PAY for them to pick up your recycling if you are a company!" (tone of shocked outrage).

And we aren't the only ones. It is quite common for even very large establishments, such as my aunts university, to not recycle. Actually, for a country that is supposedly meeting environmental requirements on a national scale, you don't at all feel the "carbon offsetting, solar powered, recycle everything" movement that has hit Australia. No, most initiatives seem to come from the government: excellent infrastructure for bikes, public transport, urban central heating systems. Leaves the individual to lazily go on guzzling up resources happily....

yamaha mm6

yamaha mm6, originally uploaded by julienpaul.

I played around with the Yamaha in the shop and it won me over. Now I just need to resolve the problem of lag when I connect it to my computer....

PS. This blog layout seems to be very unforgiving of non landscape photos. Not entirely sure how to resolve this other than downsizing the column in its entirety.

a snake ridden star

neuf brisach, originally uploaded by julienpaul.

It was in the middle of the heatwave of 2003 (where 14,000 people died in France). I remember the bus leaving me stranded a little distance from the town gates. I also remember that I couldn't work out whether there would be a bus going back that day that could take me to my hotel in Colmar, but that I had set off nervously that morning regardless.

The town, near the german border and forming part of Vauban's magnificent forts that surround France, was called Neuf Brisach. It was deserted, except for a few people hiding in the intense shadows below the trees of the main square. Midday struck, so the bakery was shut and wouldn't open for until 3:30pm - I would have to go hungry.

Wide, straight streets led me to the Vauban Museum, which was only open on Wednesdays and hence was also shut. So, despite it being the hottest time of the day, I decided to do the tour of the moat. Someone had warned me there were snakes so I stamped around furiously but I think it was too hot even for them. Instead, I spotted some deer and a Japanese tourist, no doubt having strayed too far from Ronchamp (the tourist, not the deer).

On re-entering the town an old man came up to me and started chatting. He asked where I was from and when I answered Australia he acted as thought this was the most amazing event of his life - a genuine Australian, here talking to him! As we parted, he told me to check out one of the southern towers that had an artwork in it (though I can't remember the artwork, so it was obviously stunning).

Back in the square, the bakery was open and so was tourist info. They also weren't clear about the buses but suddenly one appeared, not existing on any of the timetables, and the offered to take me back to Colmar. I waved the sleepy fort-town goodbye.

music nerdom

So, Josh and I have been sick now for 4 days. I spend around 14 hours in bed, I get up, consume some nurofen, then shuffle over to the computer with ginger tea. What have I been doing with my fevered free time? Trying to work out which of these two keyboards I am going to buy when I'm well enough to get out of the house: The Casio CTK 5000 or the Yamaha MM6.

I have been wanting to buy myself a midi keyboard since we arrived here and I decided if I didn't get it soon, I would never buy one.

The Casio, pros: The Casio is 130 euros cheaper, has some limited sampling, better touch sensitivity. The cons: It only has a USB out, which limits it's use later, it doesn't have a very good control system and it's a bit junky.

The yamaha, pros: Better sounds, midi out, good design. Cons: Everyone hates it. This seems to be due to the fact that it's a cheaper version of a very very good keyboard so it fails in comparison.

Ah well, I need to chose before Saturday.

Photos from the archives

threegirls, originally uploaded by julienpaul.

Li ann is getting married in less than four days, which inspired me to look around at photos from uni times. Ahh, those were the days. Somehow, the camera lens filters away the stress, the doubt, the uncertainties and leaves the smiles, the silliness and the coffee.

Meanwhile, welcome to my third blog. Will the blog stay here? Who knows. My first blog was about my final year of uni, my second blog was about the three years after that.

Now I am in Paris, and life moves on. My blog will be less about mope and more about projects and plans, along with observations on this silly city I am living in.