Overschmidt Study Abroad Portfolio

STUDY

ABROAD

ZACH OVERSCHMIDT | WINTER 2017

Si n gapore, S i n g a p o r e 12/ 28 - 1/ 1 6 7 9 9 9 11 12 13 14 15

B u d d a Tooth Relic Te mp le Pa r kroya l Hote l Mar in a B ay Fin a n ci a l Ce n t re E spla n a d e Theate rs A r tS cie n ce Muse u m National A r t Galler y Mar in a B ay S a n d s S ingapore Co n cer t Ha ll National Un iversity o f S in g a p o re Natu ra l Histo r y Mus e u m

2 17 22 23 25 27 29 34 35 38 41

Ke n t Va le a n d Ve n t u s S OTA S c h o o l o f t h e A r ts I a s a lle Co lle g e o f t h e Ar t s S in g a p o re Na t io n a l L ib ra r y G a rd e n s by t h e B ay S in g a p o re F lye r The Star Na t io n a l S t a d iu m O rc h a rd Ro a d L o u is Vu it t o n

Tokyo, Japan 1/ 3 - 1/ 5 47 48 49 51 53 55 55 55 56 57

46 Hach iko S tatu e S h ibu ya S ta tio n 1 9 6 4 To kyo Olymp ic S t a d iu m Tokyo P la za Omo tes a n d o Ha ra ju k u Meiji Do r i S tre e t P rada TOD’s Hugo B o ss Mikimoto S u n ny Hills Ca ke Sh o p

61 62 62 63 66 69

S t . Ma r y To k yo Ca t h e d ra l De B e e rs G in z a L o u is Vu it t o n To k yo I n t e r n a t io n a l Fo r u m Na k a g in Ca p s u le Towe r Mo d e G a k u e n Co c o o n Towe r

Kyo t o, Japan 1/ 6 - 1/ 10 75 75 76 77 78 81 81 83 85 86

74 Mt. Fu ji B u lle t Train Kyo to S tation Fush imi Inar i S hr in e Torr i Ga tes Tra il Gojo Za ka Kyo to Towe r K iyomizu -De ra Te mp le Ryozen K a n n o n Ko d a ji-Te mple

86 87 91 93 95

Na n ze n -J i Nijo Ca s t le Te n r y u -J i Te mp le Ryo a n -J i Te mp le K in k a k u -J i Te mp le

O sa k a, Japa n 1/ 11 - 1/ 14 101 Osa ka Castle 103 Maishima Incineratio n P la n t a n d S ludge Cente r 104 Mount Myo ke n -S an 105 Mt. Myo ke n -S an B u d d h is t Te mp le 107 National A r t Muse u m o f O s a k a 108 Gate Tower B u ild ing 109 S u n tor y Yama zaki D is t ille r y 113 Himeji Castle 115 Himeji City Mu seum o f L it e ra t u re

100 116 117 122 122

Wa t e r Te mp le Awa ji I s la n d Urb a n P ro j e c t Do t o n b o r i A re a Hime ji a n d Awa ji I s la n d

1

S ingapore,S ingapore

12/28 - 1/1

2

Day 1 3

O a s i a D ow ntow n

D ay 1 4

Day 1 5

Bu d da Tooth R elic Temp le

D ay 1 6

Day 1 7

Pa r kr oya l H o t e l

Pa r k r oyal H otel

D ay 1 8

Day 1 9

Ma r ina B ay Financ ia l Ce n t re | E s p la n a d e T h e a t re s | A r t S c ie n c e M u s e u m

J W M ar r i ott

D ay 1 10

Day 1 11

Na t io n a l A r t G a lle r y | Ma r in a B ay S a n d s

The Marina Bay Sands is one of the most iconic buildings in Singapore. The three towers holding up the “floating ship” are where the hotel rooms are located. All three of these towers are hollow on the inside so the lobby space that stretches across the bottom of these towers has three large atriums, one at each tower. The faces of these towers curve as they go up, allowing for better structural support, and giving the opportunity for the different floors to have a balcony space. The ship structure that spans across the top of these towers is home to the world’s tallest infinity pool, overlooking the iconic financial district and the rest of downtown Singapore. The upper feature also contains multiple bars, a nightclub, and an event space. Beyond just the hotel, attached at the base one can find a massive luxury shopping mall, complete with an indoor river where gondola boat rides are sold, a casino, an event space, and the tree gardens featured in other places of this documents are also considered to be a part of the same complex. This is by far one of the most impressive buildings I have ever seen and the view from the top of it can’t be beat.

M a r i na Bay San d s

D ay 1 12

Day 2 13

S in g a p o re Con c e r t H a l l

N a t i onal U niver sity o f S ingapore

D ay 2 14

Day 2 15

NUS L e e Ko n g Ch a in Na t u ra l His t or y M u s e u m

N U S Yong Siew To h Co n ser vato r y o f Mu s ic

D ay 2 16

Day 2 17

Ke n t Va le a n d Ve n t u s

Ke n t Vale and Ventu s

D ay 2 18

Day 2 19

O n Top of M ar i na B ay S a n d s

D ay 2 20

Day 3 21

SOTA School of the A r ts

D ay 3 22

Day 3 23

I a s a lle Co lle g e o f t h e A r t s

I l u ma Shoppi ng Ma ll

D ay 3 24

Day 3 25

S in g a p o re Na t io n a l L i b ra r y

I l u ma Shoppi ng Ma ll

D ay 3 26

Day 3 27

Clo u d Fo re s t a t G a rd e n s by t h e B ay

Fl ower D om e at Ga rdens by the B ay | Clo u d Fo re s t

D ay 3 28

Day 3 29

Ma r in a B ay S a n d s | S in g a p o re F lye r | G a rd e n s by t h e B ay

G a rdens by the B ay | Mar in a B ay

D ay 3 30

Day 4 31

Ar t and D esign Media Lab Nanya n g U n ive rs it y

D ay 4 32

Day 4 33

Hive L e a r n in g L a b Na nya n g U n i ve r s i t y

Th e Star

D ay 4 34

Day 4 35

Na t io na l S t a d i u m

G a l e r i es Bar toux | Orchard Ro a d

D ay 5 36

Day 5 37

O rc h a r d R o a d

O rc har d R oad

D ay 5 38

Day 5 39

Co lo n ial B u i l d i n g s

O rc har d R oad

D ay 5 40

Day 5 41

Ma r in a B ay F in a n c ia l Ce n t re | L o u i s Vu i t t o n

M a r i na Bay San d s

D ay 5 42

Fo od O f S ing a p o r e 43

S in g ap o r e S l i n g

I want to first say that I was pleasantly surprised by the country of Singapore.

I was not too sure what to expect because most of what I knew about the country was from what I had researched before going on the trip. I am though, always a fan of stepping off the plane and into eighty-degree weather. The drive into the city was full of tall residential buildings, and suddenly, downtown erupted into our view once we got on the bridge crossing the bay. We were all jetlagged and tired form our journey but still speechless from the view that was in front of us. The first day is when I truly started to realize how large of a country Singapore is. The space of the land is only about the size of the Kansas City metro area, but they make great use of the space that they have by building everything tall and planning far in advance for the development of the land. The entirety of the urban transportation system was completely redeveloped so you can get across the city in almost no time at all. Singapore is considered to be one of the safest places in the world, and with the amount of security cameras that I saw everywhere, I wouldn’t doubt it. Throughout our next few days in Singapore, we traveled to all of the different parts of the country, because there is much more to see than what is just in the downtown area. We saw incredible schools, shopping districts, and historical buildings that were all just as wonderful to study as the last. Singapore is just as much of a melting pot as America, so any design and culture found native to Singapore is heavily influenced by a diverse group of people. Here you could find a huge range of food, fashion, and lifestyles which made the trip to this country even more special.

My overall view of the city is that Singapore has been very smart and diligent with the way they have set up how and where to build. Everything is based upon the public transit roots, so that it encourages its citizen to use this method of transportation rather than purchase their own car. There are actually huge fees that you have to pay the government to even purchase your own vehicle. Beyond the infrastructure, all the buildings were built high and with some sort of integration of green space on top of the building. This is due to the land size restrictions of Singapore, so the government is very serious about maintaining as much green space as possible, which means any land that you dig up to build a structure you have to replace within the design of the built structure. All the architecture was different but all worked together to give the country and great atmosphere. You can definitely tell that Singapore enjoys the profits of its shipping harbor, because even though they are a small country with no natural resources, they still manage to construct ground breaking buildings and maintain a luxurious lifestyle. I was also surprised by how commercialized that the country was as a whole. It seemed that everywhere you went, you would find yourself less than a block away from some sort of shopping mall, even three stories below ground in a metro station, you could find somewhere to spend your Singapore dollar. I really enjoyed my visit to this country and hope to return at some point in my life to see that progress that will be accomplish in even that time frame, because this city is on the move, and is showing no sign of slowing down.

Refl ecti ons 44

45

Tokyo,Japan

1/3 - 1/5

46

Day 7 47

Ha c h i ko S t a t u e

Sh i buya Stati on

D ay 7 48

Day 7 49

1 9 6 4 To k yo O ly mp ic s S t a d i u m

1 9 6 4 Tokyo Olymp ics S tadiu m

D ay 7 50

Day 7 51

To k y u P la z a O mo t e s a n do H a ra j u k u

To k y u Pl aza O mo tesa n d o Ha raju ku

D ay 7 52

Day 7 53

Me iji D o r i S t r e e t

D ay 7 54

Day 7 55

P ra d a | TO D’s | H u g o B o s s

M i k i m oto

D ay 7 56

Day 7 57

S u n ny Hills C a ke S h o p

D ay 7 58

Day 8 59

D ay 8 60

Day 8 61

S t . Ma r y To k yo C a t h e d ra l

D e B eer s Ginza | L o u is Vu itton

D ay 8 62

Day 8 63

To k yo I n t e r n a t io n a l Fo r u m

To k yo Inter nati on a l Fo r u m

D ay 8 64

Day 8 65

N a k agin Capsule Tower

D ay 8 66

Day 9 67

S t . Ma r y To k yo C a t h e d ra l

St . M ar y Tokyo Ca thedra l

D ay 9 68

Day 9 69

Mo d e G a k u e n Co co o n Towe r

D ay 9 70

Fo od O f Tok yo 71

Tokyo was probably the city that I was most excited to visit. It was definitely the largest city I had ever been to and it’s kind of difficult to explain just how vast that Tokyo is. After getting off the plane at the airport, the drive to our hotel was going to take a couple of hours, but it seemed like for around half of the bus ride, we were actually on a highway going through the city of Tokyo. You always see pictures of the bay and the most famous buildings around the city, but there is so much of this place that you have never seen before in pictures and never really know about because there is just so much to this city that it would be hard to document it all. We stayed in a hotel that was in a residential district, just outside of a food and bar district. The first night we were there we took a walk along the street that our hotel was on, and just within a mile of or hotel, there was plenty of stuff to do and see. The first day that we were in the city, we got to see one of the busiest intersections in the world, the 1964 Olympic stadium, and some of the high-end stores designed by famous architects all placed along the same street so it was a gauntlet of great architecture. These places were all things that I had read about or seen programs on the sites, so it is always a cool experience to see something you learned about in person.

The culture here is completely different than that in Singapore. In Singapore, everyone spoke English and all of the signs were in English, but here in Japan, you really had to rely on your maps, navigation, and pictures to get around as most of the people I traveled with were not fluent in Japanese. I have to say though, that no matter how busy someone was or how much of a hurry that they were in, everyone in Japan was always more than happy to help us find our way or give us a recommendation on where to go.

Most of the people helping us could barely speak any English so it was incredibly nice of them to take the time to help us out, which speaks a lot of the country. On the last day that we were in Tokyo, I had the opportunity to go up into a high-rise that had a lookout deck on the 45th floor and this is where I really got to experience just how far out this city stretched. On one side of this lookout was a gorgeous view of Mount Fuji, but on the other three sides was just a stretch of urban architecture that seemed to go on forever. I personally would have loved to have one more day in Tokyo just because there was almost an overwhelming amount of stuff to do here and I feel that I barely scratched the surface. It seemed that you couldn’t walk across any street without seeing a great photo opportunity the take a shot down the street with high-rises on either side. I was a little nervous for the food here just because you can’t really read much of what you are ordering but I don’t think I had one thing that I didn’t like here. Even on days where we were on the go and had to get food from a street vendor, which was pretty common, all of their food was hot and fresh and tasted delicious.

R efl ecti on 72

73

Kyoto,Japan

1/6 - 1/10

74

Day 10 75

Mt . F u ji | Bu l l e t Tra i n

Kyo t o Stati on

D ay 10 76

The Tori Gates Trial was one of the first thinks that we went to see in Kyoto. This trail has to be one of the most impressive historical venue I saw while in Japan. These gates date back to around 700 A.D. and contain over 10,000 gates that you walk through while on the trial. Just outside of these gates was a large bamboo forest that we ventured into as well, just as the sun started to set. The sunbeams coming through the spaces between the trees and the light fog that appeared in some spaces made it to be one of the most spiritual walks I had ever taken.

Day 10 77

F u s h imi I n a r i S h r i n e

To r i i G ates Trail

D ay 10 78

Day 10 79

F u s h imi I n a r i S h r in e | To r ii G a t e s Tra i l

Fu s hi m i Inar i Shr in e

D ay 10 80

Day 11 81

G o jo Z a k a | Kyo t o Towe r

D ay 11 82

Day 11 83

K iyo miz u -D e ra Te m p l e

Ki yo m i zu- Dera Temp le

D ay 11 84

Day 11 85

Ryo ze n K a n n o n

Ko d aj i - Tem pl e | Nanzen-Ji

D ay 11 86

Day 12 87

Nijo Castle

N i j o Castle

D ay 12 88

Day 12 89

Nijo Castle

N i j o Castle

D ay 12 90

Day 13 91

Te n r y u - J i Te m p l e

Te n r yu- Ji Tem ple

D ay 13 92

Day 13 93

Ryo a n- J i Te m p l e

R yo an- Ji Tem ple

D ay 13 94

Day 13 95

K in k a k u- J i Te m p l e

Ki n k aku- Ji Tem p le

D ay 13 96

Fo od of Kyoto 97

Wa r m S a ke w i t h R i c e

I honestly had no idea what to expect form Kyoto. I was pretty excited to get there though, and especially about how we were going to get there. I had the opportunity to take the famous bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto. For the first leg of the journey, I was also treated to a great view of Mount Fuji, but was just as excited to get to ride on this train. I used a speedometer on my phone and we clocked speeds at over 180 miles per hour, but with the electric and air track system that the train uses, you could comfortably get up and walk around the cabin while going at these blistering speeds. Upon arrival to Kyoto, it was immediately apparent the beauty of the town. The town was set in a valley with a calming mountain range surrounding the city. The town itself had plenty to do in it, with shops, and restaurants and even a nightlife district.

We spent a lot of our time in the mountains though, taking advantage of our location to go and see some of the most famous temples in Japan. The hikes to these temples could be lengthy and tiresome, but they were definitely worth it once you go to the top and got the great views of the city with the peacefulness of the temple area. I was also given the opportunity to see what it was like for these temples to be maintained and restored, as they would build these giant structures around the temple being worked on in order to keep the structure safe form the elements. Some of these temples in order to be restored, would need to be completely dismantled piece by piece and put back together, a process that could take years from start to finish. The city of Kyoto held its character as a traditional and peaceful city, due to the prestige of the surrounding temples. This does not mean that they are stuck in the past, rather are proud of and embrace the atmosphere and culture of these religious temples that people travel thousands of miles to see.

The culture in Kyoto was interesting to say the least. It was a place of serenity and religion, but also most certainly a tourist town. One of the first tempest that we visited just outside of the city on one of the mountains had a whole street leading up to the temple dedicated to tourism. This street had restaurants, and rental supplies for religious visits to the mountain, but also a plethora of shops where people could buy odds and ends of Japanese culture and tradition, just like Americans would think of a carnival atmosphere being like. I was fortunate enough to visit this city right after the new years, where there were several celebrations and festivals happening at these locations. There was great food everywhere, and exhibitions of tradition and plenty of people around the temples, so you were able to follow the crowds to the most significant portions of the site. One of the most interesting things that I saw in Kyoto was the Ryoan-Ji Tmeple, which houses one of the most famous feng shui gardens in the world. This is the garden that you see in all the pictures on a google search and it was powerful to sit there and observe the garden. I enjoyed my time in Kyoto, especially for not knowing what to expect.

Refl ecti ons 98

99

Osaka,Japan

1/11 - 1/14

100

Day 16 101

O sa k a C a s t l e

O s a ka C astl e

D ay 16 102

Day 16 103

Ma is h ima I n c in e ra t io n P la n t a n d S lu dg e C e n t e r

M o u nt M yoken- Sa n

D ay 16 104

Day 16 105

Mo u n t Myo ke n -S a n B u d d h i s t Te m p l e

M o u nt M yoken- Sa n B uddhist Te mple

D ay 16 106

Day 16 107

Na t io n a l A r t Mu s e u m o f O s a k a

G a t e Tower Build ing

D ay 16 108

Day 17 109

S u n t o r y Ya ma z a k i D i s t i l l e r y

Su n t or y Yam aza ki Distiller y

D ay 17 110

I know that this distillery has nothing much to do with architecture because the building itself is not all that attractive, but this is one of the coolest places that I have ever been to.

There is so much care and tradition that goes into the production of this whisky that it comes to no surprise that it is one of the greatest in the world. They use fresh spring water straight from the mountain and rather than having a climate controlled rick house or cycling barrels, they strategically place barrels to get a desired finish, letting the whisky age and breath in the fresh mountain air. The samples that we got were outstanding and the facility itself was great. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend on of my personal half days.

Day 17 111

S u n t o r y Ya ma z a k i D i s t i l l e r y

Su n t or y Yam aza ki Distiller y

D ay 17 112

Day 18 113

Him e j i C a s t l e

H i m e j i Castle

D ay 18 114

Day 18 115

Hime ji Cit y Mu s e u m o f L i e ra t u r e

Wa t er Tem pl e

D ay 18 116

Day 18 117

Awa ji I s la n d Urb a n P r o j e c t

Awa j i Island Ur b a n P ro ject

D ay 18 118

Day 18 119

Awa ji I s la n d Urb a n P r o j e c t

Awa j i Island Ur b a n P ro ject

D ay 18 120

Day 18 121

D o t o nbor i Ar ea | Himeji a n d Awaji Islan d

D ay 18 122

Fo od of O s a k a 123

Ya ma z a k i S in g le M a l t W h i s k y

Just as I did not know much about Kyoto, Osaka was a little bit of a mystery to me compared to Tokyo and Singapore. We were all tired and worn out by this point in the trip, but in all honesty, Osaka might have been my favorite stop in Japan. It was the perfect mixture of relic and new construction, as there was an ancient temple right in the middle of the city and just across the street was a modern art museum. Although there were these instances of different extremes, it all worked together very well and the city as a whole had a great atmosphere. The city defiantly had different sections to it, such as down by the harbor was more commercialized and business oriented, but where we were staying was by far more residential. If I had to summarize the entire city of Osaka in one word, it would be executive. I mean that in a good way, as the while city felt very thought through and developed. This is also the city where I had the opportunity to take a train ride to the countryside and visit the distillery of one of the best whisky’s in Japan and arguably the world, The Suntory Yamazaki distillery. We had another opportunity to travel up into the mountains and see quaint temple village, but the temple itself was something to awe at. It was a newly constructed temple sitting on top of a mountain overlooking the city. The temple was an abstract shape with multiple meditation levels in it and had walls that could open up to add another level of spirituality to worship.

We also were able to go and see the temple where the movie “The Last Samurai” was filmed. I thought that piece of trivia was cool but the temple towered over you and was a gorgeous white color with gold and green accents.

Osaka is another really spread out city in Japan, as we took a two-hour bus ride to a separate island that was also included within the city limits. On this island though, we visited what ended up being my favorite building of the whole trip, the Awaji Island Urban Project. This site was pretty much a health and wellness resort, but included many other functions within its program. The site hosted many separate buildings that had their own special design moments but all shared similar characteristics so it all worked together seamlessly. I spent hours on the site just soaking in the ocean views and great spaces I kept stumbling across. It was hard to take it all in so I was thankful that we got quite a bit of time on this site because there is so much more to observe and take in than what you can initially see when you first pull up. Every space in this complex was phenomenal and I couldn’t get enough pictures of this place. The other building that would contest this site for my favorite was also found in Osaka, which was the Umeda Sky Building, found in the heart of downtown Osaka. We visited this building just as the sun was setting so once you go to the top where the lookout deck was, you could see the lights of the city going on for miles. I loved Osaka and this city will definitely be at the top of my list to visit again.

R efl ecti on 124

I would like to take a moment to thank all of the family, professors, mentors, and friends that supported me and allowed me to go on this fantastic trip. I am incredibly blessed to have these people in my life and don’t go a day with reminding myself how fortunate I am. It can be difficult to put a months’ worth of experiences and opportunities into a booklet of pictures and words, but I hope this document can give you a taste of what I got to experience because of your support and encouragement.

Thank you and I love you all!

-Zach Overschmidt