STUDIO TRIPS
One aspect of Tomecek Studio's commitment to continuing education comes in the form of studio trips. These trips provide a reprieve from our day to day focus and allow our studio team to flourish. We travel to different cities to explore notable projects and notable design firms. We spend time absorbing different perspectives on creativity, culture, climate and construction techniques. These shared experiences and memories become a uniting reference point for future project conversations.
HOUSTON, TEXAS 2022
Houston is a very underrated city for significant architectural projects. We started with early Renzo Piano and the Menil Collection which also included the Drawing Institute by Johnston Marklee. The Rothko Chapel is a not to miss meditation space followed by Phillip Johnson's University of St. Thomas campus. Trans Art studio and gallery by Schaum Shieh was kind enough to have us for a personal tour of the work of resident artist Carolina Otero. The Rice campus did not disappoint with projects by Barkow Liebinger, Michael Maltzan and Tom Pfeiffer. The campus highlight ended with the pyramidal Skyspace installation by James Turrell, which was one of three the firm visited in the area. The Museum district displayed different eras of program approaches from Mies van de Rohe, Rafael Moneo and most recently Steven Holl (Glassell School and Kinder additions). The Isamu Noguchi's sculpture park provided a welcomed respite including works from Matisse, Miro and Calder.
Mexico City 2021
Viva Luis Barragan! The main focus of the studio trip focused on this modern master and Pritzker Prize winner. Casa Luis Barragan, Casa Gilardi, Torres de Satellite, San Cristobal stables and the Convent de Capuchin all demonstrated sophisticated spatial and lighting approaches to their urban and rural contexts. In the borough of Palanco, we saw unique projects by Michel Rojkind, Enric Norten (Ten Arquitectos) and a courtyard canopy by Ensamble out of Spain. The residences of artists Frida Khalo and Diego Rivera led the exploration of past forward thinkers as well as visits to traditional Mexican museums and downtown districts.
dallas, texas 2018
The Dallas Fort Worth area has a rich variety of projects from both national and international architects. Our tour of Dallas began with the nature preserve Arboretum by Predock, Perot Museum by Morphosis, Arts district projects by REX, Jean Parrault and Brad Copefill of Allied Works. The highlight of the trip came in the form of personal tours of a custom residence by Williams and Tsien and a Stretto House (Holl) and addition tour with Max Levy. The Water Gardens (Phillip Johnson) were a great way to introduce Fort Worth before seeing such modern masters as the Kimbell Art Museum (Louis Khan) and addition (Renzo Piano), occupiable sculpture by Richard Serra Sculpture and Modern Art Museum by Tadao Ando.
Los Angeles, California 2016
L.A. is at the heart of the architectural Deconstruction movement. We kicked off this tour with a meeting at Neil Denari's office to understand the current work in his office. Downtown offered projects by heavy hitters like the Broad by Diller Scofidio, the Walt Disney Concert Hall by Gehry, Cathedral of our Lady of the Angels by Rafael Moneo and Coop Himmelblau's High School #9. We were given a tour of the Morphosis office and then a tour from the project manager of Thom Mayne's new residence. Drive-bys of both old and new Frank Gehry Residences showed decades of evolution. Culver City structures by Eric Owen Moss are not to miss as an entire neighborhood has been transformed over three decades. The studio group stayed on a boat in the Venice Beach Marina before ending the trip at the Getty by Richard Meier.
