Gusali

© Photograph by Biang, 2009

May espesyal na lugar ang mga gusali sa aking puso. Kahit na kukuhanan ko ng litrato ang kahit anong makakakuha ng aking atensyon, ang mga gusali ay karaniwang paksa ng aking mga litrato. Sa totoo lang, tuwing ako’y bumibisita ng bagong lugar, palaging kasama sa plano ang architectural tour. Ang aking kuya, ang arkitekto, ang syang nagtanim ng pagmamahal na ito sa akin. At ang pagmamahal kong ito ang syang nagugnay saamin ng aking kasintahan.

Maraming natatanging gusali sa mundong it. Marami akong paborito na pwede kong isali sa tema ngayong linggo: Ang Pyramids ni I. M. Pei, ang Seattle Public Library ni Rem Koolhaas, ang Disney Concert Hall ni Frank Gehry, ang Sundial Bridge ni Santiago Calatrava, ang Getty Center ni Richard Meier, Guggenheim Museum ni Frank Lloyd Wright, LA CAL-TRANS Building ni Thom Mayne, ang Pompidou Center nina Renzo Piano at Richard Rogers… at marami pang iba.

Pero mahal ko ang Paris. Ang mga gusali sa buong siudad ay talagang inisip ng matalino (at praktikal) na Baron Haussmann. Ang litratong ito ay nakuha mula sa tuktok ng Arc de Triomphe, kasama ang dagat ng mga gusali ng Paris, ang Eiffel Tower na nanlalaki sa lahat, at ang libingan ng commissioner, Napoleon Bonaparte, sa Les Invalides, naghahari at puno ng dangal.

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You guys have to give me props for translating the text below to the text above!!! That was tough!!! I don’t know if the above even makes sense hehehe. Read on!

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Buildings have a special place in my heart. Although I would take a picture of anything that strikes my fancy, buildings are a common subject for me. Actually, whenever I visit a new place, I always plan an architectural tour. My brother, the architect, has instilled this love for me. And it was this love that brought me and my now fiancé together.

The world has many remarkable buildings. I have several favorites that I could include in this entry: I. M. Pei’s Pyramids, Rem Koolhaas’ Seattle Public Library, Frank Gehry’s Disney Concert Hall, Santiago Calatrava’s Sundial Bridge, Richard Meier’s Getty Center, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum, Thom Mayne’s LA CAL-TRANS Building, Renzo Piano’s and Richard Roger’s Pompidou Center… and I could go on and on.

But Paris is my love. The buildings in the whole city has been well thought of by the genius (and practicality) of Baron Haussmann. This picture was taken atop the Arc de Triomphe, with the sea of Parisian buildings, the Eiffel Tower, well, towering above all, with the tomb of the commissioner himself, Napoleon Bonaparte, at Les Invalides so regal and full of honor.