Aydelott Travel Award: Yuria Sloane, Summer 2024
Thanks to a $20,000 Aydelott Travel Award, Yuria J. Sloane, a senior architecture student, traveled this summer to Bolivia, Japan, New Zealand and Norway to research the use of architecture as a tool of oppression and liberation for indigenous communities.
From Sloane
"I left the U.S. on May 21, 2024 and returned July 16, 2024. My travels were really wonderful. First, I went to La Paz, Bolivia, with my good friend and roommate Osvaldo de Hoyos. The city was very busy and beautiful. In regard to my research, Osvaldo and I went on a tour of Freddy Mamani's buildings. We were able to go inside of one of his earlier works and hear a lot the customs of the celebrations that happen in the event spaces. We also found a cultural center that was celebrating Bolivian Mother's day while we were walking around the city.
Next, I went to the north island of New Zealand. I was joined in Auckland by a good friend from my hometown. We drove around the north island, stopping in cities on the way to Gisborne, the closest city to my building Te Wharehou o Waikaremoana. We drove through the mountains to reach this building, which sat in a basin next to a lake. We were able to speak to the staff of the building who were from the area. We then drove to the capital city, Wellington. There I visited the firm that built Te Wharehou o Waikaremoana (my building) and spoke to one of the firm's partners who was a lead on the team that designed it. We then drove back up to Auckland to fly out.
After New Zealand I went to Okinawa, Japan. I was joined by my mother, an Okinawan native. I visited my next building, the Okinawan Prefectural Museum. We went inside to look at a large exhibit on Okinawan history from their early days of civilization to the present. After a couple of days in Okinawa, my mother and I flew to mainland Japan to visit Iwakuna, Kyoto and Tokyo.
I left Japan at the end of June and flew into Berlin, Germany, for a couple of days and then took a train to Copenhagen, Denmark. These two cities were not part of my research but very interesting, nonetheless. I visited many museums and walked around almost everywhere.
From Denmark, I flew to Alta, Norway. Alta, Norway, was the closest "larger" town near my final building. Alta was a very small town with only one plane flying into and out of the airport at a time. My time in Norway was spent walking around and taking in the quiet, natural beauty. I was able to rent a car to drive two hours to my building, the Sami Parliament, in Karasjok, Norway. I joined a tour of the Parliament and explored the public library in the same building. I also visited the Sami Cultural Museum, which had traditional and historical Sami architecture on display outside of the museum. I also visited the Northern Lights Cathedral in Alta.
From Norway I flew all the way back home to Charleston, South Carolina.
This trip was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. I met an amazing and diverse number of people in every country I visited. Seeing the different styles of architecture that are present in the everyday life of every place I visited was a real eye opening experience. The similarities that I found between a lot of these groups of people that are separated by vast distances was also a very humbling, connecting experience."
