Hanbury’s 2016 International Design Retreat: Days 1-3
This Saturday we arrived at Hotel Nacional, our beautiful hotel designed by McKim, Mead and White in 1930, where we stayed for the past three nights in Havana, Cuba. Each Year, about 10 Hanbury designers embark on an international study tour following a definitive curriculum. Our Cuba itinerary was planned by Timothy Sands and Charles Steeger from Virginia Tech.
On Sunday, we were guided through Havana’s history and architecture by internationally renowned Cuban architect, urban planner and architecture faculty member at Havana University Miguel Coyula. Mr. Coyula led our group on a walking tour of UNESCO World Heritage Old Havana and visits to Cathedral Square, Square of Arms, Palacio de los Capitanes Generals, Palacio del Segundo Cabo and the colonial San Francisco Square and to the Plaza Vieja.
Havana did not disappoint. The people have treated us as welcomed guest. The food has been incredible and perhaps the only thing that has rivaled our attention to the architecture is our fascination with the cars.
Today, we leave Havana for Central Cuba to see the 19th century Latin American example of the “new” ideas of modernity, hygiene and order in urban planning, Cienfuegos.
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