July
8th,
2025
Exchange in Germany
In June, a group of students from Josef Schwarz Schule in Erlenbach, Germany, came to Sant Ignasi.
This visit is part of the school exchange programme which kicked off when 10 students from Sant Ignasi, accompanied by the teachers B. Galán and D. Durantes, went to stay in Erlenbach.
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Josef Schwarz Schule is a German, international and bilingual school which is a member of the PHORMS EDUCATION network.
The Erasmus+ grant gave our students the chance to share classes with their partners and go on several cultural visits (Heidelberg, Experimenta Museum, etc.).
The Josef Schwarz Schule pupils we hosted in June were art students who were extremely interested in Barcelona's architecture. They went on several cultural outings: Sagrada Familia, Park Güell, Sitges and the Cau Ferrat Museum, etc.
You can read more about the architecture project they did as described by one of the German students:
Architecture Collage Project in Barcelona
For our Architecture Collage project in Barcelona, we had to take photos of buildings and make collages from them. First, we changed the photos to black and white and printed them out. Then we added pieces of newspaper to fill the white parts of the pictures. We used newspapers from Barcelona, and our exchange partners in Germany used German newspapers for their collages. I took photos of famous buildings like churches, cathedrals, other interesting and amazing buildings, and the Sagrada Familia. I tried to take pictures from different angles with my phone to show as many of the buildings as possible, without too much empty space or sky. My exchange partner took photos of Heidelberg Castle. He also made his pictures black and white and traced the white parts on tracing paper to prepare his collage. We had some technical problems and could not finish the digital part of the project. Because of this, we drew sketches of buildings we saw around us instead.
What I liked most about the buildings in Barcelona was how big they were but still had many small details and interesting design choices. The size and the art made the buildings special and beautiful. I learned from my exchange partner that the pillars in the Sagrada Familia stand for different parts of a family, like strength, support, and growth. This made me think that buildings are not just about how they look, but also about the stories and feelings they share. Working with my partner showed me that architecture is more than just buildings and connected to people and their culture, not just stone and concrete. This project helped me understand and enjoy architecture more.
