Jon McAllister’s blog

Geez it's been a long time coming for this update.  My apologies for the delay. 

Man, this first year as an architecture student has flown by.  I've never been so busy in my life, and the great thing is that I love constantly having something to do.  I really don't think that this year could have gone any better.  Here's a list of things that I've accomplished so far:

-My design was chosen among 16 to be the final design for a mural that my drawing class will be completing here in the next few weeks for a building here in Lexington.

-I was elected President of the University of Kentucky Chapter of the American Institute of Architecture Students.

-I've received straight A's in both my Design studio and my drawing studio (so far)

-I just received the Architectural Design Award Certificate of Excellence!

There's also one more thing, but no announcement has been made officially, so I'll have to wait to say that one.  All in all though, I think I was able to make the most out of my first year in Architecture.  The sad thing is that I don't know if I could have done it while holding a job.  There just isn't enough time available in this program.  I may have to do just that next semester though as my unemployment benefits are coming to a close.  I'll just have to see what happens.

BUT, great year!

Below are a couple diagrams that might help explain the reason for the study model in the last post. 

(click to enlarge)

New studio, new project.  This semester is going to be a little different from the last semester.  We are actually going to stick with one studio professor instead of rotating between three. 

So, with this new project we needed to take a series of photos from an urban setting eventually ending up in a rural setting and we had to utilize a repeating theme or item or something in all of these photos.  I focused on the reflections and the gradual change in reflections from urban to rural settings. 

I went to the studio last night and scanned some of my drawings from last semester in so that I have a digital copy.  It's only about 1/2 of the total drawings, but it gives an idea as to what I've done drawing-wise.  Below are the results. (click to embiggen)

I am FINALLY done with finals!  I semester down, only 11 more to go...

These are the drawings that accompanied my final project and they are a plan and section of the entire site and an axonometric drawing of the observatory to show detail.  To be honest, I don't know how I got any of these drawings correct, but surprisingly they are accurate and actually, the dean of the school actually pulled me aside afterwards and said that he was very impressed with them.  Quite exciting.

Yesterday was my final review for my first semester in the Architecture program here at the University of Kentucky.  I have to say, this was the most intense, exciting, exhausting and enjoyable experience I've had yet (excluding my marriage of course).  I feel as though I gave everything I could to the program and I hope that my work shows for it.  This last project, in particular, was one that I feel took a little bit of life out of me, but I hope that in return I brought a bit of life into it.

A little background on the project itself:  We were to take our first paper strip project and create a landscape out of a section of it. 

Next we had to choose between an Archaeologist, Cartographer, Arborist, or an Astronomer.  I, naturally, chose Astronomer.  We then had to create a sanctuary for this person with a focus on procession and ending at an observatory.  There were a few stipulations that we had to adhere to as well.  The first restraint was that on the short side of our landscape (all the landscapes had to be 7.5" X 30") there had to be a body of water that the professional would arrive to the site on (river, lake, etc...).  There also had to be an existing row of 4 trees 16' tall in a single axis (line).  After we made these decisions, we then had to design the procession through the site and the eventually culmination of design at the observatory.  I wanted my design to be based on the historical understanding of man throughout time.  This is achieved by two means:  The first is the rationality and organization of the structures representing the understanding that mankind has of the cosmos, and the second is a gradual separation of the ground plane, resulting in the observatory where the Astronomer is to feel as though he is hovering between Earth and sky.  The site and theme are to be experienced almost as a time-line with the beginning being the cave entrance (representing an emergence of man out of Earth and water) and ending at the observatory (the present accomplishments and ramifications of modern astronomy) where man has been able to leave the Earth and find his place within the Universe 

I've completed the final project for round two of my first semester at Architecture school, and I am beginning to become comfortable with the direction that my brain seems to be taking me.  This program has stretched me in so many ways, but the most notable of all the changes I've found in myself as a result of being here is the fundamental way that I see things.  I've begun to notice things that I would have previously glossed over.  This is a both frightening and beautiful proposition.  Regardless, I am becoming comfortable with it and this latest project I feel is a direct result of that comfort.

I've been a bit absent from the land of the internets, but there is a reason for that.  Below is my evidence.  The first three weeks of school were incredibly intense due mainly to my schedule being 90% full of things to do in Architecture Studio.  Below are just a couple of the projects I completed during this time.  

So I'm at Al's bar last night (I love starting entries like that), and the urge to go to the little boys room hits me.  While I'm in the restroom, there is a man using the urinal next to me.  Nothing exciting or weird, I know; but as he zips up and goes to leave he turns to me and asks "so what makes cannibalism so wrong?"...
I'll give you a second to absorb that.

At first I was sure that there was someone else in the room with us, but after a quick survey I realized that the question was directed at me.  I also make a quick observation of the man himself to make sure he isn't holding any knives or Seasonings of any kind.  Thankfully, he was not.  He then adds "I mean, we eat Beef and I know cows are a little dumber than us, but..."

I stop him there and reply "Well that just makes you question the morality of eating beef then, doesn't it?" and I walk away.

Officially the weirdest and most memorable bathroom conversation.  Ever.