14 August 2009

First Things First


I thought I would start this off with a little dedication to the previous year at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. For those of you who may not have been aware, I have spent the last year at the University of Virginia studying for a masters degree in Architectural History. It has been wonderful to wander around the campus as a student, participating in the long tradition of "academical" pursuit. I have also thoroughly enjoyed spending a little bit of each day communing with Thomas Jefferson as I walked back to my apartment through the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the "academical village".

During the last few months, I have been diligently researching my thesis topic, focusing on the architecture of E. Fay Jones. Although well known within the world of professional architects, Jones has been a relatively obscure figure in popular culture. However, his Thorncrown Chapel was recently listed as one of the best buildings of the 20th century in a poll taken by the American Institute of Architects. Also, four of Jones's buildings have been already added to the National Register of Historic Places (some even before the required 50 year life-span requirement). As my research continues to pile up, I am sure I will post more about this subject.

I am also gearing up to head to London in September to attend the Courtauld Institute of Art. I will be working on knocking out my final required course work, as well as working on my major area of study. Hopefully, I will also be able to work in a little time to do some extra travel for my thesis topic, including sites that Jones visited during his career as well as a few of my favorite historic sites. I am sure that Bayeux will definitely be on the list of sites I must visit (I recently wrote a paper on architectural representation in the Bayeux Tapestry).