The First One
I suppose a brief introduction to myself is in order, seeing as this is my first post. To start with, I’m James. I am a senior at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and I’m majoring in both Journalism & Electronic Media (with a focus on visual stuff) and English (with a focus on writing stuff). I’m 26. I’m married. I love all things photography-related, and I hate wearing shoes when I don’t have to.
So what is this all about? Well…
I was sitting in the hallway of the University of Tennessee’s Art and Architecture building (which is very reminiscent of the “Boarding Action” verses map on Halo 1 minus the gigantic pitfall) when all this really came together. I’d seen something about the UT Zero Energy House project on the school’s website and then a week later I get an assignment for a photojournalism class to do a story about architecture. Coincidence? Karma? Whatever the case, it seems I’ve stumbled onto something really interesting.
Alan Reece opened up the door to the project’s de facto headquarters, sat me down in front of a tiny scale model of the ‘house,’ introduced me to Professor Edgar Stach, and answered some of my questions concerning the project. I’m still not really too sure what’s going on. I am not in any way architecturally-educated. The last time I built anything was with either Tinker Toys or Lego’s, and half of them just got thrown around my room in frustration. So this will definitely be a learning experience for me.
My assignment was this: Ask questions, take photos, record sound (and maybe video) and write a story (or series) about architecture. What I got was a powwow with lots of grad students, a walkthrough of a classroom with more maps than the president’s war room and an invitation to blog about my view of all this.
I think I made out ok.
