July 02, 2024
In the world of architecture, there are many specific and technical terms. As a fun office exercise, we recently started an internal Word of the Day, where a different JMA staff member is invited to share a definition with the office every day, before nominating a colleague to contribute the next day’s definition. We just thought we’d share some of the words that have come up so far:
Pastiche: an artistic work in a style (or styles) that imitates that of another work, artist, or period. [Google Dictionary]
Fanlight: A window over the door that is curved or shaped like a fan is called a fanlight. A transom is the rectangular version of the fanlight. [OntarioArchitecture.com]
Examples: http://www.ontarioarchitecture.com/FANLIGHT.HTM
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July 16, 2024
Dickson Public School, ongoing residential conversion - How many keystones can you spot?
As we continue our office Word of the Day exercise, we’d like to share a second round of definitions.
Enfilade: In architecture, an enfilade is a series of rooms formally aligned with each other. This was a common feature in grand European architecture from the Baroque period onward, although there are earlier examples, such as the Vatican stanze. The doors entering each room are aligned with the doors of the connecting rooms along a single axis, providing a vista through successive rooms. The enfilade may be used as a processional route and is a common arrangement in museums and art galleries, as it facilitates the movement of large numbers of people through a building. [Wikipe…
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April 15, 2024
Our staff are looking forward to participating again in Jane's Walk, the annual community-based approach to city building that uses volunteer-led walking tours to encourage people to rediscover the value of walking, and to observe, reflect, share, question and re-imagine the places in which they live, work and play. This year, both John and Scott have Jane's Walks planned for the first full weekend of May (3-5). Scott's walk will be announced shortly.
How Do you Do? The Happy Accident of Meeting a Stranger, with John
An interactive session that uses our city as a backdrop for an important conversation.
What are the spaces / places in our community that help us meet people who aren’t like ourselves? How do our actions in public affect our a…
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February 09, 2024
Every December the JMA team gathers at John and Margaret’s house to share the holiday cheer with our annual potluck.
Everyone is gathered around the table to explain the dishes they have cooked. Here John is showing the kimchi that took him a week to prepare.
Each year we choose a different theme for the potluck. We all agreed with enthusiasm that
this time around we wanted to eat Korean food, so we got our creative juices to work! We learned that Koreans take great pride in their cooking traditions and having good wholesome foods in their homes.
It was great fun attempting to prepare dishes we had never cooked before...and great fun to eat them! Try out our recipes below:
Tong Dak (barbecue chicken wings) …
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February 09, 2024
Elyn, Matt, Margaret, Marc, John and Melhik pause for a quick photo op while scaling the rocks on Wreck Island.
On the last weekend in July, 7 intrepid explorers from the JMA team set off into the sunshine to continue the tradition of the JMA Massasauga Camping Trip. Good weather, great company, and even better food were enjoyed by all over three days of canoeing, hiking, and swimming against the wild backdrop of the Canadian Shield.
Feasting in style, a full gourmet steak dinner cooked over an open fire, and “Bear Paw” pancakes!
The local fauna as seen in their natural habitat.
Marc and Elyn captured our exploration of the stunning landscape as resident office photographers.
Until next year, Mas…
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February 09, 2024
JMA closed up shop for a day and headed to the International Plowing Match in Roseville. Our team volunteered our time and muscles to assist the Mennonite Disaster Service in a demonstration of an “old fashion” barn raising, which took place over the course of the Plowing Match within the antique section of the event. The barn was brought in from Paris, Ontario for the demonstration and was assembled and disassembled at the event before being transported to it’s final resting place at a private residence in Collingwood.
Our day started out with a very appropriate tractor ride from the parking area to the event grounds, once we where able to find the barn raising site we grabbed our hardhats and waited for instr…
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February 09, 2024
With utility costs, pollution, and water consumption on the continuous rise, the task to improve the environment and lower utilities costs is often on the minds of many homeowners. While a net zero home may not be an option for everyone, there are some simple improvements and upgrades you can make to achieve a greener, cheaper home at any price point.
Rainwater Barrels – Collect free water using a rainwater barrel. At an average cost of $100, a barrel will pay for itself in 5 years, saving you about $20 a year on your water and sewer costs, depending on the size you select. Rainwater has many uses including, plant and grass watering, car and window cleaning, and all sorts of other outdoor jobs and cleanups. Many municipalities offer rainwater bar…
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February 09, 2024
The JMA office endeavoured to replace one of the existing low performance windows in the office meeting room with a newer, higher performance model. The building in which JMA is located is the renovated Bonnie Stuart Shoe Factory. The building was originally built in 1910 and carried out its shoe making processes until 1997. Over the years, renovations have been carried out to adapt this older building to its current usage. Replacing the old single pane windows are a part of this ongoing process of renewal.
JMA staff undertook the exercise of replacing the window in our office Meeting Room as a training exercise. Given the many times that each of us have drawn window details, we thought that this would be a good way to get a better understanding of the steps involved in constr…
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Tags: JMA
October 02, 2023
John MacDonald Architect continues to grow.
Our forward-thinking studio of twelve or so is presently working on a wide range of projects including adaptive re-use of heritage properties, mixed use and multi-res developments, institutional projects including library renovations, public spaces, office renovations, and maintenance facilities, as well as custom residential projects. If you can bring a unique skillset(s) to our dynamic team and would like to assist us with our expanding project load, we'd like to hear from you.
The successful applicant will be involved with all phases of project development, including client / subconsultant support and will work in person at our downtown Kitchener office.
Experience and skills:
A good a…
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August 17, 2023
Doors Open Waterloo Region returns as an in-person event in 2023 on Saturday, September 16 from 10 am to 4 pm, and we're proud to be a part of it. Waterloo Region will have 20 participating sites this year, such as noteworthy buildings, interesting places & heritage sites, many of which are not usually open to the public. The list includes WPL's Eastside Branch, which we designed in joint venture with ward99 architects inc, and the historic Public Utilities Commission building in downtown Kitchener, where our office is located on the second floor. Details about each can be found below.
An interactive map showing the location of all 20 participating sites can be found here. For further information, visit Doors Open Ontario.
The excellent illustratio…
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Rear house elevation with measurements
When accurate drawings don't exist, survey drawings must be done at the very beginning of every house renovation. They are the basis for realistic decision-making that responds well to the existing situation. When a couple of inches make the difference between being able to fit a door, or a washroom, the importance of good accurate drawings is evident. Unlike most architectural drawings, (done with a CAD program and sitting at our desks), these are done by hand and on site. The tools for this task haven't changed: a couple of steel measuring tapes (15' & 30') and a surveyor's tape at 100', clipboard, plenty of paper, pencils, eraser, sharpener and pens in various colours, a flashlight and a camera.
You might th…
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Scott
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August 02, 2023
Thanks Nolan. If you can think of anything to add to the list, we'd be interested to hear from you.
Nolan Bentley
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August 01, 2023
I am going measuring tomorrow so this is a timely reflection :-) thx!
