I'm Pierce Allston, a licensed Architect at Milhouse Engineering and Construction (2017-Current). I graduated with a Master’s of Architecture (M.Arch) degree from the University of Michigan, and from the University of Illinois, Champaign with a Bachelor’s of Science in Architectural Studies, along with a Minor in Urban-Regional Planning.
Working at a “Big E, Little A” firm has provided me with a wealth of opportunities to be able to be hands on at all stages and within all disciplines of a project at varying scales. My overall project experience has varied from High-End Custom Residential, Commercial Build-Outs, Public Schools and Park Districts, Institutional, Industrial, and Airfield & Terminal Aviation.
I find it fun to see how other architects and designers in different areas, and with different backgrounds, approach problems in unique manners and mediums. Architecture, however, is not just about the design process. It is realizing what all goes into the building, design, construction, and the realization of ideas. One must not just design a building, but also design how it will be built. The construction process in architecture fascinates me because it allows one's ideas on paper, to be realized in full.
The name of the game is people. How will people react? How will they dwell? How does architecture affect the way that they live?
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, US, MArch, Architecture
"The architecture program at Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan recognizes the multiplicity and changing nature of future roles open to the architect. Whatever the exact nature of these roles, the program is designed to prepare students to perceive the ordered relationship of people and their environment and to translate this order into design for the enrichment of human experience.
Taubman College’s Master of Architecture is a studio-intensive degree that takes a critical view of design, theory, and production. Professional coursework and electives in topical areas supplement the design education model. The combination of professional coursework and coursework in representation, fabrication, history, and theory prepares students to engage in a research-based thesis design project as their final studio. The program offers a wide array of electives in history/theory, criticism, structures, environmental and construction technology, urbanism, sustainable design, computation, and digital fabrication." - U of M, Tuabman College, Website
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, US, Bachelors, Architectural Studies
"Through courses in Building Performance, Detail and Fabrication, Health and Wellbeing, History and Theory, and Urbanism, students gain a comprehensive education that prepares them for futures in professional design practice, research, consultancy, academia, and beyond.
The Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies (BSAS) curriculum combines a comprehensive design education with the broad perspective necessary for designers to become active and engaged global citizens.
BSAS students learn to address and solve tomorrow’s complex problems at the intersection of the social, political, economic, and environmental realms. Two- and three-dimensional design form the foundation of the four-year BSAS degree, with courses from all five of our Program Areas included in the sequence. Upon successful completion of the degree, students are prepared to enter a two-year NAAB-accredited Master of Architecture degree program, or to pursue a graduate degree or career in an allied discipline.
An unparalleled breadth of elective courses and minor fields are available to undergraduates at the University of Illinois, providing the foundation for deep inquiry. The design methods, technical expertise, and critical thinking skills that students gain in the BSAS degree are increasingly sought after in business, industry, and in the diverse settings of contemporary design practice. This degree sets the stage for young designers to discover and produce creative visions for the built environments of tomorrow." U of I, School of Architecture Website
