Architecture Commons^™

Quantitative Techniques For Classifying Mouldings: An Exploration Of Logistic Regression Within Architectural Investigations, Chase Pilcher

All Theses

Since the passing of the National Historic Preservation Act in 1966, the realm of architectural history has evolved, becoming more interdisciplinary. There was a shift in focus from looking at architecture from a fine art point of view to looking at it through a social lens. The new social perspective approach focused not only on the buildings but also on the people that inhabited or constructed the space. Approaching architectural investigations in this manner has allowed for a deeper understanding of the influences that shaped the built environment. Advancements in technology have also aided in furthering our overall comprehension of …

Women Building After The Charleston Fire Of 1838 Using “An Act For Rebuilding The City Of Charleston” Loans, Joyce Pope

All Theses

The subject of this thesis is women commissioning buildings using loans they obtained as part of An Act for Rebuilding the City of Charleston. The Act, which passed after the fire of 1838, made $2 million dollars in loans available to all Charlestonians to rebuild the city after the fire wiped out hundreds of buildings on the peninsula. As a result of the way the act was structured, at least ten women, including a formerly enslaved woman, received loans and built houses and commercial buildings using those funds. This thesis examines whether the loan program opened the door for women …

Bringing Vanished Landscapes To The Surface: A Multi-Tool Approach To Unearthing Charleston's Walled City, Alexis Allen

All Theses

The early 18^th century historic fortification system that surrounded the urban town of Charleston has been a focus of excavations and historical research within the past two decades. However, while the outline of early Charleston’s walled city is hypothesized through the analysis of historic maps and plats, very few fortification locations have been visually confirmed. In order to determine their accuracy, this thesis georeferenced eleven historic maps and four plats to the modern landscape. As a result, possible locations of Charleston’s walled city were predicted. These were surveyed as test sites and remote sensing methods were employed that helped …

Physical Accessibility And Historic Preservation In Historic House Museums Of The Southeast, Abby Milonas

All Theses

Museums are a public good, as they provide educational recreation and preserve cultural history, and so it is crucial that they are physically accessible to as many visitors as possible. The aim of this study was to understand what architectural features of historic house museums are the least accessible and what has been done to ameliorate these challenges. The survey used in the study was developed using the guidelines for making historic buildings accessible as described in the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards. It was distributed by email to representatives of 220 historic sites, of …

We Are Gullah: A Community Approach To Preserving Gullah Geechee Historical Sites Of Significance, Peter Gaytan

All Theses

The National Register of Historic Places is an inventory established by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 that identifies architectural and archaeological sites significant to American history. The National Register was created to encourage the documentation, evaluation, and protection of America’s historic resources. Over 96,000 historic properties, sites, and structures are currently listed on the National Register. Despite the number of historic places listed on the National Register there is still an overwhelmingly low number of sites listed on the National Register relating to underrepresented communities. This thesis assessed the definition of significance laid out in the National Register …

Charleston, Sc Boarding Houses 1840-1880: Prevalence, Placement, And Character, Holly Adington

All Theses

While it is well known that boarding was a widely used practice in growing urban centers of the United States such as Boston and New York City during the nineteenth century. Boarding has not garnered the same level of attention in rapidly expanding Southern cities during this time. This is partially due to the delayed industrialization of the South. However, industrialization did occur in cities such as Charleston, South Carolina, and the increasing number of workers flooding into the city meant boarding became an attractive solution. The purpose of this thesis is to add to the basic understanding of the …

An Investigation Of Community-Defined Boundaries And Important Sites, Emma Grace Sprinkle

All Theses

This thesis research investigates and documents how individuals within the African American settlement communities of Cross Cut, Ferguson Village/Down Cut, and Sol Legare define the boundaries and important sites of their community. The purpose of the study is to better understand how individuals define their community’s boundaries, rather than historic preservation and planning professionals defining them. It seeks to determine the importance of factors such as houses, churches, schools, streets, farm lands, cemeteries, and community gathering spaces to boundary drawings as well as the influence of current address, age, and time spent in the community on participants’ boundaries. Before this …

Sconce Upon A Time: Evaluating Multimodal Methods Of Researching Period Lighting Technology, A Case Study Of Drayton Hall, Neale Elizabeth Grisham

All Theses

This thesis reviews several methods of researching light sources and lighting schemes from the “long eighteenth century,”[1] on a historical site. Despite the period’s cultural reliance on lighting as well as technological advancement in this era, there has yet to be published documentation on how to engage with evidence of lighting technology on historic sites for better understanding of the site’s relationship with lighting.

Using Drayton Hall in Charleston, South Carolina as a case study, this thesis outlines and demonstrates the process of five methods of investigating period lighting technology. These methods are: wall investigation, anchorage points comparison and …

Before It Breaks Fix It: An Analysis Of The Costs And Effects Of The European Monumentenwacht System, Thomas Sutton

All Theses

The concept of preventative maintenance or continuous care of historic structures through frequent monitoring and regular maintenance is uncommon within the United States. However, over the past few decades, it has become a standard approach within some European nations. This thesis analyzes a specific program model known as the Monumentenwacht which has appeared in some European countries to regularly inspect and maintain historic structures. This thesis looks at the effectiveness of these programs at improving the quality of the buildings they seek to protect. It will also analyze each organization's financial data, income, revenue, and government contribution to determine their …

Economic Revitalization Through Preservation: A Study Of The Effects Of Preservation And Economic Initiatives In Five Small Cities In Virginia, Isabella Rae Gordineer

All Theses

Some preservation and economic based initiatives in small cities strive to be the driving force behind revitalization and economic growth. Small cities, especially those distant from major cities, experience periods of shrinkage. These places often struggle to stabilize and grow. Interventions from the local, state, and national levels can assist revitalization efforts with help from planners and redevelopment specialists. These interventions include initiatives with both preservation and economic objectives. Preservation initiatives include revolving funds, tax credits, foundations and advocacy organizations, historic districts, architectural review boards, ordinances, and the Main Street Program. Economic initiatives that include preservation principles and practices include …

The Social Network Of Early American Architecture: A Network Analysis Of Early Architectural Training In And Out Of The Lowcountry, James Mcenerney

All Theses

The contents of this thesis contain research conducted over a 9-month span surrounding the nature of architectural education in the late American Colonial Period, progressing into the Early Republic. Themes such as early European influences, 17^th and 18^th century art and architecture schools of Dublin, Ireland and Paris, France, and early American drafting schools/apprenticeship societies are analyzed. This paper, first, seeks to document the scholarly dialogue surrounding the ways in which early American architectural practitioners were educated, and in what ways this training was manifest in their physical designs. With a timeframe of approximately 1770 to 1830, 23 …

Partner In Historic Preservation: Local Intervention And The Retention Of Integrity In National Register Historic Districts In South Carolina, Jessica Chunat

All Theses

The National Register of Historic Places is an inventory established by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 that identifies architectural and archaeological sites significant to American history. The intention of the National Register is to encourage the documentation, evaluation, and protection of America’s historic and archaeological resources. Between its inception in 1966 to 2021, over 96,000 historic properties, sites, and structures were listed on the National Register, over 17,000 of them historic districts. Despite the important role the National Register has played in national historic preservation policy, its efficacy has never been measured. This thesis assessed the integrity of …

The Industrial Landscape Of Charleston, South Carolina From 1884 To 1955, Elizabeth Bellersen

All Theses

This study investigates the location and density of industrial sites in Charleston, South Carolina across the years 1884, 1902, 1944, and 1955. The purpose of this study is to draw attention to the industrial past of Charleston in order to better understand the city’s historic spatial organization and identify sites for future preservation. To do this, Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps were used to find, map, and categorize industrial sites in downtown Charleston, south of Line Street. These maps were then analyzed for locational patterns and patterns of various attributes such as industry type, size, and building material. This research found …

A Performance Evaluation Of Architectural Coatings To Preserve Aerosol Paint On Concrete, Riley Morris

All Theses

The growing movement of assigning cultural and heritage value to graffiti and street art is one without a preservation solution to ensure the longevity of these works in-situ in an outdoor environment. The goal of this thesis was to provide a comprehensive evaluation of six architectural topcoats’ performance when applied as a conservation treatment to outdoor aerosol graffiti and street art on concrete substrate. An artist’s quality, durable, color-fast spray-paint was applied to twenty-eight concrete test panels to mimic the application of graffiti or street art. Six topcoats, Prosoco SC-1, Prosoco Gloss n’ Guard WB, Keim Faceal Oleo HD®, Keim …

Stepping Into The Past: A Spatial And Temporal Analysis Of Charleston’S Streetscape Through Imagery, Travis Galli

All Theses

The tradition of preservation has long focused on the built environment of historic buildings, while ignoring the very environment they reside in, specifically streetscapes. This thesis seeks to identify the spatial and temporal changes in streetscapes occurring on King Street and Chalmers Street from 1700 until 1971 and provide guidelines for the preservation and restoration of streetscapes to their periods of historic significance between ca. 1750-1971. By collecting and analyzing images of the streetscape at different period in time, specific features and materials were identified. Imagery included historic photos, paintings, and sketches. Broken into specific periods, this study tracks changes …

"A Beauty In The Kitchen": The Introduction Of The Cookstove As A Mechanism Of Change In Charleston's Historic Kitchens, Maria Short

All Theses

While Charleston’s historic houses have long captivated visitors, scholars, and preservationists, the architecture of these properties’ kitchens and the ways people cooked in these historic spaces have long been overlooked, in part because their historic fabric has often been obscured by later alterations or demolition. While interpretation of these historic spaces in certain house museums, such as the Nathaniel Russell House or Heyward-Washington House, now include information on the lives of the enslaved who cooked in these kitchens, the understanding of cooking technology, specifically the transition from hearth cooking to cooking on cookstoves, in Charleston remains largely unstudied. In the …

The Old Harbor: A Diachronic Study Of Charleston's Cooper River Waterfront, 1884-1990, Branden Gunn

All Theses

For the better part of three centuries, Charleston’s Cooper River waterfront functioned as an important commercial seaport complete with wharves, warehouses, offices, workshops, and other related buildings. These resources defined the area for nearly three centuries, yet today, most connections to the maritime past have been severed. Revitalization efforts and modern developments have redefined the area and filled voids created by the waterfront’s steady decline throughout the 20th century. With an aim to better understand the Cooper River waterfront’s developmental history, this thesis utilized historic Sanborn Fire Insurance maps to track the harbor’s physical and spatial changes from 1884 to …

Cladding By Another Name: A Comparative Analysis Of The Environmental And Economic Costs Of Traditional Wood Clapboards, Composite Fiber-Cement Siding, And Vinyl Siding, Nicole Larochelle

All Theses

Using the tools provides by the scientific community, namely the products of lifecycle cost assessments (LCA) – which are synthesized in environmental product declarations (EPD) – and life cycle cost assessments (LCCA), the overall environmental and economic impacts of historic, traditional, and simulated materials are established and compared. This informs the historic preservation community of the quantifiable sustainability of historic materials in relation to alternatives. Through these two different methods of environmental and economic life cycle costing, this research demonstrates that retaining in-situ siding incurs the least impact on the environment and is the second most economic option. While the …

A Comparison Of Preferences: Testing The Correlation Between The National Register Of Historic Places And The South Carolina Picture Project, Vito Scocozzo

All Theses

Current affairs relating to the architectural stylings of federal buildings have sparked discussions regarding the preferences of the American people for different styles of architecture. Studies have identified a disconnect between the preferences of the general public and professionals who work with the built environment. This thesis seeks to continue these discussions and better understand how they relate to historic preservation by answering the following question: Do the historic resources and buildings nominated to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) by historic preservation professionals directly compare to the historic resources identified by a wider public base as represented by …

Importing The Vernacular: An Analysis Of The Panama Houses Of The Former Charleston Navy Yard As An Adapted Regional Building Typology, Benjamin Cunningham Walker

All Theses

Military architectural designs are often overlooked in vernacular architecture due to the widespread use of standardized plans at military installations. However, factors including climate in certain regions force the development of new designs for military bases that are better suited to local conditions. This is arguably the case for the Panama Houses of the former Charleston Navy Yard, which are an example of a vernacular building type imported from a foreign context. While scholars have looked from a broad perspective at the Navy Yard and the more prominent structures, no study has been completed considering the history and form of …

Framing The Lowcountry: The Evolution Of The Region’S Vernacular Tradition, Brent Russell Fortenberry

All Theses

Timber-framing systems are the foundation of Early Modern vernacular architecture traditions. The fabrication, construction, and finish details of such assemblies are indexes of the character-defining features of building practices and the wider socio-cultural context. The Lowcountry of South Carolina is no exception. From the late seventeenth-century onwards builders from Old World traditions came together to erect unrivalled British edifices in the colonial and Early Republic periods. While other scholars have closely scrutinized and interpreted the framing traditions of the Chesapeake and New England, there has yet to be a consideration of the nature and evolution of the Lowcountry’s framing. Bringing …

The Analysis Of A Secondary Space: Bathrooms At Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, Amber Marie Anderson

All Theses

When observing Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterwork, Fallingwater, few people contemplate the significance of the property’s six finished bathrooms. However, similar themes which underscore the importance and wonder of the overall house itself, such as the use of technological innovation and careful attention to detail, were also employed throughout the bathrooms despite their designation as secondary spaces. This thesis examines these themes via the original process of design and the post-construction treatment of these spaces. In order to do this, architectural drawings, correspondence, family papers, visual observation, oral interviews, related project documents and both Preservation and Maintenance department manuals were analyzed. …

"A Posture Of Defence": A Forensic Brick Analysis Of Charleston's Seventeenth And Eighteenth Century Walled Fortifications, Jacqueline Don

All Theses

The fortification walls that once protected the bustling colonial port of Charles Town, South Carolina lie buried under a thriving, modern city. After almost a century of rediscovery and neglect, local scholarly expertise in the form of a city task force regularly explore the history and structure of the walls that once played an integral role in the daily operations, survival, and success of the young and isolated British colony. Archaeological excavations and archival research within the last decade have made significant progress in unearthing information previously lost to development and memory. These methods have experienced limitations, however, since access …

The Structural And Material Evolution Of Molana Abbey, Ballynatray Demesne, County Waterford, Ireland, Site Wa037-011: A Mortar Composition Study, Claire Alice Achtyl

All Theses

Molana Abbey, a ruin located in Ballynatray Demesne, County Waterford, Ireland, has religious roots in the sixth century but much of the structure dates to the eleventh-century. Molana became an important center of religion and education in southern Ireland. After Henry VIII dissolved Irish monasteries in 1546, the former abbey became a part of the land holdings of Sir Walter Raleigh. The abbey was then converted from a religious to a residential structure occupied briefly by English polymath Thomas Harriot. The structure fell into disrepair until the nineteenth-century when Grice Smyth, a new owner, transformed the ruin into a garden …

One Land, Two American Dreams: Rediscovering The Secondary Dupont Narrative At James Madison's Montpelier, Sarah A. Sanders

All Theses

Secondary narratives are most easily defined as narratives deemed non-essential to the primary interpretation goals of a historic site. Given the established significance criteria in the United States, secondary narratives are currently undervalued and are challenging to address. James Madison's Montpelier in Orange County, Virginia serves as an ideal lens through which to explore this challenge, given that the estate clearly embodies more than one period of significance.

In 1901 William duPont Sr. of the illustrious Delaware duPont family purchased a large area of land just outside of the small rural town of Orange ,Virginia. Located over two hundred miles …

On The Periphery: A Survey Of Nineteenth-Century Asylums In The United States, Lauren Hoopes

All Theses

State and federal government purpose-built asylums constructed in the 'moral treatment' era of mental healthcare, here defined as 1835 to 1900, mark a period of great change in the nation. Establishment of moral treatment asylums occurred between two very different eras. The eighteenth century, in which mental illness was seen as a punishment from God, precedes the moral treatment asylums. Twentieth-century thinking favored a medical view in which mental illness can be treated or controlled with medical drugs. Asylums built in the nineteenth century relied on 'moral' treatments--treatments that utilized no restraints unless absolutely necessary and used the environment and …

Commemoration And Controversy: The Memorialization Of Denmark Vesey In Charleston, South Carolina, Sarah Katherine Dykens

All Theses

The commemoration of contested historical figures is a topic that is increasingly addressed by preservationists, historians, and those in local government. One such figure is Denmark Vesey, whose failed slave insurrection plot in 1822 forever altered the social and physical fabric of the United States. The ways in which this polarizing figure has been memorialized in Charleston, South Carolina, speak to the multivalent nature of Vesey himself as well as the shifting and complex racial politics in Charleston. In studying the four major commemorative efforts for Vesey that exist in Charleston, this thesis sheds light on the ways in which …

"Nine Mahogany Table…Two Marble Slabbs And Stands…And A Cow": The First Generation Furniture Of Drayton Hall, Shannon Marie Devlin

All Theses

When the National Trust for Historic Preservation purchased Drayton Hall in 1974, they made a groundbreaking decision. The Trust took a conservation approach to the house, preserving Drayton Hall as found and presenting it to the public unfurnished. The decision proved to have significant ramifications and as a direct result, interpreting the material culture at the site slid to the side. Drayton Hall has over a million objects in its collections ranging from archaeological sherds to pieces of furniture, yet the collections play little to no role in site interpretation to the public. The first generation furniture (ca. 1738-1779), at …

Fifty Shades Of Beige: Comparative Paint Analysis Of Three Charleston Parlors, Alison Page Dunleavy

All Theses

This research diachronically examines color in three parlors in Charleston, South Carolina: 35 Legare Street (ca. 1790); 18 Bull Street (ca.1800); and 61-63 Smith Street (ca. 1823-24) in order to determine the impact of wealth on pigment and binder selection. Cross-sectional analysis of interior finishes reveals the layers of paint on architectural elements, which identifies the evolution of color in an interior space. With additional types of analysis such as fluorochrome staining and scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), the samples also provide insight into the evolution of pigments and binders. Interpretation of the findings results in an …

Building Information Modeling (Bim): The Untapped Potential For Preservation Documentation And Management, Laura Lee Worrell

All Theses

The preservation field has few software programs specifically created to store historic and management documentation. Some programs and techniques are utilized in combination to aid in the management and documentation process of historic resources that include, laser scanning, AutoDesk AutoCAD programs, Rhino 3D, photogrammetry, geographic information system, and even Microsoft Excel. This thesis examines the applicability of the Architectural, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry's Building Information Modeling (BIM) to create a three dimensional user interface for tracking and storing historic and management documentation. The case study performed for this thesis employs the Nathaniel Russell House owned by the Historic Charleston …