Month: December 2016

December 16, 2016

Today students worked together to finish up architectural investigative reports at the Tucker House and the Globe Hotel. They worked alongside adjunct professor Brent Fortenberry to complete architectural drawings of the roof and cellar at the Globe Hotel. The afternoon concluded with last minute souvenir shopping!

-Meg Olson, MSHP Class of 2017

December 15, 2016

On Thursday students spent the day continuing to investigate and record the Globe Hotel. Students completed their drawings of the building and continued to work on investigative reports. Students also began to record conditions of the building.

-Morgan Granger, Class of 2017

December 14, 2016

We started our day by adding details to our floor plan drawings of the Globe Hotel.  Later in the morning, we started working on our architectural investigations for the buildings.  These investigations of the building include an architectural description, as well as an assessment of the interior fabric, circulation of space, finishes, and conditions.  All of these contribute to the final document that will provide a more complete understanding of the building.

In the afternoon, we took a late lunch before attending the World Heritage Site Management Committee meeting.  The committee discussed new building projects that are emerging around St. George’s, and how these impact the World Heritage Site.  At the end of the meeting, we talked with the committee about the benefits of the work that we are doing here in Bermuda, and how it helps in developing St. George’s architectural history and approaches to preservation.

-Benjamin Walker, MSHP Class of 2017

December 13, 2016

Tuesday morning the group took on the documentation of the Globe Hotel. The Globe Hotel, built in 1699, was constructed by the Colony’s fifth governor, Samuel Day. It was supposedly built as an official residence belonging to the Crown  but Governor Day claimed it as his own.  In the mid-1800s it was converted to a hotel.  During the civil war it played a part of the blockade runners in St George’s.  The Bermuda Historical Monuments Trust acquired  the property in 1952 and it now serves as a house museum with exhibits on the American Civil War.

We took a small detour to see 7 Gables, a 18th century house in St. George’s. We explored the cellar to see the foundations and framing of the house. 7 Gables is a masonry house that encloses a frame structure. Back at the Globe Hotel,  students continued to work on the plan of the building, as Dr. Fortenberry and Ed Chappell worked on the cellar of 7 Gables.

-Alena Franco, MSHP Class of 2017

December 11, 2016

Instructors Brent Fortenberry and Ed Chappell spent Sunday in the Western Parishes documenting houses while the students took the opportunity to further explore the islands. Students traveled to the pristine beaches where they spent the day enjoying the lovely weather and photographing the landscape. Some students spent time exploring the capital city of Hamilton before returning to St George’s in the evening.

-Morgan Granger, MSHP Class of 2017

December 10, 2016

Today was a day for adventure as the group headed to Hamilton which is the capital city of Bermuda. After getting off the bus, we did a walking tour of the area admiring the local architecture. We visited City Hall that opened in 1960. It was designed by the well known Bermudian architect Wilfred Onions.  Inside the building is the Bermuda National Gallery. This is where Bermuda’s national collections of art are displayed.  Next we visited the Bermuda Anglican Cathedral which is primarily built from Bermudian limestone. Afterwards some of us
explored the local shops for souvenirs and tasted the delights of the local food.

-Alena Franco, MSHP Class of 2017

December 9, 2016

We began our day taking photographs of the exterior and interior of the Tucker house for photographic documentation, as well as for use in producing photogrammetric models.  Afterward, we finished our drawings of the floor plans before returning to the Block House for lunch.  When we returned to the Tucker house, we took vertical measurements in all of the rooms so that we have them recorded for documentation drawings that will later be produced in AutoCAD.  Once this was complete, we spent the remainder of the afternoon working on our individual architectural investigation reports for the house.

-Benjamin Walker, MSHP Class of 2017

December 7, 2016

This morning we went to Tucker House to begin our individual architectural investigations, making note of key character defining features and finishes, construction methods, circulation patterns, and forms. For us, it was interesting to see and identify architectural features we would not normally see in Charleston including the limestone slate roof. In the afternoon, we learned about the type of listing program Bermuda uses for their historic sites.   It is divided into four categories: HM (Her Majesty), Grade 1, Grade 2, and Grade 3. We also discussed the guidelines utilized in the Town of St. George’s Historic Protection Area and compared them to the guidelines and Board of Architectural Review process in Charleston. The guidelines outline requirements on placement, height, scale, proportion, roof forms, exterior materials, windows and doors, color, etc. After discussions at Block House, we went out and surveyed the historic urban fabric and looked for violations in the guidelines within the town of St. George’s. We began to compile the data and photographs when we returned.

-Jen Leeds, MSHP Class of 2017

December 6, 2016

Documentation began on the Tucker House with the students breaking into two groups. One group worked in the cellar while the other group conquered the living quarters. Despite the rain, students had a successful day interpreting the house in plan. While documenting, new discoveries were made including finding original openings that were filled in.

-Meghan Olson, MSHP Class of 2017

December 5, 2016

Monday morning began with student investigation of the President Henry Tucker House. A brief break was allotted so that students could witness the installment of the new Royal Governor of Bermuda. Students then returned to the Tucker House to continue their investigation. The eighteenth century house sits along Water Street in St George’s and is now owned by the Bermuda National Trust. The house presents a series of interesting questions which students began to unravel with the aid of noted architectural historian, Ed Chappell. Led by Ed, Brent and the students closely studied the house in an initial attempt to better understand its evolution through time. With a short break for lunch, students spent the remainder of the day engulfed in the Tucker House’s mysteries.

-Morgan Granger, MSHP Class of 2017

December 3, 2106

We started our day off with a short walk to the grocery store in town to purchase enough food to cover our meals for the next several days.  Afterward, we had a little bit of time to further explore the town or prepare for the rest of the day.  In the late morning, professor Brent Fortenberry gave us a lecture on the history of Bermuda, and particularly that of St. George’s.

Following the lecture, we had a break for lunch prior to setting out on a guided tour of the historic center of the town.  Brent led us on the tour, covering the historic town center and surrounding areas.  We stopped briefly at St. Peter’s Church to explore the church and surrounding yard.  Reverend Raths, the pastor of the church, spent some time with us talking about the history of the church before we continued on our tour.

At the end of the tour, we returned to the Block House to make dinner which consisted of chicken, rice and broccoli that we purchased from the store that morning.  After dinner, we remained at the house for the remainder of the evening in order to do individual work and rest as we continued to adjust from traveling the day before.

– Benjamin Walker, MSHP Class of 2017

Preservation Field Studies is a second year Spring 2017 elective course taught by Dr. Brent Fortenberry that includes a sixteen day field school based in St. George’s, Bermuda. While in Bermuda the students will attend lectures on Bermuda’s vernacular architecture, preservation policy, and cultural heritage laws, engaging with local practitioners and stakeholders. Students will also undertake the investigation and documentation of two 18th-century structures in St. George’s preservation area. In the second half of the course, based in Charleston, students will complete the documentation of the project sites and create architectural history interpretive panels to be displayed in each of the project sites. This elective course will also consist of comparative discussions of preservation and cultural heritage issues and the wider UNESCO World Heritage Status between St. George ’s and Charleston.

Follow along here for updates from the students while in Bermuda December 2nd – 17th . . .

December 2, 2016

After getting up early and flying out of Charleston, we flew to Atlanta where Ed Chappell, director of archaeological and architectural research at Colonial Williamsburg, joined us on our flight to Bermuda. Once we landed we were met by friends from the Bermuda National Trust who drove us to St. George’s where we will be staying. St George is the oldest continually inhabited English town in the New World and was designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2000. Once we were settled in, some walked around the town observing the local architecture. In the evening, we all went to the Christmas Walkabout which is organized by the Bermuda National Trust. As part of the event, we were able to go into 17th and 18th century houses to partake of their history and Bermudian refreshments. Afterwards it was back to the house to rest for the next day.
– Alena Franco, MSHP Class of 2017