Category: Uncategorized

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

Clemson University / College of Charleston Graduate Program in Historic Preservation welcomes all prospective students to an Open House!

Join us for building tours, conservation lab tours, student photo critique, sample project display, Q&A with current students, meet the faculty, and a light lunch.

What: Clemson University / College of Charleston Graduate Program in Historic Preservation OPEN HOUSE

When: Friday, October 28^th; 10:45 am – 2:00 pm

Where: Cigar Factory, 701 East Bay Street, Suite 202, Charleston, SC 29403

*Parking: Please use visitor parking and sign in at the front desk upon arrival

Please RSVP to Mary Margaret Schley: mschley@clemson.edu.

The Clemson University/College of Charleston Graduate Program in Historic Preservation is excited to announce the first Pecha Kucha event for Charleston students of the built environment. Students from the following programs will deliver fun and fast-paced presentations on their academic work:

Clemson University/College of Charleston Graduate Program in Historic Preservation

Clemson Architecture Center in Charleston (CAC.C)

Interiors Department at the Art Institute Charleston

Historic Preservation & Community Planning Undergraduate Program at the College of Charleston

American College of the Building Arts

The event will take place at the Clemson Design Center in Charleston located at the Cigar Factory, 701 East Bay Street, Suite 202. Mark your calendars for Thursday, October 27th at 5:30 pm!

Questions? Ask assistant professor Amalia Leifeste at aleifes@clemson.edu.

We are thrilled to announce we won FIRST PLACE in this year’s Peterson Prize competition for our measured drawings of Pompion Hill Chapel! Since 2007 the drawings produced by our students have placed every year in the annual competition. We are proud to add this first place award to our legacy!

https://www.nps.gov/hdp/competitions/Peterson_winners.htm

The Architectural Fragments Collection which was displayed in the MSHP program’s old home on Meeting Street has moved to the Cigar Factory.  Rising Second Year Rachel Freels spent the second portion of her summer internship designing interpretative panels for the collection and laying out locations for it to hang in the MSHP studios.  Moby Marks rode to our rescue, as he often does, to help anchor doors, door frames, windows, mantels and the rest of the collection in our new location so that it can continue to support our classes for many years to come.

We boxed up the contents of our old home at 292 Meeting Street and moved labs, studios, offices to our new home in the historic Cigar Factory on East Bay Street.  Built in 1882 as a textile mill, the large five story brick building at 701 East Bay operated as a cigar factory employing 1,400 through most of the 20th century.  Abandoned and empty for a decade, the Cigar Factory is today a successful rehabilitation that houses retail and commercial offices on the ground floor and offices above.  The MSHP program occupies the second floor of the building with Clemson’s other Charleston-based design programs.  Come see us!