Vernacular or not?
To me, critical regionalism embodies many aspects of place
that have been mentioned in previous blogs. I think we know what critical
regionalism is, as well as what it is not. It is not shopping malls. It is not
classical architecture (unless you’re in Rome or Athens). It is not modernism.
During one of our previous classes, someone mentioned that
the Jeffersonian architecture of the American south could be considered a local
vernacular. I tend to agree with this notion. While it is a neoclassical
adaptation, its forms lend itself to exist all over the south. Why? Well to be
completely honest I am not sure, (this could be a research paper topic).
I think much of it has to do with class and status of the
people who commissioned those structures. Many of the wealthy people in the
south wanted their public works and homes to be reflective of their occupation/
wealth. While this is a guess of mine, it would explain the desire for such out
of place columns, cornices, and pediments. Contrast these forms with the colonial
architecture of the upper Atlantic states – it is very different (much less gaudy).
I think this may be the topic of my research paper – I will
continue to further my understanding of it and refine what my question could
be.
I agree, Shane. This is an excellent topic for a research paper. Thinking back on visiting wealthier estates all across the South, I see the similarities of column placement, pediments, etc. It makes me want to research this further as well!
ReplyDeleteI like your reference of Jeffersonion architecture because i do feel like Jefferson was, at least in a few ways, trying to navigate a few of these issues with Monticello. For example, he wanted a Palladian villa (arguably a flawed premise but whatevs) but built it out of timber and local brick and wanted it to sized comparably to the other (fancy) houses, which meant that it needed to be 2 stories. problem was that his floorplans needed 3 stories to work, so he changed all of the windows around so that it looked like a 2-story house from the outside in keeping with the other houses in the area. the upper story windows are weird from the inside (they're on the floor) and one might argue that the last minute addition of the dome kind of undoes the attempts at humility, but in the end I'd argue that it all works.
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