Sehila Casper, Caitlin Hart, Shannon Schaefer, and Nicole Vanella

In early March, four historic preservation graduate students, Caitlin Hart (M.F.A. candidate), Sehila Casper (M.F.A. candidate), Shannon Schaefer (M.F.A. candidate) and Nicole Vanella (M.A. candidate), were selected to receive an Ambassador Award from the Vernacular Architecture Forum conference in Gaspe, Quebec, Canada, on June 11-15.  This marks the second year in a row that SCAD historic preservation students have been selected.  Professor Jong-Huyn Lim will attend the conference and participate as a mentor during the student presentation.

Savannah Powder Magazine

During the spring 2013 quarter, students in the HIPR 202 Recording and Interpretation course are documenting the historic Savannah Powder Magazine. Constructed in 1898 by prominent Savannah architects Hyman W. Witcover and Alfred S. Eichberg, it is designed in the Gothic Revival style. Gothic architectural features on the building include crenellations, corbelling, a frontis piece at the front and rear entrance, as well as air vents designed to mimic Catherine windows typically found on Gothic churches.

Vent designed in the style of a Catherine window

The building is constructed entirely of brick in a running bond. The mortar is tinted red to match the brick, which gives the building a unified appearance, while the crenellations and foundation have been parged with Portland Cement. There is a flat roof that is supported by a series of small contiguous barrel vaults. The magazine consists of a t-shaped plan divided in to two rooms. The opposite ends of the horizontal segment of the t-shaped plan are closed by semi-hexagonal apses. Impressions of the powder barrels remain evident within the concrete flooring.

Barrel vaulting on interior ceiling

Impressions within concrete floor left by powder barrels.

When constructed, the powder magazine was located five miles from downtown in a remote area outside of Savannah, due to its explosive contents. The magazine was decommissioned in 1963 and is currently owned by the City of Savannah. Once the students finish the drawings, they will be submitted to the Library of Congress to become a permanent part of the HABS collection.

Students discuss the Savannah Powder Magazine with dean Sottile

City Hall, Savannah, GA

Hong Kong native Zoe Leung (B.F.A. candidate) will have her perspective rendering of the Savannah City Hall added to the City’s permanent art collection. The two-point perspective drawing was a project completed in DRAW 115 – Graphics for the Building Arts. This course serves as a foundation course for undergraduate historic preservation majors.

Luciana Spracher, the Director of City’s Research Library and Municipal Archive indicated the work will be in the City Manager’s office and hopes it will be the first of more Savannah subjects supplied by SCAD students.

Jonathan Mellon speaks with students in the historic preservation department

Jonathan Mellon (M.F.A., Historic Preservation, 2004) visited with historic preservation students this week as the department’s first alumni mentor. He participated in class discussions with all faculty, presented a talk about his career in the Clarence Thomas Center chapel, and advised students about how to prepare for the job market after graduation.

Currently, Jonathan is the Senior Architectural Conservator for the Historic House Trust (HHT) of New York City’s Department of Parks and Recreation, where he oversees capital projects, performs condition assessments of properties, supervises the preservation crew, and heads the conservation committee. Upon joining HHT in 2009, Jonathan has worked on projects at the Merchant’s House Museum, Gracie Mansion, the restoration of Poe Cottage, and on the planning for the upcoming restoration projects at the Bowne House, Lott House, and the many other HHT sites. Prior to coming to New York City, Jonathan was employed with the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Office, where he oversaw a number of the city’s historic districts, developed design guidelines, and reviewed projects seeking the Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit.

When asked to describe a typical day on the job, Jonathan responded by saying that every day presented new challenges. From roof leaks at Gracie Mansion, to structural issues at Poe Cottage, to a new visitor center at Bowne House, to landscape planning at the Lott House, Jonathan’s responsibilities span the entire spectrum of the preservation field. He stressed the importance of working collaboratively with architects and designers, as well as appreciating the talents and hard work of tradespeople. He feels that the job market, particularly in cities like New York and Washington, is strong for preservationists, and encouraged students to reach out to prospective employers with their resumes and portfolios.

The students and faculty greatly enjoyed our time with Jonathan, and we wish him much continued success.

Students apply finish coat to decorative chimney piece and trim of the ocular window

Historic preservation students have worked in the historic Harden House for the past eight quarters.  Approximately 100 students have participated in numerous hands-on projects ranging from demolition to design, paint analysis, decorative painting and faux-finishing, decorative plaster cleaning and restoration,  wood window restoration and general painting and construction.  As a collaboration between the Harden House owners and the SCAD historic preservation department, students get exposed to various restoration techniques and technologies.  In addition, students gain further practical experience by learning how to read construction drawings and communicating with subcontractors, as work has gone on throughout the c1892 Victorian Queen Anne house designed by renowned Boston-based architect William Gibbons Preston.

Current image of Castle Pickney capturing a view similar to the historic image on the right

In February, students in Professor Connie Pinkerton’s research class traveled to Charleston, South Carolina.  There they met architecture professor Sam Olin with students from his design studio, and the group traveled by water taxi to Shutes Folly Island in Charleston’s harbor.  Situated on the island is Castle Pinckney, a brick fort constructed in 1809 in a unique semicircular plan with two rounded bastions.  Now a ruin, the fort has anchored the little island for over 200 years.

The visit to Castle Pinckney was one step in a collaboration between historic preservation and architecture students who are creating a design solution and submission for the 2012-2013 International Student Ideas Competition.  The theme for this year’s competition is “Preservation as Provocation: Rethinking Castle Pinckney for the 21st Century.”  The preservation students arrived prepared with historic maps and photographs, including some from the Historic American Building Survey (HABS) completed in the 1930s (http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query). They were able to identify traces of the structure’s life as a fort, a prison, and a lighthouse. The collaboration will continue into the spring quarter.  The 2012-2013 International Student Ideas Competition organized and funded by the American Institute of Architects Historic Resources Committee (AIA/HRC), the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), the National Center for Technology and Preservation and Technology Training (NCPTT), and Clemson University/College of Charleston Graduate Program in Historic Preservation.

Historic preservation M.F.A. candidate, Shannon Schaefer, recently took large-format photographs at Whitefield Chapel for the department’s Peterson Prize submission. HABS suggests providing photographs as part of the documentation process, because they provide context, spatial relationships and existing conditions. These elements are harder to convey through two-dimensional drawings. The Peterson Prize doesn’t require large-format photos. However, this is an opportunity for students to gain additional experience with architectural photography. The Peterson Prize is an award sponsored by HABS and is given to the best set of student documentation drawings.

Francesco Bandarin, assistant director-general for culture at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, and W. Paul Farmer, chief executive officer of the American Planning Association, are slated as featured speakers for the 16th Annual US/ICOMOS International Symposium May 1-4, in historic downtown Savannah on the campus of SCAD.

As UNESCO’s assistant director-general for culture, Bandarin provides advocacy and assistance that helps safeguard cultural heritage treasures worldwide. He is a specialist in architecture and urban planning, having worked in both public and private institutions in the fields of built heritage, cultural heritage conservation, environmental heritage and cultural events, and architectural and urban design in developing countries. Bandarin has been actively involved in the Venice Safeguarding Project and was involved in the preparation of Rome for the Year 2000 Jubilee.

Farmer is a fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners and a recipient of the Design Excellence Award from the National Endowment for the Arts. He has broad experience consulting in North America, Asia and Europe, and has lectured and written extensively. Farmer will discuss his experience and perspective on heritage as an underlying narrative that is fortified by planning in the ongoing process of city building.

Beth and Kate working with mortar samples in the lab

As part of an independent study, Beth Wiza and Kate Stephens documented and assessed existing conditions of the wall surrounding the colonial Old Jewish Cemetery.  In the new colony of Georgia, Jews were not permitted to be buried in Colonial Cemetery and therefore, had to create a separate resting place.  When the Old Jewish Cemetery was first designated, its location was well outside of Savannah.  Due to city growth and expansion, the Old Jewish Cemetery is now bounded by Coyle Street to the west and the on-ramp to Highway 16 on the south.

The first part of the documentation required dividing the wall in to segments of ten feet to examine the structure more closely.  Next, the interior and exterior facades of each wall were surveyed.  The survey included documenting the site using photogrammetric tools, which facilitated the creation of two-dimensional elevation drawings of each facade in AutoCAD.

To aid in the preservation of the historic wall, Beth and Kate developed a maintenance and conservation plan.  Initial steps involved conducting mortar and stucco analysis.  The results of their analysis guided their recommendations for stabilizing, cleaning and future maintenance of the wall.