Colonial American Architecture: A Design Resource for Contemporary Traditional Architecture: Part II

Part II of architectural historian Calder Loth's two-part primer on colonial American architecture. You can watch Part I on our channel by clicking here: • Colonial American Arch...
This course is presented by the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, a national nonprofit promoting the practice, understanding, and appreciation of classical design. To watch more online classes like this one, or to become a member and support our educational mission, visit www.classicist.org/ .
About the Course:
For the past century and a half, America’s colonial-period buildings have inspired countless architectural designs. With numerous illustrations, this class will explain the rationale of many of the forms and details that give character to colonial works, both northern and southern. Emphasis will be placed on domestic architecture, demonstrating how their design features, when properly applied, can serve to enhance literate, if not creative, contemporary modern versions.
Learning Objectives:
1. Survey a variety of examples of colonial architecture.
2. Understand the forms and details of colonial works.
3. Compare northern and southern styles of colonial architecture.
4. Understand how to apply colonial styles to contemporary architecture.
Course Navigation and Review Questions:
As you watch the video, you can browse by subject using the course outline and timestamps below. As you progress through the video, you can follow along with optional (ungraded) review questions here to help assess your understanding of the material. Click here: www.classicist.org/colonial-a...
00:00 Proportion Systems for Façade Designs; Chimneys
05:01 Window Treatments
08:28 Architectural Details and Motifs
18:16 Colonial Interiors
Sponsors:
Thank You to our Lead Sponsor for Continuing Education, Uberto Construction
A Special Thanks to our Presenting Sponsor of Online Education: Douglas C. Wright Architects
Receive credit for this course:
Viewers may receive 2 AIA CES Learning Units|Elective and 2 credits towards the Certificate in Classical Architecture by watching this two-part video course and subsequently scoring at least 70% on a quiz that tests your understanding of the material. Please note that, as this is a two-part program, the quiz will test material from both video segments. Take the assessment by clicking here: www.classicist.org/calder-lot...
About the Instructor:
Calder Loth is Senior Architectural Historian for the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and a member of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art Advisory Council. He was the recipient of the 2010 ICAA Board of Directors Honor Award and the 2017 Virginia AIA Honor Award for significant contributions to the understanding of Virginia's built environment. He is the author of Congressional Resolution 259 honoring the 500th anniversary of the birth of Andrea Palladio, passed unanimously.

[@sharranparkinson6928]

Calder Loth's videos are beyond amazing, I lived in RVA and lived in his neighborhood when I was a professor of design at VCUarts, years ago. I knew that he was an amazing architectural historian but had no idea that he would someday complete these wonderful documentaries! Thank you! walked down Loth's alley many times, he also is a talented gardener.

[@benspragge33]

Prof Loth, this two part lecture was absolutely wonderful, I didn't want it to end. I hope to find more of your architecture lectures.

[@Hawking1969]

This is absolutely gold. I'm giddy with excitement as I consider building my own colonial home.

[@cateb7276]

Yay! We’re hoping to build ours in 2 years!

[@callumomalley2515]

@@cateb7276 how's it going?!

[@cateb7276]

⁠@@callumomalley2515we’ve found a builder, talked to architect and now trying to find our lot!

[@georgeallen7887]

Bravo!

[@joshua255860]

Outstanding! I am already of lover of colonial, but after your presentation, I am so more enamored. Thank you, sir.

[@claudiavaldes2578]

bravo! well done and presented. thank you.

[@jelsner5077]

Lovely presentation. Thank you.

[@AMJLBCA773]

A most excellent accent example. Slight "southern twang" and accent on the "o" pronounciation.

[@itinerantmendicant]

Prof Loth, is it just me or do porticos that extend substantially in front of the facade of the house look somewhat ungainly, especially because they have these heavy pediments supported by rather slender columns? The images you showed are a good example of what I am referring to.

[@calderloth6058]

Mr. Fernandes, Thank you for your observation. Colonial houses with porticoes are exceptionally rare. I think I show three: Drayton, Miles Brewton House, and Whitehall. The former two have two-tier porticoes, which require the columns to be scaled to their respective entablatures rather than to the full two stories. Likewise, the pediment normally is scaled to the full height of the house. That may indeed make the columns look small in relation to the pediments. Whitehall is a somewhat difficultly proportioned house in any case. But the columns of its standard temple -type tetrastyle portico look properly proportioned to the pediment, which is easier to do than dealing with a two-tier portico. Palladio had the same issues in his two-tier porticos. His columns also look overly slender is some instances, but he often played freely with the rules.

[@KarakNornClansman]

@@calderloth6058 Thank you for all the splendid lectures, professor Loth. They are gems. Have a wonderful day.

[@AutoWorldzz]

"Nice and creative Videos，I can see A lot of thought has been put into the content and editing of the video， This is really my favorite channel.:) .🌴🌴🌴excellent 👍👌👍👌👍 🌴🌴🌴 🌴🌴🌴 🌴🌴🌴 🌴🌴🌴 " Charleston †† Kanawha 2021

[@kimberlyperrotis8962]

How I wish I had classic solid-panel interior shutters that fold into the window enclosure, it solves all the problems with window dressing, like curtains, blinds, etc. In my hot climate, they would be great to exclude the sun during the hottest part of the day, my western and southern windows let in far too much heat.

[@user-ho2pf5mj5g]

Slip Mickey 🍌 Solomons mind games.

[@Real_Tim_S]

And with this, I now understand with completeness what bothered me about people asking me to install a flat panel TV over their fireplace (despite the practical issues and thermal overload of the electronics). An Aedicule being a little temple over the fireplace where the "GOD" or Ancestor who personifies the values/purpose and guides the house... ...and people put a TV in that station... So in essence saying, "in this house, we live for TV and worship the mindless entertainment it provides..." sounds about right looking back on those customers.

[@psor9983]

I hate TVs, especially over a fireplace! I don't own a TV. Just watch youtube on my laptop

[@benspragge33]

🤣🤣🤣 I thought the same thing. Im designing a house to build, and the plan is to have a fireplace at the center of the main livingroom, and the Tv will go in the basement or the attic. Makes sense, most people do come home to there TV. It is said, TV has replaced our time that was previously used for prayer and or meditation.

[@Real_Tim_S]

@@benspragge33 Completely agree, and I'm also designing a house for my family. Vaguely around the Colonial Georgian/Federal period design, four main rooms on the ground floor (first floor above grade) primarily for "entertaining" as in human-to-human interaction. Second floor (above grade) being private spaces and bedrooms/en-suite-bathrooms, basement floor being learning/working/shop/play spaces - where a home theater will probably be placed in a corner - and not the primary focus of the entire space. Several people who I worked for that had custom homes built, had no concept of how entertainment flows in a house. There is a presentation of the property at the end of the driveway, where you can have some fun with landscaping to make for a "reveal" as you approach the house. The entrance makes an impression and lighting and decorations can set the mood for the day or evening. You welcome people in the foyer, relieve them of their troubles at the door, and have them mingle with guests in some light entertainment in the Parlor, which eases the mood as they gradually get introduced to the other guests in a "confined space". Then, if it is to be an outdoor event, you move through to the garden grounds (backyard) and people can spread out to their comfort and ease - and if it is to be a garden party, having the sustenance spread at planned stations to promote movement through the grounds allowing for particular views and focal points to catch the eye are good practice. For an indoor event, moving through to the formal dining room, where food and conversation for the whole party is possible so that everyone can be part of the conversation, or have a quieter side conversation is preferable. After the primary entertainment for the evening (either the Garden or the Dinner), those who wish to leave may be walked to the Foyer to collect their troubles for the trip home, and those who wish to stay and converse may go through to the Lounge for continuation of the main conversation or to a private conversation - perhaps for a dessert drink to top of the evening. Guests who will stay the night, may retire to a guest bedroom near the stairs, so that they need not pass through the private spaces of the household. So many houses have that open floor plan so that parents can keep an eye on the kids while they play - robbing the kids of the experience of independence, and giving the parents no escape to just get on with it. There is an argument that "part of entertaining is enjoying preparing the meal together" - okay fine, but unless you are running a Benihana, the food preparation is not entertainment for everyone else... When you have guests, the host should be attending to the guests, prep is done beforehand. Also if you get to scale of party where you consider hiring catering - putting your kitchen right in the middle of your entertaining space, makes it significantly harder for the catering staff to get out of the way while they work, and most single family homes don't have enough yard space to move all the catering outdoors. IMHO, entertaining is about coming up with a story about how the day or evening is going to go, and then coming up with the details that will likely guide the guests to have the experience you intend. Most people just stop at "theme".

[@benspragge33]

@@Real_Tim_S that sounds like it'll be a beautiful home! Yes I agree. I can't recommend enough the book "A Patterned Language". It's the 2nd of 3 books. Christopher and his team express ideas that we all know naturally, and it makes a lot of sense. Although, I'm not too fond of his designs he came up with (that I've seen). I'm no expert! Still learning and happy to be corrected in anything I say! You mention the open floor plan. It has a purpose, but it doesn't fit with our natural human inclinations and desires. If we are completely honest with ourselves, it's too open. No security, no alcoves, there's no room for private conversations, etc. Another point, or "pattern" that the book points out that's important is the home entrance. The pathway from the public street to the entrance should help the traveler mentally prepare for the privacy of the home. A change in direction, elevation, shadow and light, and maybe even environment such as a small gate or flowers can all help. You mention this in your design. A stoop above the door or a tree that you have to walk past to reveal the door both accomplish this and when experiencing it, it just feels "right". Beautiful buildings help us be better humans because they help us be our best selves. Beautiful has 2 characteristics. It is objective, and functional, but it also has an inate feeling. A building, object, or any space no matter how big or small is beautiful first because it has a function that works with the rest of the area and caters to it's purpose. But function isn't the only thing that is important (like office cubicles are only function and don't recognize human needs). It's important to note that although beauty is objective, it also confirms to the different functional needs of the climate, environment, and social practices and habits of the region. Spanish culture encourages the importance of a courtyard, while Eastern Indian culture dictates a different layout. And likewise a flat in London has an altogether different approach dictated by the available space. If we put aside prejudice and look at a space completely honestly, if the space is beautiful, it will have a "feeling" along with it's function. We will feel in our gut that it works, it's "comfortable" or "cozy" or "inviting" or it just "works"; there's a thousand words that can describe this "feeling" but not one of them can describe it because it's much more complex. All humans have the ability to design beautiful homes and spaces, but we have to be able to properly assess and know the difference between a gut feeling and an almost brain washing of what is "beautiful", such as in our modern life. We also have to put aside unbalanced desires to look a particular way, such as wealthy which can dictate a design that doesn't confirm to it's purpose and is thus, less beautiful. Sorry for the lecture! But this facinates me. Your house sounds wonderful, and much larger than my plan. We will build a Cape style 1.5 story with a basement. Probably 36x30 or so; this will give us much more outdoor space on our .77acre lot for a shop, a garden, and lots of different outdoor spaces. We have similar ideas about TV and work space below, entertainment on the first floor with a bedroom, and bedrooms upstairs. Also, an attached observatory with a wood stove and french doors to the dining room. So whether it's cold or hot we can enjoy the out doors, which will lead to the garden. One last point, I have lived in a small Cape style house 1.5 story with 2 bedrooms upstairs. The entrance opened to a livingroom with the stairs right ahead of the front entrance. An office or bedroom to the right. The living room took the left quadrant of the home which opened with pocket doors to the back quadrant (a dining room with a fireplace) and that you can walk to the kitchen quadrant to the back right. No door, but it was an opening as wide as a door. What's funny, is (almost always, when I had a family party) almost everyone would migrate to this small kitchen area. My family is big (I'm one of 10 kids), yet we would have 10 or 12 people all talking and enjoying ourselves in this tiny kitchen. As opposed to a more open area. This same thing happens all the time, when we have a wide open space, almost always we congregate to a smaller space. I'm not saying the kitchen is an entertainment area, but what you say is so true. We invite guests in the main entrance, then they migrate to another room, and when allowed they will migrate to a more private or cozy area that can even be quite small. In open floor plans I see people congregating in small corners of the room. We can't deny our human nature or instincts. We might be elevated above animals, but we still have preferences and needs of our environment. I would love to hear anyone's feedback or corrections! Good luck with your home!

[@Real_Tim_S]

@@benspragge33 This is the kind of conversation I subscribed to this channel for, cheers ;), and don't apologize for a "lecture" on a lecture video!