Colonial is a common adjective used to describe American houses. Yet which colonial do we mean? Normally we are referring to English Colonial Houses. Yet, from Florida to California, our colonial history is primarily Spanish, not English. Our oldest continuously inhabited city, St. Augustine, Florida, and early Southwest missions were built by Spanish conquerors, colonists, and missionaries.
Architecture seen through the hand and eye, moments of memory recorded, elements studied and filed away in my mind for inspiration: my sketchbooks are filled with these, some of which I share here.
As I've told my students before, worrying over the beauty of a sketch is not the point of sketching. I spent my first year in Rome afraid to draw. Afraid my sketches would not be as beautiful as my classmate’s. I looked, but without sketching I did not see.
Finally, one day, sitting on the steps of Santa Maria della Salute in Venice, gazing across the canal at the shimmering beauty of La Serenissima, I vowed I would sketch what my heart felt. But I didn’t have a pencil, only my Waterman, filled with my favorite Havana ink was in my pocket. It was daunting to think of sketching in pen, for I wouldn’t be able to erase. Putting pen to paper would require commitment.
That afternoon, realizing if I made a mistake, I couldn’t undo it, but would have to keep on and push through the drawing, looking, observing, and representing what I saw, feeling my way around the architecture and space, I finally learned to sketch. That day was the last day I was afraid to sketch. I learned the goal of sketching was not the pretty picture, but what I learned. Each of these moments is now a memory indelible in my mind.
Keep sketching!
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Fort Worth, TX – September 20, 2010 - Historic Fort Worth has awarded the Byrd Residence its 2010 Residential Award recognizing excellence in the rehabilitation of historic homes. Fort Worth homebuilder and master-craftsman Brent Hull of The Brent Hull Companies collaborated with New York-based design firm Christine G. H. Franck, Inc. to restore this historic home to its original charm.
Built in 1938 in Fort Worth’s Colonial Addition neighborhood, this once-graceful Colonial Revival style home was insensitively renovated in the 1990s. Modern additions of incorrectly proportioned columns, heavy-cast stone trim, and stripping of the original whitewashing and shutters all compromised the home’s original grace.
In 2009 an extensive renovation and addition returned the house to its former beauty and updated it for modern living. Sensitive façade renovations included replacing ungainly columns and cast stone trim, re-whitewashing brick, and replacing dark green shutters. An addition to the rear of the house expanded both indoor and outdoor living space without unduly increasing the size of the house visible from the street.
The subtlest of changes greatly impacted the appearance of this home. In their work together on this renovation, Hull and Franck demonstrate how principles of classical architecture such as proportion and scale, so often misunderstood in today’s typical McMansions, should work together harmoniously.
Brent Hull is a builder of fine residences, master-craftsman, author, and nationally recognized expert on historic millwork and molding design. Christine G. H. Franck is a designer, professor of architecture, and author specializing in classical architecture and traditional American domestic architecture.
This and other outstanding works in the field of historic preservation will be recognized at the Samuel Benton Cantey III Lecture and Annual Preservation Honor Awards, Thursday, September 23, 2010 at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center. Contact Historic Fort Worth for reservations at (817) 336-2344.
Contact:
Brent Hull, President, The Brent Hull Companies
(817) 332-1495
Christine G. H. Franck, President, Christine G. H. Franck, Inc.
(212) 421-3465
(Above: View of Byrd Residence, AFTER renovations.)
(Above: View of Byrd Residence, BEFORE renovations.)
(Above: View of Byrd Residence entablature, AFTER renovations.)
(Above: View of Byrd Residence entablature, BEFORE renovations.)
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Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity sprucing up home designs through competition
The Dallas Morning News, 12:00 AM CDT on Friday, May 21, 2010
Habitat for Humanity homes don't have to look mass-produced, so the Texas chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture and Classical America, Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity and Lambert's are introducing a little pizzazz into future designs.
They're inviting teams of architectural professionals or students to participate in the inaugural Dream Dallas Home Design Competition to create a new design and look for a single-family Habitat for Humanity home.
The competition was introduced during an ICA event last month hosted by Sam and Shannon Gilliland at their home in Highland Park and organized by Lyn Muse of the ICA.
The evening also featured a lecture by Christine Franck and Brent Hull, co-authors of Traditional American Rooms: Celebrating Style, Craftsmanship, and Historic Woodwork (Winterthur Style Sourcebook).
Teams can register through May 31, and the design submission deadline is July 30.
Winners will be announced Sept. 9.
Seven awards will be given by the design competition committee, which will include design professionals, Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity staff and a Habitat homeowner.
The first-prize team gets $3,000, and its design will serve as a basis for building a Habitat for Humanity home in West Dallas in 2011; second prize is $1,000; and five teams will receive honorable mention recognition and $250 prizes.
The winning design and other recognized designs will also be published in a pattern book.
The Dream Dallas Home Design Competition is open to teams of architectural professionals and students in the fields of architecture, interior design, planning and landscape architecture.
Each team must have a host who is an Institute of Classical Architecture and Classical America member.
Student teams may request a grant of $200 to help defray entry fees by sending a written request to ICA@lebarchitects.com.
To download the full criteria for submissions, visit www.classicist-texas.org or call Larry Boerder at 214-559-2285.
Major donors include:
$10,000: Lambert's (the title sponsor) and XTO Energy .
$5,000: Larry and Debra Boerder, Royal and Debbie Carson, Kent Kunkel, Lyn Muse Interiors Inc., Mack and Jean Pogue and Vaughn Vennerberg.
$1,000: Gil Andres/Andres Construction Services, Barry and Lana Andrews, Asselin Windows, Bordeaux Custom Homes, Harlan and Kathy Crow, David and Marcia Dowler, Elegant Additions, Sam and Shannon Gilliland, Harry and Norma Longwell, Sarah and Ross Perot Jr. Foundation, Preston Center Rotary Club, Leonard and Peggy Riggs, Sebastian Construction Group Inc. and Michael and Alison Weinstein.
The Institute of Classical Architecture and Classical America was founded as two separate organizations that merged in 2002. The national nonprofit group is dedicated to advancing the classical tradition in architecture, urbanism and their allied arts.
a lecture by Christine G. H. Franck and Brent Hull
The lecture will explore the Winterthur Museum’s period rooms, the role of the Colonial Revival throughout America and the South, and their relevance for the best of design and craftsmanship today.
Set in the bucolic Brandywine Valley, Winterthur Museum and Country Estate is a treasure of historic American architecture and decorative arts. Created by avid collector and connoisseur Henry Francis du Pont, the vast collection includes period rooms from all thirteen original colonies. Central to the revival of taste for colonial America, today Winterthur is an unparalleled resource for architects, decorators, and patrons alike.
For the first time, with full color photography and original measured drawings, the architectural millwork of selected rooms is examined by master craftsman Brent Hull and designer Christine G. H. Franck in Winterthur Style Sourcebook: Traditional American Rooms.
Christine G. H. Franck is a designer and educator with a practice in New York City. She served as director of the academic programs of The ICA&CA from 1998 to 2005, and has held faculty appointments at the University of Notre Dame and Georgia Institute of Technology’s College of Architecture. Ms. Franck also serves on the Board of Directors of the ICA&CA and the Steering Committee of INTBAU. In 2002 Ms. Franck was honored by HRH The Prince of Wales with the first Public Service Award of the Prince’s Foundation for “her outstanding contribution to the study of architecture and design.”
Brent Hull is a leading expert on architectural design and historic construction. A master builder, Brent’s company, Hull Historical, works throughout the country consulting and manufacturing fine custom millwork for discerning clients. Brent speaks nationally and writes frequently for publications like Old House Journal, Period Homes, Fine Homebuilding, Remodeling and Tools of the Trade.
$50 ICA&CA members, $75 non-members, Free to paid Dream Dallas competition participants.
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Christine G. H. Franck, Inc. 154 East 61st Street New York, NY 10021 212-421-3465 telephone 212-319-4023 facsimile cghfranck@aol.com
Last night at the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation in Atlanta, Brent Hull and I lectured on our new book Winterthur Style Sourcebook: Traditional American Rooms. The event was organized by the ICA&CA Southeast Chapter, and sponsored by Randall Brothers. Thank you! Today we're teaching a seminar on classical design and good practice in millwork at Historical Concepts' wonderful office. High up on the 4th floor, our students are hard at work on an esquisse for a classical interior. The deadline is an hour away! It's great to see such talent and focus from these terrific architects and designers. Christine
Christine G. H. Franck, Inc.Announcing the winners of the 2010 Arthur Ross Awards for Excellence in the Classical Tradition, along with a special Board of Directors Honor, specifically established five years ago to recognize an extraordinary individual who transcends categories and has also offered devoted volunteer service directly to the Institute. The year 2010 constitutes only the third time that the Board of Directors Honor has been bestowed by recommendation of the jury and as approved by the trustees.
Jury Chair, Barbara Sallick
