texaspreservationist-blog

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Timber frame construction by Alan Ritchie in Wales 

On-site courses available: hewnwood.com

#architecture #wales #timber frame construction #wood

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Italian scientists are a few thousand euros and a test tube away from conclusively identifying the body of Pliny the Elder, the Roman polymath, writer and military leader who launched a naval rescue operation to save the people of Pompeii from the deadly eruption of Mt. Vesuvius 2,000 years ago.

…In the first years of the 20th century, amid a flurry of digs to uncover Pompeii and other sites preserved by the layers of volcanic ash that covered them, an engineer called Gennaro Matrone uncovered some 70 skeletons near the coast at Stabiae. One of the bodies carried a golden triple necklace chain, golden bracelets and a short sword decorated with ivory and seashells.

Matrone was quick to theorize that he had found Pliny’s remains.

… Researchers plan to carry out two tests: a comparison between the skull’s morphology with known busts and images of Pliny, and, more importantly, an examination of the isotope signatures in his teeth. …

… there are no cases of major figures from ancient Rome whose remains have been positively identified.

#archaeology #ancient rome #pompeii

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Mission San José, Texas.

#mission san jose #texas #mission #architecture #preservation #history

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Johnson City Settlement, Johnson City, Texas. Spring 2017. I fell in love with this place. Sorry for the wind noise :). 

We had a wonderful trip. It will take me a while to get around to going through all the pictures and getting some queued. 

#johnson city #texas #architecture #history #preservation

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Courthouses--Burnet County

Given the history of Texas and its settlers, both pre- and post-Republic, it’s not surprising that a lot of the historic municipal architecture was built in the latter half of the 19th century. Texas is rich with historic courthouses, many of which date from between 1875 and 1915. As beautiful as they are—the James Riely Gordon and Gordon-inspired courthouses are magnificent and memorable—what’s a fan of modern architecture to do?

For a start, they can try the Burnet County Courthouse.

(photograph from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burnet_County,_Texas)

This is the third Burnet County courthouse: the first burned in 1874, and the second was demolished after it fell into disrepair. If you’ve have visited the Austin recently, you might notice at least one familiar feature: Burnet’s courthouse is clad in the same Granite Mountain pink as the Capitol building.

The courthouse is listed as Moderne Style in the National Register narrative. It’s the right time period, particularly when you look at the building’s vintage (late 1930s), its emphasis of horizontal lines, and the flat roof with narrow coping. However, the rich materials and bas-reliefs as well as Federalist elements suggest a subtype of the Moderne style: PWA Moderne, also called Federal Moderne. This style describes many civic buildings built between roughly 1936 and 1944, specifically those (like the Burnet County Courthouse) sponsored by the Public Works Administration (PWA) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

(photograph from http://www.254texascourthouses.net/105-burnet-county.html)

The current courthouse’s design is courtesy of the firm Wirtz & Calhoun. Among their other works are the Guadalupe County courthouse in Seguin, a lovely limestone structure of similar design, and the Allen House, a magnificent modernistic residence and one of the most famous of that style in Houston. The 1974 add-on to the courthouse’s south face is faced with the same pink granite and exhibits the same horizontal flow and smoothness as the rest of the building. Inside, the original fabric has been maintained as much as possible, including terrazzo floors, pink granite detailing, and a double-U-shaped staircase in the eastern wing.

(photograph from http://www.1113architects.com/work/restoration/)

Rather than simple lines and geometric patterns, the bas-reliefs of the Burnet County courthouse are figural and representational. Among the images (designed, again, by Milton Wirtz) are Roman senators, a trial scene including pioneers, and an Indian tribunal, all images appropriate for a courthouse; goats, sheep, and a bull grazing, exhibiting some of the primary industries of the area; and Indians and pioneers making peace. Given that the tribes living in this area included the Comanche, known for their raids on the European settlements, the images are more likely intended to be of the relatively peaceful Tonkawa and Lipan Apache.

(photograph from http://www.254texascourthouses.net/105-burnet-county.html)

The courthouse square itself is charming, comprising several historic buildings of an older vintage than the courthouse itself, including a historic jail that now operates as a juvenile detention facility. As the downtown focal point of Burnet, the square includes restaurants, antique shops, law offices, and a farmer’s market on Saturday mornings from May to mid-November.

(photograph of Badger Building in Burnet’s courthouse square from https://imgrum.me/user/preservationtexas/)

(photograph of Burnet’s farmer’s market from https://get.google.com/albumarchive/113115147930493945731/album/AF1QipMBoyAP7rpQ_srlXsaPqVO2YG04LLD6V4kXqUFP)

All in all, Burnet’s courthouse is a fine example of the beauty and diversity of Texas’s historic civic buildings. It’s a wonderful example of Federalist Moderne architecture and well worth a visit.

For a little more information about Texas’s historical courthouses, check out the following links:

http://www.254texascourthouses.net/

http://www.thc.texas.gov/preserve/projects-and-programs/texas-historic-courthouse-preservation

http://www.texasescapes.com/Texas_architecture/TexasCourthouses.htm

http://texascourthouses.com/

If you’re interested in the PWA Moderne/Federalist Moderne style, here are a few more non-Texas-specific links:

http://www.fullertonheritage.org/Resources/archstyles/pwawpa.htm

https://www.laconservancy.org/architectural-style/pwa-moderne

https://infogalactic.com/info/PWA_Moderne

#architecture #moderne #federalist moderne #burnet county #texas #courthouse project

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~ Colossal statue of a winged human-headed bull from the North-West Palace of Ashurnasirpal II. Date: 865-860 B.C. Period/culture: Neo-Assyrian Medium: Gypsum

#atropaic art #assyria #sculpture #preservation #art

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These ancient mosaic fragments,  slightly submerged in the sea, can be found on a deserted stretch of minor road on the East coast of the Greek mainland, untended, unsignposted, unnoticed. 

#architecture #preservation #archaeology #classical #greece #mosaics

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I do want to design my own house lol that'd be awesome. Hate me but I do love brutalism. I just love concrete so much! The geomtric elegance and austerity. It wouldn't necessarily need to be some 'soviet brutalism' but like that cool 'tropical box house' in Malasia. I love the concept. Especially cuz I'm from a real tropical country and I know what is to deal with the heat 24/7. I don't mean pure real concrete but the aesthetic.

Many consider concrete a cold material but for some reason I feel like you, concrete is warm and unpolished, an honest material. If you are using it in a tropical climate make sure to provide opportunities for cross breezes and limit the exposed surface area of concrete on the walls that would receive the sun directly most of the day.

Here are some incredible brutalist houses:

Stamp House Charles Wright Architects

Van Wassenhove House Juliaan Lampens

Reyes Fernandez Residence Pedro Reyes and Carla Fernandez

Apollo Pavilion by Victor Pasmore (not technically a house, but house scale)

Casa SperimentaleGiuseppe Perugini

Azuma House Tadao Ando

#architecture #preservation #brutalism #houses