Vernacular Architecture and the Building Arts in Houston: The Gulf Coast Connection Symposium at the Houston Public Library
The Houston Public Library will be hosting the Vernacular Architecture and the Building Arts in Houston: The Gulf Coast Connection symposium on Saturday, September 12, 2009 from 10 AM to 6 PM. The event will take place at the Central Library, 500 McKinney, 77002, 832-393-1313, on the 4th floor’s Program Place. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Pat Jasper at (713) 527-9330, cell (512) 484-1180 or by email at pat@haatx.com.
Houston’s architectural pedigree is largely known for its modern face, breathtaking scale and well-known individual architects, designers and builders. Yet, historical and contemporary expressions of vernacular architecture in Houston speak to the community-based cultural diversity that has always characterized the city. Spanish, Mexican, African American, German and Anglo influences, among others, shape the city and its home-grown architecture. This fertile combination of cultures is very much in keeping with the rich mix encountered along the Gulf Coast. Over the course of decades, new communities have come to Houston and contributed their knowledge of building traditions to our local skill base and way of life.
Vernacular Architecture and the Building Arts in Houston: The Gulf Coast Connection explores this alternate perspective
on Houston’s built environment and features presentations at Houston Public Library on the multicultural roots of
Houston’s vernacular styles, live demonstrations of traditional building arts by artisans at The Heritage Society, and a
reception for participants and the public at the Architecture Center Houston. All programs are free and open to the public.
Vernacular Architecture and the Building Arts in Houston kicks off at 10 am at the Central Library with a series of talks on the topic by noted local and national folklorists, historic preservation specialists, architects and architectural historians. Participants include Margaret Culbertson, Stephen Fox, Gregory Free, Carl Lindahl, Barry Norwood, Michelangelo Sabatino and John Michael Vlach. Audience interaction with speakers is encouraged. Schedule and bios are attached.
At noon, across the street from the Central Library, at 1100 Bagby, in the courtyard of The Heritage Society, a number of skilled artisans will demonstrate building crafts such as ornamental ironwork, specialty plastering for architectural interiors, fancy brick masonry and fine carpentry and woodworking. These live demonstrations will continue until 4 p.m. At 4 p.m. the AIA-Houston will host a reception for all participants and the public at the Architecture Center Houston at 315 Capitol, Suite 120. There will be music and food reflecting the Gulf Coast theme of the programs.
Vernacular Architecture and Building Arts in Houston: The Gulf Coast Connection is made possible in part with support from The National Endowment for the Arts, the Houston Arts Alliance and Humanities Texas. Co-sponsors are the Houston Institute for Culture, the Houston Public Library, The Heritage Society, AIA-Houston, Greater Houston Preservation Alliance, Prairie View A&M School of Architecture, Rice Design Alliance and the University of Houston College of Architecture.
CENTRAL LIBRARY PRESENTATIONS
10 AM to Noon
Shapes of Tradition
Carl Lindahl, University of Houston
For 173 years, migrants to Houston have carried with them the unseen shapes of what a home should look like and what a neighborhood should be. Largely unhampered by local government but often constrained by material means, their efforts to recreate ideal environments have combined older forms and extraordinary adaptations, resulting in creative re-conceptions of “home” and “neighborhood.”
Gumbo Style: A Taste of the Houston Vernacular
Gregory Free, Gregory Free & Associates
What are the roots and routes of Houston’s vernacular architecture? And did the city’s early builders add any special flavors that produced unique places from the very beginning? This talk provides an overview of the multi-cultural roots of Houston’s vernacular architecture, and positions the Bayou City in the greater context of the American Gulf Coast.
Shotgun Houses: Roots and Branches
John Michael Vlach, George Washington University
Shotgun houses, a distinctive traditional building style, are found all across the southern states. Their origins trace first back to Haiti and ultimately to Africa. If we look to their history in the American landscape, we find that behind this modest house an intriguing continuity of form combined with interesting changes to suit local circumstances.
1 PM – 4 PM
Constructing Identities for Houston
Stephen Fox, Anchorage Foundation of Texas
Houston’s lack of consensus on its civic cultural identity stimulated repeated efforts during the twentieth century to invent one. This talk will analyze the ways these propositions engaged-or failed to engage-the city’s nineteenth and early twentieth-century vernacular landscapes as well as how they related to the economic forces shaping Houston.
Freedman’s Town: A Legacy of Aspirations
Barry Norwood, Prairie View A&M University
Freedman’s Town, Houston’s oldest African American settlement, is a crucial element in the city’s architectural vernacular. This presentation considers the community’s origins and aspirations through the physical elements that were designed and built by its residents to define a sense of place and time.
Catalogue Houses: The Vernacular Paradox
Margaret Culbertson, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Early house catalogues provide an interesting perspective on vernacular architecture. Catalogues appropriated vernacular forms and disseminated them across the country, while local home builders expressed vernacular preferences and needs in their selection and adaptations of designs. This talk examines the dialogue between national and local forms, as well as traditional and high-style.
Sacred Sites: A Developing Vernacular of Cultural and Religious Identity in Houston
Michelangelo Sabatino, University of Houston
In recent decades, Houston’s dramatically changing demographics has spawned a wide range of faith communities to serve its diverse population. Sabatino highlights these emergent communities in relation to the architectural vernacular or “language” central to these sites of worship.
SPEAKER BIOS
Margaret Culbertson is an architectural historian and the author of “American House Designs” and “Texas Houses Built by the Book.” She currently serves as Director of the Hirsch Library at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Stephen Fox teaches architectural history at Rice University and is a fellow of the Anchorage Foundation of Texas. He is widely published and the author of “The Country Houses of John Staub” and co-author of the noted “Galveston Architectural Guidebook.”
Gregory Free is a historic preservation specialist and has conducted research over the last 15 years on the architectural traditions of the Gulf Coast. He received the 2005 Kress Mid-Career Grant from the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation to complete his manuscript on this topic. He is the principal of Gregory Free & Associates.
Dr. Carl Lindahl has a B.A. from Harvard and a Ph. D. in Folklore from University of Indiana. An internationally noted folklorist and narrative scholar, Lindahl is the author of 15 books. He is the Martha Gano Houston Professor of English at the University of Houston.
Barry Norwood is a professor in the School of Architecture at Prairie View A&M University. As the director of the PVA&M Center for Urban and Rural Enhancement Services, he has worked extensively in communities throughout Texas guiding historic preservation, design and community development assessments.
Dr. Michelangelo Sabatino is an assistant professor of architecture in the College of Architecture at the University of Houston. His Ph.D. was awarded by the University of Toronto and its focus is the manifestation of vernacular traditions in modern design and architecture.
Dr. John Vlach is a professor of folklore in the American Studies Department at George Washington University. Author of ten books, his titles include “The Afro-American Tradition in the Decorative Arts,” “Common Places: Readings in Vernacular Architecture” and “Barns.” He is the Director of the GWU Folklife Program.
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