Counter Proposal: The Johnny Harris Site

The Johnny Harris Site

a counter proposal 

Eric S. Brown, author

A New Urban Proposal  

The current site of the Johnny Harris restaurant and surrounding properties have been proposed for a new development.  That proposed development isn't totally clear, but the general use is large format or “big box” retail along with tearing down the 1936 Johnny Harris building.  Brown Design Studio, an architectural and urban design firm, has prepared a counter proposal for this site.  

The purpose of the counter proposal is to show a better method of urban planning that is more in keeping with the nature and character of Savannah.  The hope is that this counter proposal raises the bar of discussion about how, why and where Savannah grows and what those development patterns are.  The methods used show the possibility of development patterns that are healthier, more sustainable, more walkable, more beautiful and make much better financial sense for all parties involved.  

The Typical Conventional Suburban Design Pattern: 

The current site is composed of assembled properties that included the loved 1936 Johnny Harris restaurant.  A conventional suburban style auto oriented strip mall approach to the site will yield some where around 100,000 sq.ft. of big box retail along with a conventional out parcel on Victory Drive that is typically a fast food chain.  The formula here is really just a function of how much parking can be accommodated in the most efficient format with the large “sea of parking” being the standard result.   

This type of development is out of character with this portion of the City of Savannah and belongs else where in the City or County.  While the current site is not being used to its highest and best use, the suburban approach is short sighed and destructive to the patterns of the adjacent neighborhoods.  Things like this contribute nothing to the character of a City, neighborhood or place, in fact, they often remove those things.  

The Mixed Use Urban Design Pattern:

The counter proposal response is based on three main principals that create great places; 1) Creating a Civic Public Realm, 2) Mixed Use walkability 3) Beauty.  These three things are part of what makes the City of Savannah such a special place and the premise of this proposal is that all development in the City should have the same qualities.  Communities, neighborhoods or even infill areas that have these qualities are the largest trend in real estate right now.  Cities like Atlanta are building these neighborhoods inside the City because the people or market prefer that over conventional suburban development.   

The Civic realm starts with making great streets.  Savannah has great streets so this is easy, just copy what works.  Great streets support people, bikes and cars and they do it through good design that accomplishes those three things while also allowing for Beauty, such as street trees.  Street parking is natural and is used to soak up cars that would other wise be clustered in the big sea of parking.  Typically the street pattern, a grid in this case, allows multiple ways in and out as well as easy access for emergency vehicles.  Another part of the Civic nature of streets is the activity that happens on them.  The proposed commercial buildings are close to the street, like much of downtown, that allows for window shopping and outdoor seating areas.  Lastly, the Civic realm here is shown with a small square that is in the center of the property.  This square serves as the anchor for the new neighborhood.  It is both a visual break from buildings and a place to gather and have functions.  

Mixed Use walkable neighborhoods are the hottest trend in real estate today.  The walkable aspect is important to people for living as well as working and playing.  This particular site is a great site as it actually has easy walking distance to Daffin Park, a trail system linkage and the retail area adjacent, including a Whole Foods.  People tend to not walk if the environment isn't conducive to walking so again, you have to get the design right for that to work.  One of the advantages of building walkable communities vs. conventional development is that the need for vehicular trips per day drops, thus taking away some of the additional auto traffic pressure and also lessening the needed parking requirements.  

The Mixed use portion is simply just trying to use the site to its highest and best use.  The proposal shows a wide mix of uses and building types.  First, the Johnny Harris Building itself is shown saved in it current location.  Smaller scale commercial buildings are shown in the front half of the site nearest Victory Drive.  These could be one to three story buildings, very much in keeping with the scale of most of Savannah, that have retail or commercial on the ground level and residential or office space above.  The southern portion of the site is divided into two portions.  The first shows a series of Savannah style row houses, each with a garage and private courtyard.  Garage apartments could add to new affordable housing.  The other portion of the site shows a small scale apartment complex.  The complex uses small three story buildings that engage the street with some shared parking in the rear.  

The proposal seeks to show diversity in building types but this mix can always be changed as needed.  For instance, you could replace the apartments and townhouse with large format retail of 40-50,000 sqft. and still retain most of the character shown here. My office has worked on these type of developments bringing national retailers into walkable urban places.  We have worked with Publix, Walmart and others.  There are many examples of this in Atlanta, Charleston and Charolette to name a few.  Many national retailers actually are actually seeking these types of developments and have developed prototypes that are smaller and plug in to this urban grid format.  

How to make this Beautiful too?  Building Beauty comes from design and proportion which doesn't have to always cost more, in fact, many times it actually is cheaper if done right.  This proposal shows timeless Beauty in the form of great streets that are proportioned in the proper scale with the buildings that frame them.  The landscape is Beauty as it saves the larger oaks on the property and then adds new urban landscape that will get better over time, just like downtown has done.  The buildings are Beautiful not because they use expensive materials but because they are well proportioned, relate to human scale and use authentic Savannah materials.  The roof lines and scale are the composition tools taken from 300 years of Savannah building fabric. 

Summary: 

The Johnny Harris site is part of the core portion of the City of Savannah, just inside the Truman Parkway.  It is along one of the City’s main streets, beautiful Victory Drive.  It is adjacent to an established neighborhood with a clear urban grid and pattern of development.  The site should be designed just as the rest of the City of Savannah was designed pre-1940.  Building additional suburban sprawl with in the fabric of the City just doesn't make any sense.  Build suburban in the suburbs but build for people in the City.  

This counter proposal shows how to accommodate a better mix of uses, people and places than a singular auto oriented use.  It shows how to incorporate the urban patterns of Savannah into new development and it shows how to grow the City of Savannah with out letting it become suburban Atlanta as it does so.  All of the things show have been accomplished in many many places across the county so nothing presented here is groundbreaking on a national level. 

The financial impart of this is interesting.  A conventional approach yields investment around $10M for this property.  That approach brings a few dozen low paying jobs, high traffic and sales tax on the retail.  The counter proposal brings about $16-18M of investment for the property.  That yields higher property tax base, a similar amount of low paying jobs, less amount of traffic and adds new housing units of all price ranges.  Those new residences pay income taxes as well. Letting this prime site, in a core part of the City, be used for single use suburban retail is short sighted financially, the mixed use complex is a higher an better use by any measure of financials. 

Saving the Johnny Harris Building would be a great thing for Savannah.  The cultural impact of the building and the restaurant over the last 75+ years has been remarkable to learn about.  This proposal does save that building and lets it connect to the rest of the development in a meaningful way.  The building could continue as a restaurant or it could be part of something else like a park pavilion or another private use.  Whether the building stays or not, however, the key point to take away from this counter proposal would be that the building could easily be accommodated because of the finer grain approach to design, the street network and the scale of the new buildings.  

The Over-Under Duplex

The Over Under Duplex

a unit typology review

Eric S. Brown, author

Kielbasa, a Cleveland favorite

. 

What is a Cleveland Double? 

What is a Cleveland Double?  No, it’s not a double kielbasa sandwich, it is the Cleveland Double House.  This is a unique housing type that is prevalent in industrial era cities especially those along the Great Lakes and is also know as an Over-Under duplex or a two flat house.  

These over under duplexes were typically built in the heart of the industrial expansion era 1890-1920. Many were built as speculative houses in the expanding 1st tier street car suburbs.  In many cases, a family bought the unit and then rented the lower floor to either family members or to renters to help with the mortgage cost.  Most were wood frame with possibly some brick veneer and could be found in alley conditions or park behind front load streets.  

In other cities, especially the south, this type became the single family house that was converted to a double (or more) later.  The Charleston Side house makes a great Over Under duplex as do the more formal Mansion house form.  

This type is still a very valid part of the “missing middle” class of non-single family housing types.  It can be used along side the more common side by side duplex as both types live differently and have different architectural characters. 

A Cleveland Double, Cleveland Heights, OH.

Advantages of the Over Under: 

• Flat living arrangement all on a single level.  This is what many people prefer as a lifestyle choice.  This arrangement also provides for typically a more modern open efficient floor plan. 
• Efficient: This type is a little more efficient than the side-side duplex as the building has one stair vs. two and also that the unit plans stack over each other in what is typically a basic box form. 
• Privacy: The over-under split allows each unit to have a private porch space front and/or rear with the only crossing occurring at the front door zone. A side-side has trouble with adjacent porches being next to each other along with being much more narrow in width. 
• Building Code: These fall under the International Residential Code for 1 and 2 family dwelling units, avoiding the more complex (and expensive) Commercial code that the small apartments fall into.  Also avoids the FHA for rental units.
• Rental Property:  These are great starter houses for young people getting started who have rental income if they buy the whole unit and live upstairs or this can be packaged off to a small investor as a rental unit. 
• Multi-Generational:  A family can take the entire property and put an aging parent or sibling downstairs or any combination of family patterns that are so common now.  The unit is flexible and can also be rented. 
• Ownership Flexibility:  These units can be sold fee simple or can be done with a condominium arrangement. 
• Elevators:  It is easy to put in a residential elevator or at least reserve the space for one which allows the older market to feel comfortable buying the units. 
• HVAC:  Simple single zone system with a single return. 

Mansion Form Duplex, Brown Design Studio

Challenges of the Over Under: 

• Sound Control:  Always a problem in any type of multi-family, sound control is important.  Care must be taken to design the proper floor system which is the sound control barrier (and fire barrier as well).  Well designed units will be able to have hardwood floors if desired even.  Care must also be taken during construction for sound control of all areas that penetrate the system, such as plumbing and vent stacks.  This is the main source of sound control issues. 

30' Small Form Duplex, Brown Design Studio

Where to use the Over Under: 

• These work best in the T-3 to T-4 transect zone and blend in well with the typical single family street scape in scale, form and mass. 
• Great infill units in most  cities. 
• In greenfield development, typical units make great transitional streets from a single family neighbor hood to the the town center or multifamily blocks. 
• Lots sizes generally run 40‘x100’ to 65‘x100’ for larger Mansion form units. 

We have designed and built these units for last ten plus years and have found them to be accepted well in the market with a modern update to the design of course.  These can be smaller units that function as great starter homes for a young person or family that helps cover the mortgage or we have also built larger high end market homes that are popular with the older retired crowd or retired singles.  

While the top image is a Cleveland Double in Cleveland Heights, the other images are some of our built units and a new design for a small lot infill project (in Cleveland of course).  Brown Design Studio offers 17 years of experience building great places and the buildings that are the fabric of those places.  Duplex and other unit types plans can be found at our website or contacting us directly.  www.brownds.com

A Mansion Form Duplex Street, Brown Design Studio

Coastal Living Inspired Tour Home opens:

Our Coastal Living Inspired home tour kicks off this weekend, May 15 in the award winning Habersham Village in Beaufort, South Carolina.  The Tour is open on weekends, from May 15 to June 7th.  Directions and additional information can be found at www.habershamsc.com/inspired.  

The cottage is located in the walkable town center of Habersham, close to parks, restaurants and great events.  The lot shown here 36' wide and is alley parked.  The cottage itself is 1828 sq.ft. with a master suite on the 1st level, a great entry hall, high 12' ceilings and of course, a great front porch.  Up stairs, there are a pair of bedrooms, each with a large private bath.  The home also includes a great out door courtyard and optional garage or garden shed.  

The plan shown is 15 Abbey Row and additional lots are available in Habersham for building the plan along with a similar sized master up plan under construction next door.  Additional information on the Habersham home can be found at www.habershamsc.com/real-estate/#village-homes and plan details can also be viewed at www.plans.brownds.com/sf-2456/.

Project Team: 

Brown Design Studio: architecture, millwork

Jbanks Design:  Interior hard selections. 

Anne Hagerty Interiors: Furnishings.  

Announcing our Residential Plan Collection

Announcing the release of our Residential Plan Collection: 

Brown Design Studio has put together a collection of single family house plans that our Studio has produced over the last 16 years.  These plans are the result of our Studio working to create great traditional neighborhoods, communities and places across the country.  We are pleased to announce that we are making this collection of homes available for purchase as pre-designed home plan sets for the first time.  They may be viewed at www.plans.brownds.com or via our main website at www.brownds.com 

Our plans are focused on fitting into a traditional neighborhood context, whether a New Urbanist development or historic / urban infill.  The exteriors are based on traditional proportions and detailing.  Most of the plans are designed to fit on more narrow alley fed lots with parking in the rear.  These can be used on larger lots and they often will rotate on a larger lot or form more of a compound arrangement.  

The core design intent of these plans are to bring great timeless proportion and scale to the home.   This proportion is evident in the pleasing exterior elevations but also in the scale of the interior rooms, something most plans miss.  While each plan is unique, most do focus on a more modern open floor plan that is flexible.  We also strive for flexibility in offering spaces that can be converted or used in different ways.   A flex room that might be used as guest room or study or even a dining room as a great example.  Many of these plans do either offer floor plan options or can be easily modified.  

The traditional nature of our practice of architecture means that these plans, and particularly the exterior design, will reflect the climate and location that they were originally designed for.  Most of the elevation reflect a more southern or south-east vernacular style.  Many of the plans have alternate elevations available, brick versus a lap siding for example.  If you like a floor plan but the elevations seems off for your area, please check with us about design options for that plan.  We’ve built these all over the US and can adapt many of the plans to many areas of the country.

The interiors are such a large part of the enjoyment and experience of a home.  We have also designed a specific interior package for each of these plans that may be added to the base set of plans.  This allows us to fully integrate the traditional design them in the home and helps us to take the interior rooms to a next level.  The typical set of interior plans add all the interior trim and millwork details, ceiling details and helps to set up for an easy set of selections to finish off the home.  

Our Studio enjoys producing great traditional design work and we are pleased to offer this collection of plans. We also offer limited custom design residential work in most areas of the country.  Additionally, these set of plans do also serve as a great starting point for a semi-custom or modified home.    Lastly, we do consulting and product development work with a wide range of builders/developers, from small single home builders to full production builders.  

Introducing Carlos Paz, meet the intern, Fall 2014 edition.

Introducing Carlos Paz

Carlos is our current Fall 2014 intern.  Carlos attends the Savannah School of Art and Design and is set to graduate soon.  We asked Carlos to write a short bio about himself and some thoughts he has so far on being in an architectural office.  Carlos has responded with a not so short bio about himself but we are going to post it all anyway. Carlos is an articulate young man and his  observations as a native of South America, add a lot of good dialog in the office here and also provide good insight to how others view the City of Savannah.  We are glad to have him.  

My name is Carlos Paz, I am an architect and graduate student at the Savannah College of Art and Design, in Savannah, GA, where I am currently obtaining my Master of Urban Design degree. 

I was born and raised in Maracaibo, Venezuela, where I obtained my Bachelor of Architecture degree in the Universidad Rafael Urdaneta. During my undergraduate studies, I was able to explore the many areas and aspects of architecture through a wide range of projects that included: family housing, residential and commercial developments, and educational facilities, among others. As part of my undergraduate studies I did my internship in the CRU, the office in charge of the urban developments and preservation of the downtown area of the city. As a result of that experience, I developed a great interest toward the urban aspect of the cities and their historic downtowns, which led me into perusing my master degree in urban design.  

While looking through the different opportunities, I thought that the best way to expand my knowledge to the fullest would be by studying abroad. Since I had visited the country on several occasions, the United States was my first option. I have admired the country’s urban aspect, architecture and whole culture since I was young. While browsing though different colleges and majors, I found SCAD Savannah, and decided to visit the campus during the summer.  I was captivated by the city’s charm and character, the downtown of the city offers a perfect representation of how important the history of the cities are, and why it is essential to preserve it. In addition to that, the downtown area of Savannah finds a perfect way to merge the architectural aspect of the city with the city’s urban and pedestrian characteristics. The squares, big trees, sidewalks, water features, and many other elements, allow pedestrians to walk through the downtown and experience its prominence in a great way. Along with their great urban design program, and all the remarkable aspects that Savannah had to offer, I decided to apply to SCAD and pursue my master of urban design degree.

During my time in SCAD, I have been able to obtain a closer look into the city’s rich culture and history while expanding my knowledge on urban design and architecture in the United States. As a result of that, and due to my undergraduate background in architecture, I knew that it was essential for me to do my graduate internship in an office that would allow me to learn more about the traditional architecture and urban design of the United States, and that’s when I found the Brown Design Studio office.  While going through their website and reading about their projects and design principles, I though it would be a perfect place for me to do my internship and fulfill my desire to learn more about the traditional architecture of the United States.  

Up to now, I have been able I have been able to learn more about the different types of traditional buildings and structures of the US while browsing and updating the extensive catalog of the firm. I have been able to appreciate a wide range of buildings and structures, from mixed-use buildings, carriage houses, multi-family units, and many others. In addition, I have been able to learn more about the urban and planning aspect of the city by doing research and contacting one of the planners of the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission. As everyone knows, architecture is a complex process of creation, during my time in the office, I have been able to appreciate how some projects have been designed and materialized. I have been able to participate in a discussion regarding the results of a design charrette, along with the site visit of a project that is currently being constructed on Bluffton, SC. As an international student this experience is truly valuable for me, because it allows me to get a closer look into the American construction system and how it takes place.

Brown Design Featured in Better! Cities & Towns

Brown Design Studio’s work in Beaufort, South Carolina will be featured in the March-April, May-June and July-August editions of Better! Cities & Towns (http://bettercities.net/). The three-part article will outline the City of Beaufort’s vision for the future. The first, written by Robert Steuteville, is titled “Civic Master Plan Points the Way.” This feature provides an overview of the first steps in the updated City Master Plan and will touch on several of our projects that we have worked on over the last several years. 

One of the projects is Lafayette Street, which is a Public-Private partnership between Brown Design and the City of Beaufort.  Lafayette Street is the first of the projects to come out of the Civic Master Plan and into the implementation stage.  The project will consist of six market-rate infill cottages ranging from 1000-1300 sq.ft.  Construction starts this summer. 

Lafayette and Rodgers Street Infill Project http://lafayetteproject.com

Stay tuned to our blog for more information on the exciting projects happening at Brown Design Studio.

Berean Presbyterian Church is Complete

We’re proud to say this is our final update on the renovation work for the former Berean Presbyterian Church. After months of design work and construction, the USC-B Art Studio is complete!  The roof has been completely restored, and all the wood rot has been removed and replaced. Have a look at some of the before and after imagery!

 

Brown Design Featured in Best In American Living

Brown Design Studio’s projects were recently featured in the Winter 2014 edition of Best in American Living, a publication of the National Association of Home Builders (http://bestinamericanliving.wordpress.com/2014/02/12/the-missing-middle/). The publication discusses the many different aspects associated with home building in the United States. Our work is featured in the article, “The Missing Middle,” which looks at the current home building trends and discusses the “forgotten group,” consisting of empty nesters and single-person households that don’t require a large living space. The two projects featured in the article were Habersham Village (www.habershamsc.com), located in Beaufort, South Carolina and East Beach (http://www.eastbeachnorfolk.com), located in Norfolk, Virginia. These projects include small to large single-family units, multi-family units, and row houses catering to this group. Flexibility in the design of these units allows us to adapt to the area’s density by altering the buildings from a single-family unit to a multi-family unit. We have been refining this design approach over the past 16 years developing walkable neighborhoods and town centers. We would like to thank Daniel Parolek at Opticos Design Inc. for featuring us in “The Missing Middle” article.

Writing by Andrew Boughan,
Co-op Student at Brown Design Studio

USC Grace White House wins an award.

Brown Design Studio had the great honor of receiving an award last week from the Historic Beaufort Foundation.  The award was for the adaptive re-use of the Grace White House into a 17 student dorm for the University of South Carolina.  The award was noted for the special sensitive care taken in the preservation of the building's interiors.  

The Grace White House was originally built in the 1880's and received a very major renovation in the 1930's.  The house is located in Historic Beaufort South Carolina and was the home of Beaufort's first woman attorney.  The house is also interesting in that it has a full basement, something rare in the Lowcountry.  

The House was purchased by the University of South Carolina as an addition to the Historic Beaufort Campus with the goal of converting it to housing for Art Students.  The program called for 16 students along with a RA in a private apartment along with common space, kitchen, laundry, a route of access for ADA compliance and 21st century services.  

On the Exterior, the goals were modest with basic maintenance and replacement.  The building was stripped of its lead paint and repainted along with some basic trim replacement.  The major changes were the addition of a concealed chair lift in the rear and organized out door space, parking and services for the students.  

The interior was another story however with the building having complete original interiors including trim and full plaster walls and ceilings.  The building was completely re-wired, still having its 1930 eara wiring in tact along with adding in security, phone, University network access and wireless service. The entire HVAC system was replaced also with new high-effiencey units added.  Much of this re-wiring was completed by careful work by the tradesmen to minimize the demo or cutting of the existing plaster walls.  

Additionally, the full basement was converted over to a private RA apartment using most of the existing masonry and wood walls.  This lower level had been partially open to the outside but we have sealed it for much better energy savings and air quality.  

The building is a great example of adapting an existing building into a very different modern use while retaining all of the local historical character of the building.  These students receive the exact same level of care & service that any other student would get but they get to enjoy a large 12' wide porch also!  

Tucker Building Corporation completed the work and should receive praise for their efforts along with all the tradesmen who worked with care and purpose on this project.  The City of Beaufort should be commended for the recent Planning efforts to encourage this type of project and the growth of the Beaufort Campus with the Art Student Scholarships fund.  Historic Beaufort Foundation should also be thanked for presenting the award and helping to shape and encourage both preservation and positive change.  

Lastly, the University of South Carolina should receive high praise for the efforts here.  Chancellor Upshaw and her staff have shown great vision and leadership in the re-investment of the Historic Beaufort Campus.  That vision is clearly one that values promoting the wonderful uniqueness of the Historic Downtown part of BEaufort along with offering a 21st Century education.  One of the best things Beaufort could do for quality of life and economic development, is to grow the Historic Beaufort Campus.  

Brown Design Studio, Eric S. Brown author.

Carolina Lowcountry Architecture: The Basis for a Distinct Architecture of the Lowcountry.

The Carolina Lowcountry is blessed with a rich history, natural beauty and a distinctive architectural character.  You know when you are here, we have live oaks, marshes, fresh shrimp and big porches.  Thats how most people would start to characterize the Lowcountry.  The architecture here didn’t just randomly happen, a distinctive architecture is the result of climatic characteristics, local materials and construction methods, and local cultural patterns.  

When you have a true distinctive architecture, it is tied very much to a place or region.  You can not for example, mistake the French Quarter of New Orleans for anywhere else in the world.  Importing architecture or promoting non-regional materials or patterns is one of the worst things you can do as it erodes the true nature of a place.  Other areas of the world share a hot and humid climate but they will typically have some differences in the cultural patterns or local materials.  One only has to look at the differences in Lowcountry architecture and the architecture of Spanish Florida, they share some traits but are distinctively different.  You will never confuse the core of St. Augustine with the core of Beaufort but you might confuse the uniformly bland sprawl of I-285 in Atlanta with the uniformly bland sprawl of Rt. 278.  

The Lowcounty is primarily made up of villages and towns but we are blessed with two of the greatest cities in North America, Charleston and Savannah.  Both of these are true urban cities and you will see the architectural character adapt as it also responses to the urban environment a little differently than it would in a rural setting.  So while a townhouse might be a little different than a rural river house, you will still see many of the same traits in them.  This is actually one of the hallmarks of a true distinct architecture, it transforms / adapts over the exact place it is put and it will adapt over time as well.  

Climatic Characteristics: 

In the Lowcountry, its is hot and humid here.   Our average summer temperature is high 80’s and 90’s with the humidity nearly the same.  Prior to the invention of mechanically cooled buildings, heat and air comfort was one of the greatest challenges a Lowcountry building would have to face.  The typical Lowcounty home has five design responses to deal the hot humid climate here; 1) a raised living level / foundation, 2) A single room depth, 3) Oriented toward breezes, 4) Porches, 5) High Ceilings and Windows.  

Raising the main living level up has many benefits and can be seen from simple rural cottages to urban buildings.  For a typical house, the raised pier foundation is typical and ranges from 32”up to a near full story.  This will provide cooling breezes under the main house which will help with clearing the heat of the day and also helping to capture the breezes a little off the ground.    Additionally, this will protect against flooding from storms and helps with insects, pests and dirt/dust.  Its important to remember that your windows & doors would be assumed to be open.  In a more urban setting, you will often see the lower level used for business or service uses which will mitigate the cooling but also provide additional security from the street. 

Getting air movement through each room, or cross ventilation, is a key concern and having a single room depth is the easiest way to do so.  Rooms vent best when they have openings on two sides or walls and having a single room depth lets you have venting options if the breeze shifts or a hallway door is shut.  Some houses will be a true single room depth such as a Charleston Single or others will be a more complex form of single rooms such as the Beaufort “T” house.  

Orientation to the prevailing breeze is an important consideration and works in conjunction with the single room depth to provide natural cooling and cross ventilation.  Generally, this simply means that the house is oriented for the breeze to hit the wide part of the form, whether its the tip of the Beaufort “T” or the long end of the Charleston single.  A unique lowcountry feature is that our buildings will rotate to capture the breeze regardless of how they sit on their lot.  This means a house who’s primary street is on the north side of the house will “face” the opposite way, although it may still have an entry on the north side.  The houses of the villages and towns will rotate at will while the urban grid of Savannah demands a little more conformity and Charleston is a mix of both, its street pattern bending to the breeze while the houses also will rotate.  

What is more Lowcountry than porches?  Well Southern might be a better term as most of the south uses porches as a climatic response tool.  Porches, in either single or double form, provide sunshade from the hot summer sun directly entering your home.  Indirect light still reflects into the interior but you are spared most of the heat gain.  The more open porches also typically will have a great breeze (especially the upper ones) and thus actually function best for outdoor living and sleeping in the evening hours.  This trait also combines with the Orientation trait as these porches must face either south or west to provide the shading benefit.  If you see a porched house sitting “sideways” to a great water view or frontage, then this is why.  

Once you have captured the breeze, you have to now make sure that it can be brought through the building.   High ceilings help with this by allowing higher windows and doors which allow a great opening area.  The higher ceilings will also allow the hottest air to rise up and keep sitting height a little cooler. The double hung window is also part of this conversation as it allows great ventilation of hotter air via the top sash while the lower sash lets in cooler air.  

Local Materials and Traditions: 
The Lowcountry is a region rich in natural beauty and natural resources but not much in terms of natural building materials.  Local materials define the core vocabulary for a distinctive architecture.  How the local craftsmen use them is another way.  

Traditionally, the Lowcountry has been a composed of the smaller scale villages and towns.  In these smaller, more loosely organized places, the dominate construction material has been wood.  Heart Pine and cypress form the backbone of local easy to find and use materials from the earliest times.  Both of these woods are tolerant to the humid climate here and the local craftsmen knew how frame it using there strength of the wood.  Thus most of the housing stock and much of the village main center will be wood frame and siding.  Many houses would have cypress or pine interiors with the level of refinement and detail based on the formality and cost of the home.  Douglass Fir or Brazilian Cherry are not local woods and thus not part of the local vocabulary. 


Tabby was a local material here that made use of the local sand and oyster shell to form a concrete like material used for foundations and walls.  Tabby was an imported cultural material from Spanish Florida but was then embraced and made part of the Lowcounty vocabulary.  Tabby is mostly forgotten now as concrete technology has moved on but this is an excellent example how a distinctive architecture evolves over time and incorporates nearby cultural influences.  

Brick is a great building material that makes use of local clay for its core.  Brick color will vary based upon the type of clay used it, a brick from Texas Hill County is a different color than a brick from Upstate South Carolina.  Brick was an imported material for a long time here in the Lowcounty with Plantations slowly developing a series of kilns for there own use and a later market in the cities of Charleston and Savannah.  Brick made from local clay is a Lowcounty material but it is typically used on larger buildings or in more urban areas (early firecodes required brick walls).  Plaster and Stucco were often used to finish some of the rather crude handmade bricks for either interior or exterior finishes.  

The Lowcounty does not have naturally occurring stone at all.  Stone is an imported material which is difficult to cut, store and ship so it was reserved for the most important civic buildings such as churches or town halls.  Some of the wealthy planters would import British stone for their personal homes but it a rare use.  In all cases, the building was formal so the stone work was well cut and dressed.  

Traditionally, the ports of the Lowcountry have served ships from all over the world.  This access to the world has allowed building materials to also flow here.  Charleston and Savannah have ballast stone/brick streets and both also feature imported mass produced iron and mill work in the Industrial Age, although Charleston did develop a great iron working tradition locally, all the iron was made in the northeast or England.  An interesting item to note here is the evolution of the Lowcounty style.  You will see a change in buildings as a certain style was in fashion, such as the Romantic styles of the late 19th century.  There are many homes that are built to core Lowcountry characteristics that will have Victorian mill work for example and many streets allow you to see the same type of house (say a Charleston single for example) that will bridge many decades and several styles.  A distinct architecture is not a style.  

The local traditions of construction also very much shape a distinct architecture.  Many parts of the the northeast have strong traditions in ship building and you will see that reflected in how early wood frame houses were framed.  Here we have a tradition of rural vernacular construction methods mixed with the more formal methods found mostly in the larger downtown cores.  That range defines that Lowcountry Vocabulary.  A porch may be a post and beam or it may be a more refined column and trimmed beam.  A distinctive architecture has a range to it, it is not a singular solution generally.  

Local Cultural Patterns:
Culture drives much of what we do, who we are and how we do things and that is very true for the Lowcountry.  The Lowcountry has a rich history of European people exploring and founding early settlements here dating back to the 16th century.  This European culture has given the area its primary pattern of settlement and its primary pattern of architecture, at least until the Machine Age.  With a few exceptions, the Lowcountry was founded by the British, Carolina being a Royal Colony.  This means that the building patterns and proportions were brought from England, Scotland, Bermuda and Barbados. 

These founding British core brought with them the design languages and patterns from Robert Adam, Vitruvius Britannia and other works.  These in turn owe their allegiance back to the early work of Vitruvius and his famous, Ten Books of Architecture.  All these patterns reference classical proportions that are derived from human and natural form.  Vitruvius and his much earlier greek predecessors, take their proportioning system from the Golden Mean or what is in all natural things and apply it to their architecture.  Thus, a classical column has the proportion of a human body and a classical window has the proportions of the human body also.  We humans tend to respond well to these proportions, we are wired that way and thus most people will enjoy well proportioned architecture. (even if they can not articulate why).  

These proportions and patterns are in the core of the Lowcountry architectural DNA.  They have evolved over time but the core human based proportions remained until the Machine Age which changed the proportioning systems to one of Industry not Man.  A horizontal Modernist  window from 1971 feels stale next to the grace of a double hung of 1848 and proportion is why.  

The Lowcounty is also unique in having multiple cultural influences on it.  As a distinctive architecture can and will evolve over time, you can see that effect of these cultural assimilations.  We have mentioned the effect the Spanish Floridian architecture had after the British has stormed St. Augustine in 1702.  Also note that traditional color of a porch ceiling, Haint Blue, a Gullah superstition about spirits. 

The Lowcountry is a special unique place in the world.  There are places that are similar to it, but none that match it in all aspects of what makes this a great or unique place.  The premise of this essay is that every place has a distinctive architecture to it (or should, sometimes they are lost) and the Lowcounty certainly has a distinctive architecture to it.  These distinctive characteristics become the DNA or vocabulary for that place.  These characteristics come from the triad of climatic characteristics, local materials and construction methods, and local cultural patterns.  The result is a set of architectural massing & forms (floor plans for the layman), materials and construction methods that make up the buildings that define the Lowcountry.  This distinctive architecture becomes, as defined by Steve Mouzon, a “Living Tradition” and will evolve and adapt over time and is not static.  

While the Lowcountry Architecture will evolve over time, it’s core DNA should be protected here.  You can not import another DNA, from say Tuscany Italy, for example and expect that to not look very fake or cartoon like.  Nor can you import a generic corporate architecture Atlanta and expect it to enhance the sense of place here.    Each time we bring in foreign DNA, we allow a piece of what is special here to be lost.  Each generic building brings us one step closer to a generic place and its a slow but steady march to get there and there are great easy alternatives that allow growth and allow each new building to contribute to the growth of the sense of what the Lowcounty is.  

All photos by the author.  

Partial Additional Reading List:

The Old Way of Seeing: How Architecture Lost its Magic.  Jonathan Hale, Mariner Books, 1995. 

The Original Green: Unlocking the Mystery of True Sustainability.  Steve Mouzon, The New Urban Guild Foundation, 2010. 

A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction.  Christopher Alexander, 1977. 

The Architecture of Community.  Leon Krier, Island Press, 2009.