on modern architecture in charleston

As you may or may not know, I've been taking an architecture studio class. The main justification for doing so is to fulfill humanities credit. The second and more important reason is because I always wanted to be an architect. This class has given me the opportunity to be able to explore that a little. While I've enjoyed the class and doing the projects, it has always taken a back burner to the more 'important' classes that I'm taking, which makes it hard for me to really dive into the work.

All of that said, I did spend a decent amount of time working on our final project, which was to design a house on for one of four empty lots in downtown Charleston. In an attempt to expand my horizons and be a little bit different, I decided to use a design my house in a modern style, with the permission of my professor, despite the initial assignment, having done a classical style for my previous project. I was greatly influence by Louis Kahn (as seen above) and to some extent the paintings of Piet Mondrian. My stucco, wood, and glass house was to be located in an empty lot on the corner of Limehouse St. and Murray Blvd., right on the water. Largely cubic in form, it featured floor to ceiling windows in the second floor drawing studio along with floor to ceiling glass doors and windows in the third floor painting studio, providing gorgeous views of the Charleston harbor and sunsets over the Ashley river.

Before tackling this modern home, one must take into account the fact that Charleston is probably the best preserved historic cities in the U. S. This consistently classical city should, by nature be resistant to new modern homes. Another factor that effects home design is the incredible heat of the summers, which is the reason for south facing porches which decrease the amount of sunlight that hits the house directly. Considering these two major hinderances, I decided to proceed.

Another part of the class is the critique that happens on the due date of the project. Being the final project, this included bringing in local architects to contribute their thoughts and ideas. I realize that it is impractical to have walls of south facing glass in Charleston. I understand that the architect is supposed to design for the customer and for the location. I clarified that at upon introducing my work. Despite this disclaimer, one of the visiting architects proceeded to dwell on the flaw of the windows and the irrelevance of a modern home in Charleston, offering very little to any helpful critique given by the other architect and my professor. While I did expect some amount of resistance, I was unaware of how her disregard of my design would effect me. While I did respect her opinion as an architect, it would have been nice for her to respect what I had to say and help me improve upon my actual design rather than focussing on how I deviated from the initial assignment.