Everyday Architecture of the Mid-Atlantic: Looking at Buildings and Landscapes (Creating the North American Landscape)

From the eighteenth-century single-room mansions of Delaware's Cypress Swamp district to the early twentieth-century suburban housing around Philadelphia and Wilmington the architectural landscape of the mid-Atlantic region is both rich and varied. In this pioneering field guide to the region's historic vernacular architecture Gabrielle Lanier and Bernard Herman describe the remarkably diverse building traditions that have overlapped and influenced one another for generations. With more than 300 illustrations and photographs Everyday Architecture of the Mid-Atlantic explores the character of pre-1940 domestic and agricultural buildings in the towns and rural landscapes of southern New Jersey Delaware and coastal Maryland and Virginia. Approaching their subject archaeologically the authors examine the layers of a structure's past to show how it has changed over time and to reveal telling details about its occupants and the community in which they lived. The book provides architectural information as well as a working methodology for anyone wanting to explore and learn from traditional architecture and landscapes.The authors conclude that as a vital cultural artifact the distinctive architecture of the mid-Atlantic needs to be identified recorded and preserved. Everyday Architecture of the Mid-Atlantic gives proof to the insights architecture offers into who we are culturally as a community a region and a nation.

Series: Creating the North American Landscape

Hardcover: 424 pages

Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press (June 19 1997)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0801853249

ISBN-13: 978-0801853241

Product Dimensions: 9 x 1.5 x 11.2 inches

Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds