Vernacular Architecture Forum VAN February 2021

Letter from the Editor

Christine R Henry — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 18:00:00 GMT

Welcome to the February 2021 issue of VAN. Just scroll down the page for all the exciting news. Some highlights come from our VAF members sharing their interesting work and accomplishments. There is a reminder about our new publication schedule, so please keep sharing all those great pieces of news with me to include in our new monthly format. You will also find another preview image from the tours being planned for the VAF annual meeting and conference in San Antonio in May 2022--mark your calendars! Finally, the call for the next VAN Editor, with openings for two assistant editors is included in this issue. If you are interested please don't hesitate to reach out and ask questions and encourage others to apply--it is a great way to learn more about the VAF community.

I hope you enjoy this issue!

Christine

VAN Editor

Call for VAN Editor due March 1 and New Assistant Editors due April 1

Christine R Henry — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 17:10:00 GMT

The Vernacular Architecture Forum (VAF) solicits letters of interest to serve as part of its Vernacular Architecture Newsletter (VAN) team of editors. The newsletter currently has openings for 1) VAN Editor; 2) Assistant Editor for News; and 3) Assistant Editor for Features. This will be an exciting opportunity to contribute to our VAF community and help VAN transition to a dynamic new format.

In a time of social distancing, digital communications are even more essential for keeping VAF members in touch and current. In recent months, an ad hoc committee has reviewed the current state of VAN and envisioned ways VAN can be redesigned and restructured to be more useful for our members, more easily integrate with all our digital communication channels, and bring in new generations to VAF. The VAF Board has approved a plan to increase VAN’s publication schedule from quarterly to monthly and to add two Assistant Editors to share the work of producing the newsletter.

Publication every month, with set deadlines for submission and publication, will improve communication and alleviate the uncertainty of publication. Going forward, information that comes to VAN editors will be immediately posted in one of four blogs on the website, currently planned to cover VAF business, other business, member news, and features. A monthly digest of blog posts will be sent to members as VAN, with expanded visual and narrative content on a quarterly basis. Eight times a year, the newsletter will be mostly text and will include news and information items from the VAF. Four times a year, the newsletter will have more images, longer features, the bibliography, and any news items.

Undertaking this work will be three editors. The VAN Editor will oversee the Assistant Editors and the collection, editing, and publishing of VAN eight times per year. The VAN Editor serves a three-year term and is also a member of the VAF Board. The Assistant Editor for Features will solicit and edit longer articles, works with the bibliographer, and oversee the collection, editing, and publishing of VAN four times per year. The Assistant Editor for News will edit/adapt and sends content to social media, coordinating with web editor. The Assistant Editors will first serve a one or two year term to establish a rotation for the three positions and will then be eligible for a three year term. The Assistant Editors will not serve on the Board. The plan is for the new VAN Editor to join the selection committee to select the Assistant Editors. All editors will begin their terms in spring 2021 by shadowing the current VAN editor, Christine Henry.

To be considered for one of these VAN editorial positions, interested parties should send letters of interest and CVs/resumes (or any questions) to VAF President Claire Dempsey at dempseyc@bu.edu. Applicants should have knowledge of the VAF and its mission regarding the built environment; excellent writing, editing, and communication skills; and facility with social media. Past digital issues of VAN are available on the VAF website.

Applications for VAN Editor are due by March 1, 2021.

Applications for Assistant Editor for Features are due by April 1, 2021.

Applications for Assistant Editor for News are due by April 1, 2021.

New Publication Schedule for VAN 2021

Christine R Henry — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 17:10:00 GMT

In 2021 VAN will move to a monthly publishing schedule to provide members with more timely news and an expanded quarterly edition (March, June, September, and December) that include feature articles, more images, and the bibliography. Below is the new schedule, but don't worry, you will still get an email reminder to submit your content to the editor.

Call for submissions Submissions due Publication of VAN

January 5 January 10 January 16

February 2 February 7 February 13

March 2 March 7 March 13

April 6 April 11 April 17

May 4 May 9 May 15

June 1 June 6 June 12

July 6 July 11 July 17

August 3 August 8 August 14

September 7 September 12 September 18

October 5 October 10 October 16

November 2 November 7 November 13

December 7 December 12 December 18

If you have questions, please contact Christine Henry, VAN Editor.

B&L Call for Manuscripts for Spring 2022 issue due March 15

Christine R Henry — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 17:00:00 GMT

A reminder that Buildings & Landscapes: Journal of the Vernacular Architecture Forum reviews article manuscripts on a rolling basis. The editors invite submissions to be considered for issue 29.1 (spring 2022) by March 15, 2021.

For issue 29.1, the editors especially encourage Viewpoint, Object Lesson, or Research Note submissions that address the particular challenges and opportunities for scholarship, pedagogy, and historic preservation in the midst of an international pandemic and in response to the social unrest of 2020. These essays are usually 10-20 pages and include approximately 10 images. Complete author guidelines may be found here.

The editors encourage submission of scholarly articles that integrate fieldwork and archival/primary source research into an original argument about the history of everyday buildings and/or landscapes. The editors particularly welcome submission of articles on topics related to the study of North American vernacular architecture or which otherwise broaden the context of North American architecture and cultural landscapes. Authors are urged to draw linkages between the physical aspects of the built environment they study and the people who create, consume, use, and inhabit it. If an author is unsure about a manuscript’s fit for the journal, they are encouraged to contact the editors in advance of a formal submission.

Please contact the editors directly for inquiries or manuscript submissions: Lydia Mattice Brandt (lbrandt.usc@gmail.com), Michael Chiarappa (Michael.Chiarappa@quinnipiac.edu), and Carl Lounsbury (carllounsbury@gmail.com). Inquiries about reviews can be directed to the Review Editor: Rachel Leibowitz (leibowitz@esf.edu).

Preview of Tour Sites for VAF conference in Texas, May 2022

Christine R Henry — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 16:30:00 GMT

Although this year because of the pandemic we will all gather again virtually to have our annual meeting and share wonderful research we want to make sure that everyone is planning for San Antonio in May 2022. So this is the second installment of images that preview those exciting tours. Hope to see you all there!

While staying in downtown San Antonio that you will be able to exit the hotel and find National Register properties within a few blocks in any direction. A very significant theme is landscapes of the New Deal, which we will see at the restored and reconstructed Mission San Jose, at the restored La Villita neighborhood (where we will have our end-of-conference fiesta), and even the famous River Walk. While not on any tour, you will be able to visit the historic core of the River Walk any time during your visit. This distinctive U-shaped bend separates Main Plaza from Alamo Plaza. In the 1920s the bend was bypassed, but it was not until the late 1930s that San Antonio Mayor Maury Maverick was able to convince FDR to fund the creation of a Spanish Colonial Revival retail fantasy. The result was a resounding commercial flop, but after Hemisfair in 1968 it became a major tourist magnet and home to many restaurants and bars.

Howard Davis published book on the significance of industry in cities

Christine R Henry — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 16:10:00 GMT

In January 2020 VAF member Howard Davis published a new book, Working Cities: Architecture, Place and Production. The book describes the history of industry in its relation to architecture and cities, argues for the continuing importance of cities in which things are crafted and manufactured, and proposes strategies with which cities can support local, humane industrial economies and the people who work in them.

Boyd Pratt Publishes book on farming in the San Juan Islands

Christine R Henry — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 16:00:00 GMT

A year ago VAF member Boyd C. Pratt published another of his studies in the vernacular architecture and landscape of the San Juan Islands: Island Farming: History and Landscape of Agriculture in the San Juan Islands.

A free-ranging pig that caused an international war; a year’s crop of ginseng that paid off the mortgage; and a breachy cow that led to bloody murder. Farming in the San Juan Islands has always presented challenges and opportunities. From Coast Salish camas cultivation through homesteading to commercial farming, explore the islands’ rich agricultural history in the landscape and farms of today. Tour guides included.

You can purchase the book on Amazon or send a check for $22.50 to Mulno Cove Publishing, 2551 Cattle Point Road, Friday Harbor, WA 98250 and Boyd will inscribe and sign it, too!

For a description of his previous book on the San Juan Islands, Lime: Quarrying and Limemaking in the San Juan Islands you can visit the Summer 2017 issue of VAN.

Brent Fortenberry named Director of Preservation Studies at Tulane

Christine R Henry — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 15:30:00 GMT

VAF member Brent Fortenberry has been appointed as the next Director of Preservation Studies and Christovich Associate Professor of Historic Preservation at Tulane School of Architecture, starting in June 2021. Please see the full announcement for more details.

Historic Ithaca received a 2020 New York State Historic Preservation Award for Excellence

Christine R Henry — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 15:20:00 GMT

Historic Ithaca, where VAF member Christine O'Malley serves as the preservation services director, received a 2020 New York State Historic Preservation Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation Organizational Achievement. The press announcement from Governor Andrew Cuomo recognized their office and other statewide historic preservation advocacy organizations for rising "to the challenge of programming during a global pandemic and tumultuous political year. Their ingenuity, resilience, and creativity proved that preservation is imperative to quality of life and will be essential in navigating the path to economic recovery."

Amber Wiley Shares Her Research on Social Justice and Historic Preservation

Christine R Henry — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 15:10:00 GMT

VAF Amber Wiley has been active in sharing her significant body of work on historic preservation and social justice. On January 23 she was part of a panel hosted by ULCA Architecture and Design students titled “Toward an Anti-Racist Architecture.” On January 27-28 she was part of the UMD Conference “Re-Centering the Margins: Justice and Equity in Historic Preservation” and an interview with Amber appeared in the January 25 issue of the Architect’s Newspaper where she spoke about her work for an upcoming book Concrete Solutions: Architecture, Activism, and Black Power titled “School’s in Session: Washington, DC’s unique political status reflected in the design of its schools.”

Kathryn Holliday and colleagues win SOM Research Prize

Christine R Henry — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 15:00:00 GMT

VAF member Kathryn Holliday and colleagues at UT Arlington won the SOM Research Prize that will look at historic black settlements along the Trinity River in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas in a proposal titled “Reclaiming Black Settlements: A Design Playbook for Historic Communities in the Shadow of Sprawl.”

VAF well represented at SAH Latrobe's first virtual biennial symposium in February 2021

Christine R Henry — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 15:00:00 GMT

In February the SAH Latrobe Chapter held its first online biennial symposium titled ”Race, Ethnicity, and Architecture in the Nation’s Capital” where many VAF members participated, including panelists Christine Henry and Mary Corbin Sies, session chair Richard Longstreth, and keynote speaker Amber Wiley. VAF Board member Vyta Pivo is also the SAH Latrobe chapter's president and organized the virtual paper presentations after the April 2020 event was cancelled due to pandemic restrictions.

Two Grant Opportunities with NPS due March 31, 2021

Christine R Henry — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 14:50:00 GMT

The NPS’s Underrepresented Communities Grant Program (URC) is now accepting applications for competitive grants. Since 2014, the NPS has awarded almost $3 million in grants to diversify the nominations to the National Register of Historic Places. Grant-supported projects include surveys and inventories of historic properties associated with communities underrepresented in the National Register, as well as the development of new nominations to the National Register.

The National Park Service’s (NPS) Historically Black Colleges & Universities Grant Program (HBCU) is now accepting applications for competitive grants. The HBCU Preservation Grant Program exists to document, preserve, and stabilize structures on HBCU campuses that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places either individually or as contributing to a National Register or National Historic Landmark historic district.

Applications for both programs will be due March 31, 2021.

Conference: Monticello holding virtual conference March 20, 2021

Christine R Henry — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 14:40:00 GMT

Thomas Jefferson's Monticello will hold an all-day virtual conference on Saturday, March 20, 2021 titled "Fiske and Marie Kimball: Shaping Our Experience of Buildings and Objects" that will investigates the many ways Fiske and Marie Kimball shaped our experience and understanding of art and architecture in the 20th century. For details and registration information see the Monticello website.