VAF member Tara Dudley has written Building Antebellum New Orleans, which is focused on the Creole architecture of New Orleans.  This book examines the architectural activities and influence of gens de couleur libres—free people of color—in a city where the mixed-race descendants of whites could own property.  Between 1820 and 1850 New Orleans became an urban metropolis and industrialized shipping center with a growing population.  Amidst dramatic economic and culture change in the mid-antebellum period, the gens de couleur libres thrived as property owners, developers, building artisans, and patrons.  Dudley writes an intimate microhistory of two prominent families of Black developers, the Dollioles and Souliés, to explore how gens de couleur libres used ownership and group identity and stability.  With deep archival research, Dudley recreates in fine detail the material culture, business and social history, and politics of the built environment for free people of color and adds new, revelatory information to the canon on New Orleans architecture.  Available for pre-order now and VAF members can get a 20% discount by using the code DUDBUI at www.utexaspress.com. 

This summer, VAF member Katie McCarthy Watts will be starting a new position as an Architectural Historian II at Gray & Pape in Richmond.

VAF member Amie Edwards, who recently presented a poster at the VAF virtual conference in May, has done extensive field work in Ghana for her master’s thesis.  Her work on African Architecture has been highlighted on the University of Florida’s College of Design, Construction & Planning website, where she is working on her PhD.

The 2021 Pacific Northwest Preservation Field School is slated to take place this September in Concrete, WA. The town is best known for its history of Portland cement production with numerous industrial and commercial buildings constructed using its namesake material. This year’s Field School activities will center on an early cast-in-place concrete building, the historic Baker Club House. The 1914 building was once a social venue and offices, with a Portland cement laboratory in the basement! The Field School will also explore the surrounding industrial landscape, which includes remarkable cast-in-place concrete silos, a crusher plant, and fence posts. Come join us at Field School where we will explore historic concrete preservation and industrial landscapes!

During three one-week sessions, students will participate in rehabilitation projects on and around the Baker House site. While each session has a specific theme, all include hands-on work, documentation, a field trip, and nightly lectures from cultural resource professionals. Evening lectures from preservation professionals will examine the history, theory, and practice of historic preservation in the Pacific Northwest.

Registration will open in the coming days. For more information, visit the PNW Preservation Field School website.

To receive an email when registration opens or for specific inquiries contact: pnwfs@uoregon.edu