Course Syllabus

TRADITIONAL BUILDING TECHNOLOGY                   A6934-1                                 Fall 2023                                           Tim Michiels

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Course description:

This course provides an overview of traditional building materials and systems, and equips students to identify these materials and systems in the existing built environment. The class situates materials, buildings, and systems in a technological, historical, sociological, and economic context and provides the necessary sourcing and production information to help understand their physical behavior. While the class provides the tools to understand buildings around the globe, a large component of this class will focus on applying acquired skills in the field in New York City.

The course reviews a variety of building systems such as load-bearing masonry, timber frame structures and early frame structures in iron, steel and concrete. The history, characteristics, interaction, and behavior of the components of such buildings (foundations, walls, floor systems, roofs, etc.) are evaluated. The technology involved in different building typologies is discussed, as well as an introduction to decay and repairs. These aspects will furthermore be illustrated through a series of case studies in New York and further afield. For each relevant building technology, the properties of traditional building materials (such as brick, stone, tile, mortar, wood, terra cotta, metals and concrete) will be introduced and information on sourcing, production, economics, embodied carbon, and decay will be reviewed. Overall, this course serves as the foundation for subsequent material-based preservation courses.

Course format:

Weekly lectures, with (current or past-year’s) recordings available online.

Walking tours and site visits in New York.

Workshops: Hands-on arch construction, Ghosts of New York

Please reach out to the instructor if you wish to take this class fully remotely.

 

Learning objectives:

 

  • Advanced knowledge of the vocabulary of traditional architecture
  • Recognize traditional building technologies and systems in the field
  • Situate buildings and their materials in their sociological, historical and economic context
  • Understand and identify the physical and structural behavior of masonry, wood and metal frame structures over time
  • Understand the sourcing, production, joining and assembly of building materials
  • Understand the history of traditional building technology
  • Understand how social, cultural and climactic factors influence building technology
  • Understand basic preservation repairs to traditional buildings
  • Gain insights in the embodied carbon of historic materials

 

Requirements:

  1. 8 short (weekly) assignments

You will be asked to actively look for examples of concepts covered in class in buildings and to submit pictures on a weekly basis.

Assignments can be conducted from any city/town and going out into the field will be necessary.

  1. Final Project

Students will choose one building and will research its building systems and materials. Findings are presented in a pre-recorded class presentation with a possibility for in-class feedback and discussion.

  1. Midterm and Final exam. Students can use a limited number of personal notes, and example questions will be shared on Courseworks in advance.
  2. Please note: class and field trip attendance are not While classes will be recorded and can be viewed at a later time, there is no digital equivalent to the field trips. It is not needed to let the instructor know you are not attending lectures. Absence of a field visit should be communicated in advance.

Grading Criteria: Final exam (35%), Midterm (20%) Final Project (25%), Short assignments (20%).
GSAPP students will be graded HP/P/LP/F per GSAPP policies. Non-GSAPP students will be graded A-F unless otherwise agreed with the instructor.

 

Short assignment topics – deadlines will be communicated in class:

  1. Stone Identification
  2. Masonry
  3. Metals
  4. Terra Cotta
  5. Concrete and Cast Stone
  6. Wood
  7. Roof coverings
  8. Ghosts

Brief feedback on short assignments will be provided via email. Short assignments are not graded for content, but timely participation is a requirement to pass the class.

Topics covered:

Vernacular architecture: adobe and rammed earth

Timber-frame building (Colonial and post-Revolutionary, enslaved people dwellings): braced frame, balloon frame, half-timber

Loadbearing masonry structures: brick, stone, structural tile

Foundation systems

Evolution of glass in historic buildings

Cast-iron construction

Early skyscraper development:

early-frame structures: masonry and iron

steel frame buildings

concrete frame buildings

Roof coverings and roof trusses

Guest lecture 1: windows

Guest lecture 2: ghosts

 

 

 

Lecture schedule is subject to change.

Date

 Topic

Content

 

 

1

Sep

7

Crash course to material identification

 Introductions, Syllabus, Intro to social/economic drivers of technology, Identification of materials in the field, Timeline

 

2

Sep

14

Masonry: Part 1

Stone, Brick, Mortar, Plaster, Damage types

 

3

Sep

21

Masonry: Part 2

Wall Assemblies, Arches, Domes, Vaults, Guastavino

 

4

Sep

28

Metals

Wrought Iron, Cast Iron, Steel, Corrosion, Evolution of the Steel Frame, Lead, Copper, Zinc, Tin, Aluminum Cornices

 

5

Oct

5

Metals Walking Tour (With R. Pieper)

Walking Tour downtown with Richard Pieper

 

6

Oct

12

Earth, vernacular architecture*

*NO IN PERSON CLASS THIS WEEK

Adobe, Sod, Rammed Earth, Cob, Wattle-And Daub, Decay and Conservation, Anasazi Construction, Fort Selden

 

7

Oct

19

Terra Cotta and Floor Systems

Terra Cotta Identification, Production, Use. Floors: wood and fireproof floors (arch, catenary, bending)

 

8

Oct

26

Windows (by Michael Devonshire)

Glass evolution, Window Types, Window terminology

 

Oct

27

MIDTERM DUE AT 5 PM

 

 

9

Nov

2

Ghosts of New York City (with Don Friedman)

Workshop – analyzing the intangible remains of buildings past.

 

10

Nov

9

Concrete and Cast Stone                                                            

Cement, Cast Stone, Early Concrete Frames, Deterioration and Repairs. Trusses

 

11

Nov

16

Wood

Evolution of frames, Woodworking and logging, Frame types, Dendrochronology, Decay and repair

 

 

Nov

23

NO CLASS  - THANKSGIVING

 

 

12

Nov

30

Roof Coverings
Foundations

Trusses, Clay tiles, Slate, Shingles, Metal Roofing, Asphalt. Subsoil, Footings, Inverted Arches, Piles, Caissons

 

 

Dec

7

Final Project

 

 

Dec

8

FINAL EXAM DUE (date to be confirmed)

 



 

 

Site visits and workshops – all site visits and dates to be confirmed

Monday September 25th                                    Evening             2-3 hours                      Workshop: Arch construction    Location: HP lab
Monday October 2nd                                        ?                     2 hours                         Site visit: Cathedral of St. John The Divine
Thursday October 5th                                         Class time         2 hours                         Site visit: Metals walking tour, downtown NYC with R. Pieper
Tuesday October 24th                                                            9:00 am            1.5 hour                       Site visit: Morningside Heights walking tour
Monday November 13th                                    ?                      4 hours                         Site visit: Ellis Island Hospital Wing

Tentative reading list – readings will typically be made available on CourseWorks.

There will be a distinction between essential readings and non-essential additional readings that provide further background information or technical details as indicated in class. Readings are intended as further in-depth information for the class that should be consulted for further details and clarifications. Lectures are in essence illustrated summaries of the readings. Therefore, readings should be done after class.

Introduction

Feilden, Bernard. Conservation of historic buildings. Routledge, 2007. – Part 1.2 Structural actions of historic buildings p25-37

Masonry

Condit, Carl W. "American building. Materials and techniques from the first colonial settlements to the present." (1968). – Chapters 2 and 5 – Masonry Construction

Elliott, Cecil D. Technics and architecture: the development of materials and systems for buildings. MIT press, 1992. Section I.2 Masonry P23-51

McKee, Harley J. "Introduction to early American masonry stone, brick, mortar and plaster." (1973). – Chapters TBD (for sure Mortar)

McGrath, Thomas L. "Notes on the Manufacture of Hand-Made Bricks." Bulletin of the Association for Preservation Technology 11.3 (1979): 88-95.

Winkler, Erhard. Stone in architecture: properties, durability. Springer Science & Business Media, 2013. – until page 60

NPS brief 42, The Maintenance, Repair and Replacement of Historic Cast Stone

NPS brief 2, Repointing Mortar Joints in Historic Masonry Buildings

MDCS / Monument Diagnosis and Conservation System – The online damage-expert for monumental buildings. http://mdcs.monumentenkennis.nl/

Ochsendorf, John. Guastavino vaulting: the art of structural tile. Princeton Architectural Press, 2010. – Chapters TBD

Torraca, Giorgio. "Lectures on materials science for architectural conservation." (2009). Sections 2.3 Gypsum, 2.4 Lime and lime mortars, 2.5 Pozzolanic mortars, 2.6 Hydraulic Lime, 2.7 Cement http://www.getty.edu/conservation/publications_resources/pdf_publications/pdf/torraca.pdf

 

Metal Structures and decorative metals

Friedman, Donald. Historical building construction: design, materials, and technology. WW Norton & Company, 2010. Chapters 3-4

NPS brief 27, The Maintenance and Repair of Architectural Cast Iron

NPS brief 49,   Historic Decorative Metal Ceilings and Walls: Use, Repair, and Replacement

Dierickx, Mary B. "Decorative metal roofing in the United States." The technology of historic American buildings: studies of the materials, craft processes, and the mechanization of building construction. Association for Preservation Technology, 1983. 153-187.

Gayle, Margot, David W. Look, and John G. Waite. Metals in America's historic buildings. DIANE Publishing, 1998. – Chapters TBD

Earth construction

NPS brief 5, The Preservation of Historic Adobe Buildings

Houben, Hugo, and Hubert Guillaud. Earth construction: a comprehensive guide. Intermediate Technology Publications, 1994.

Gernot, Minke "Building with earth." Design and technology of a sustainable architecture. Basel (2006). Chapters 1-2

Cody, Jeffrey W. "Earthen walls from France and England for North American farmers, 1806-1870." 6th International Conference on the Conservation of Earthen Architecture: Adobe 90 preprints: Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA, October 14-19, 1990. Getty Conservation Institute, 1990.

Pieper, Richard. "Earthen Architecture in the Northern United States." European Traditions in Earthen Construction', Cultural Resource Management Bulletin, VI (1999): 30-33.

 

Terra Cotta & Flooring Systems

NPS brief 7, The Preservation of Historic Glazed Architectural Terra-Cotta

Elliott, Cecil D. Technics and architecture: the development of materials and systems for buildings. MIT press, 1992. Section I.3 Terra Cotta p51-67

Friedman, Donald. Historical building construction: design, materials, and technology. WW Norton & Company, 2010. Chapter 7 Floor Systems p108-131

Torraca, Giorgio. "Lectures on materials science for architectural conservation." (2009). Section 2.2 Ceramic Materials

 

Concrete structures

NPS brief 15, Preservation of Historic Concrete

Elliott, Cecil D. Technics and architecture: the development of materials and systems for buildings. MIT press, 1992. Chapter I.7

Macdonald, Susan, ed. Concrete: building pathology. John Wiley & Sons, 2008. Chapters TBD

 

Roof trusses and roof covering

Yeomans, David T., et al. The trussed roof: its history and development. Aldershot: Scolar Press, 1992. Chapters 8 and 9

NPS brief 4, Roofing for Historic Buildings

NPS brief 19, The Repair and Replacement of Historic Wooden Shingle Roofs

NPS brief 29, The Repair, Replacement, and Maintenance of Historic Slate Roofs

NPS brief 30, The Preservation and Repair of Historic Clay Tile Roofs

 

Foundation Systems

  1. W. Skinner, Foundations of Lofty Buildings. The Century Magazine, Vol. LXXVII, (New series Vol. LV) No. 4, March, 1909, pp. 771-781.

Feilden, Bernard. Conservation of historic buildings. Routledge, 2007. – Part 1.6 Foundations p70-93

Landmark Preservation Comission. Park Row Builiding. 1999

Landmark Preservation Comission. Corbin Builiding. 2015

 

Wood

Hoadley, R. Bruce. Understanding wood: a craftsman's guide to wood technology. Taunton press, 2000. - Chapters 1, 3, 4

Underhill, Roy. The Woodwright's Shop: A Practical Guide to Traditional Woodcraft. Univ of North Carolina Press, 2012.

Morrison, Hugh. Early American Architecture from the Colonial Settlements to the National Period. Oxford University Press, 1952. – Chapter 1

Sobon, Jack A. "Historic American timber joinery." Timber Framers Guild, Becket, MA (2002).

NPS brief 21, Repairing Historic Flat Plaster—Walls and Ceilings

NPS brief 26, The Preservation and Repair of Historic Log Buildings

 

Mechanical and electrical systems

NPS brief 24, Heating, Ventilating, and Cooling Historic Buildings: Problems and Recommended Approaches

Last updated: 8/26/2023