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This edition of Classicism at Home is dedicated to the ICAA's 2023 national conference, Enduring Places, which took place in Charleston, South Carolina and addressed topics of craftsmanship, preservation, and sustainability.

The ICAA is very grateful to John F.W. Rogers for generously making the Enduring Places conference possible along with our supporters Classical American Homes Preservation Trust, Historic Charleston Foundation, Oliveri Millworks, Traditional Building, and Schafer Buccellato Architects

This edition of World of Classicism is sponsored by Haddonstone.

ARTICLES & VIDEOS: NEW THIS ISSUE

John F.W. Rogers, executive vice president of Goldman Sachs and chairman of the White House Historical Association, as well as the generous benefactor of Enduring Places, welcomed attendees with an inspiring set of opening remarks that emphasized the ICAA's mission to promote the practice and appreciation of classical design in architecture and its allied arts.

Enduring Places' feature lecture was delivered by Witold Rybczynski, an architect and writer as well as the recipient of the 2023 Arthur Ross Award in Publishing. "Little Houses and Big Dreams in the Holy City," based on his book Charleston Fancy, is set in the colonial city of Charleston and brings together two interests: architecture and urbanism. Beginning in the 1980s, a motley crew of builders—a lover of Byzantine architecture, an Air Force pilot, a fledgling architect, and a bluegrass mandolin player—undertake a variety of unusual projects: a domed Orthodox church, a fanciful medieval castle, a restored freedman’s cottage, a miniature Palladian villa, and a new street based on Porgy and Bess. And in the process of remaking an old city, they invent a new one.

The conference's first breakout session focused on sustainability. While there is widespread agreement on the validity and importance of sustainable practices in architecture, the metrics by which projects are assessed are dominated by assumptions of high-tech problems and high-tech solutions. The prevailing metrics inaccurately capture the benefits to be gained by use of a traditional design toolkit such as durability, adaptability, low toxicity, low energy demand, et al.

In this panel discussion, Patricia Andrasik, associate professor at The Catholic University of America; David Calligeros, founder of Remains Lighting; Steve Mouzon, architect, urbanist, author, and co-founder of the Urban Guild; and John Onyango, associate professor of architecture at The University of Notre Dame identified some appropriate metrics for sustainable architecture and discussed approaches to capturing the relevant data.

ARTICLES & VIDEOS: PREVIOUS ISSUE

The ICAA's video series Great Rooms invites interior designers to speak about their favorite rooms and to explain what makes these spaces such exceptional examples of design.

In this first episode, Guillaume Féau of Féau Boiseries introduces viewers to two iterations of one 17th-century room designed by the architect Claude Nicolas Ledoux. First, Guillaume welcomes viewers to the stunning reproduction of the Ledoux room at the company's workshop in Paris, and discusses its qualities with renowned architect Andrew Skurman. Next, Guillaume meets with Nicolas Kugel at the Kugel Gallery, where the original panels are installed with an exquisite array of Japanese lacquer.

Guillaume Féau is the third-generation owner of Féau Boiseries. Based in the center of Paris for more than a hundred years, Féau Boiseries specializes in antique wood paneling and fireplaces, parquet flooring as well as the reproduction of paneling. In addition to selling million-dollar antique boiseries, Guillaume has a thriving secondary business re-creating period rooms, which he supplies to designers around the world.

In this second episode of the Great Rooms series, Jamie Drake of Drake/Anderson reveals the complex design considerations behind a total renovation of a historic London townhouse, a project dubbed "London Calling" in the firm's new book BOLD: The Interiors of Drake/Anderson. From historic murals (reputed to be by Sir James Thornhill) to oddly shaped rooms that presented unique renovation challenges, and decorated with eclectic collections of contemporary artworks and fine furniture, this is a project with a dazzling array of colors and materials sure to entice fans of Drake/Anderson's work.

Jamie Drake is the co-founder of Drake/Anderson, the New York-based firm well-known for their dynamic eclecticism whose work forges a perfect balance between timelessness and today.

The ICAA would like to thank the sponsor of the Great Rooms series: Féau Boiseries.

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