Charleston is often awarded titles such as the World’s No. 1 City or Most Beautiful City by Travel + Leisure Magazine. The world loves Charleston’s marriage of beautiful landscape and architecture with rich history. Historic preservation, the unsung hero of the Lowcountry’s fruitful tourism industry, works behind the curtains to maintain the city’s antebellum architectural integrity.
In order to spotlight and debate emerging issues in preservation, the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art and the Historic Preservation and Community Planning program at the College of Charleston present an exciting panel discussion: “Unfolding Perspectives In Preservation,” in conjunction with The Halsey’s current exhibition, Ahead of the Wrecking Ball: Ronald Ramsey and the Preservation of Charleston. The panelists include four architects and critics who will discuss unique aspects of preservation.
Panelists Whitney Powers, David Brussat, Ray Huff, and Robin Williams will introduce attendees to new ways of thinking about old architecture. Powers is an architect who specializes in the adaptation of both old buildings and new design philosophies, specifically in contemporary Charleston. Journalist and critic Brussat advocates for new, classical architecture. Huff is a professor, modernist designer, and director of the Clemson Architecture Center in Charleston. Savannah College of Art and Design professor Williams specializes in neglected urban details.
Topics such as neglected elements of urban charm, like local street pavements, and the awkward question of whether modernist structures that have failed to earn public affection are financially worth preserving, will be explored in this preservation panel.
All are welcome to join this free discussion which takes place at 2 p.m. on Feb. 11 in Alumni Memorial Hall. The panel will be moderated by R. Grant Gilmore, Associate Professor and Addlestone Chair in Historic Preservation at the College of Charleston, and Nathaniel Walker, Chair of Architectural History at Savannah College of Art and Design.
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