South Carolina native Phillip Smith remembers exactly what sparked his love of architecture, classical design, traditional building and historic preservation.
He was a high school junior on a college discovery trip to the College of Charleston. He stood in the Cistern Yard with others who had been offered scholarships and reviewed a list of potential majors.
“I was split between poli-sci and history,” he recalled. “I thought I wanted to be a lawyer. But as I looked into history, I saw historic preservation and thought, ‘This seems interesting. Let’s go check it out.’ ”
He visited the college’s historic preservation and community planning program — it’s the only such program in the nation to offer an undergraduate degree. He met faculty members, asked a lot of questions, saw studios and learned about the degree. He was hooked.
“I told my parents that was what I wanted to do,” said Smith, now a 31-year-old assistant professor of classical architecture at the American College of Building Arts. “It was that quick. It was that fast.”
Once at the college, a course in preservation planning sealed the deal.
“I was, like, this is fun. I actually like doing this. I’m actually pretty decent at this and I started enjoying the drawing board part of it.”
In 2013, he took an architectural design class and then went on a study abroad program to London and Paris that changed his life. He eventually went to Notre Dame to get a master’s degree in classical architecture. He is quick to point out he believes it is the nation’s only program truly rooted in teaching classical, traditional architecture based on principles of antiquity.
Living the dream
Smith lives in a studio apartment with thick walls and a 15-foot wooden load-bearing ceiling in a traditionally-built, modern-day villa on Catfiddle Street in the Cannonborough-Elliotborough neighborhood. Not too far away, vehicles whiz by on the Crosstown. But inside, it’s quiet and cool. It’s a place where the three things converge that he really cares about — traditional architecture, teaching about it and living in it.
The classic villa structure represents the kind of buildings that he believes are important. And the teaching is necessary in a town like Charleston which needs stonemasons, bricklayers, plasterers and carpentry to keep its historical structures relevant and accurate.
“One of the great things about this place goes back to the construction of it because it’s such a solid building,” he said of his dwelling. “In the early spring and late fall, I don’t have to turn the air conditioner on because the walls are so thick.
“The downside of that, of course, is that I get no phone service in this place. But on those really great days, being able to open up these doors — it’s an amazing place to live.”
He also loves teaching at the small college on Meeting Street.
“We are training the next generation of artists and craftspeople,” Smith said, adding classically-trained artisans once filled the country. In Charleston, many were Black and did the work to build the classical structures that fuel the area’s $13 billion tourism economy.
“Every village once had a blacksmith. Now we don’t really have any at all. And so living in a place like Charleston that’s extremely historic, somebody has got to be here to preserve these buildings. We are training these students in those trades.”
Smith explains that architects — a word from Greek that means ‘master builder’ — and craftsmen can’t really exist independently.
The school’s students, he said, are learning about the importance of proportion from lessons from Greece, Italy and Egypt.
“Within that, they’re learning about how to design for place,” he added. Buildings, he said, need to fit into the place where they’re located.
Taking the exam
In recent years, Smith has been working on becoming a licensed architect.
Now that he’s completed the 3,750 hours of required interning to become an architect, he’s looking forward — well, if anyone can ever look forward to tests — to the six exams required for someone to become a licensed architect.
He remains excited about teaching design and preservation at the ACBA. Along the way, he’ll probably do a little shopping.
Smith, a natty dresser, says he’s got about two dozen suits. He recently pulled a dozen summer suits out of storage. He’s got about 70 ties, including several bow ties — and says he needs more.
“I have always loved just being dressed well,” Smith said recently, decked out in a black church suit and bow tie.
More than likely if you see him Sunday to Friday, he’ll be wearing a suit and crisp shirt. On Saturdays, he might be in disguise in a T-shirt, shorts and sneakers.
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