Past Meeting


At our public meeting on Sunday, October 20, 2013 the featured presentation was:

 
Hillside Farm. Courtesy James Garrison.

Stone Houses: Traditional Homes of R. Brognard Okie

by James Garrison

The middle region of the eastern seaboard is a particularly rich area for the study of traditional building in masonry, and one of the most interesting practitioners was Richardson Brognard Okie, Jr. His combination of high and low styles made the later revival architecture both richer and more accessible to people from inside and far beyond the original boundaries of the region.

From his early work in the Colonial Revival style, relying on applied ornament as well as creative solid geometry, he moved to an even more personal style with less ornament. For a small office, Okie produced an enormous quantity of work, hundreds of houses. There is no material more local to its source than structural building stone. It was the principal material in Okie's architecture, and provided the most tangible links to place and history. His architecture, and the related work of his predecessors and successors is part of a continuous tradition of building relating local materials and inspiration to universal principals.

The program was very well attended and Jim signed copies of his recently published book afterwards.

This presentation was held at the Easttown Library & Information Center in Berwyn, PA starting at 2 pm.

 
 

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