Little Houses and Big Dreams in the Holy City: Witold Rybczynski at the Enduring Places conference

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 in Charleston. Witold Rybczynski, an architect and writer as well as the recipient of the 2023 Arthur Ross Award in Publishing, tells the full story in his feature lecture at the Enduring Places conference.
In November 2023, the ICAA hosted the national conference Enduring Places. For three days, 225 participants from around the country gathered in Charleston, South Carolina and engaged in a diverse offering of talks, panel discussions, working sessions, and tours focused on three themes: craftsmanship, preservation, and sustainability.
The conference's 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.
From April to June 2024, the ICAA will be releasing all of the recordings from Enduring Places. Sign up for the ICAA's biweekly newsletter, World of Classicism, to be notified when other installments are released in the coming weeks: bit.ly/ICAAemails
About the Speaker:
Witold Rybczynski, architect and writer, is Meyerson Professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of more than twenty books, including A Clearing in the Distance, a prize-winning biography of Frederick Law Olmsted. His latest is The Story of Architecture, which the New York Times called “an expansive account traces the influence of social, technological, and economic shifts on architecture across centuries.” In 2014 he received a Cooper- Hewitt National Design Award and in 2023 he received an Arthur Ross Award in Publishing from the ICAA.
SPONSORS
The ICAA is very grateful to John F.W. Rogers for generously making this program possible along with our supporters:
Classical American Homes Preservation Trust
Historic Charleston Foundation
Oliveri Millworks
Traditional Building
Schafer Buccellato Architects
CONTRIBUTING SPONSORS
A Classical Studio, Inc.
Benedictine College
Gaston & Wyatt
Goodwin Classic Homes
Jared Goss
Historical Concepts
ICAA Northern California Chapter
Leeds Custom Design and Seabreeze Building
Anne Kriken Mann
John B. Murray & Elizabeth Brooke Murray
Poggenpohl
Reis Contracting
Skurman Architects
Peter J. Talty
Tucker & Marks
The Urban Electric Co.
Vallette & Russell Windham
LECTURE SPONSORS
Ankie & Fran Barnes
Stan Dixon
Marsha & David Dowler
Barbara Eberlein
Kirk Henckels
Jeff Allen Landscape Architecture, LLC
Anne Lazar
Marmi Stone
Suzanne R. Santry
Tammy Connor Interior Design
Urban Design Associates
Whitlock Builders
Bunny Williams
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE
Russell Windham, Chair
Ankie Barnes
Andrew Cogar
Richard Economakis
Ray Gindroz
Alexa Hampton
Thomas Lloyd
Michael Mesko
Eric Osth
Suzanne Santry
IN COLLABORATION WITH ICAA NATIONAL OFFICE STAFF
Peter Lyden, President
Caroline Slaten, Vice President, Development
Julia Sucher, Manager, Development & Special Events
Lexi Hoglund, Assistant, Development and Office of the President

[@verticalmatt]

Magnificent!!!

[@skmail5474]

As a Charleston native and employee of the City of Charleston, I’m extremely grateful to see these videos being released. Thanks to everyone involved with this. It is so important that we keep the spirit of this craftsmanship in the forefront of our minds while this city continues to develop and grow. Charleston has and always will be a beacon of hope for me as this world falls into disorder. The ideas and influences behind our architecture cannot be lost. I have watched this channel ever since Calder gave his lecture on classical architecture and used many examples in Charleston, so to see such a feature on my own city brings me even greater pride in the place I call home. The entire city is full of the same rich history, and it is presented in a way that I believe is unmatched.
Again, thank you, to everyone involved.

[@gorygremlin13]

Great lecture

[@CheeseBae]

I was in Charleston just a few weeks ago. I ate at Chez Nous and realized we were close to Catfiddle Street so I walked over and checked it out!