The renovated structure has a primary long, rectangular, vertical form in its layout. There are minimal levels to the house. Including a second story with a balcony. Though it is worth noting that compared to other examples of this style of build, this structure presents bigger and more profound. There are 2 doors (front and back). It includes a simplistic walk route through the structure which includes a dropdown set of stairs to get to the next level. Its interior patterns are that of high-quality domestic ones, with each room through the walkway being stylized and standing out on its own. On the outside, the blue stands out as the main color. It blends well with the orange-ish accents on the entrance pillars and surrounding windows. Light enters through the windows and additional entrances of the sort. Stucco helps make up the exterior of the structure. In addition wood materials are used throughout. There is some gating placed left of the front of the house. While not necessarily historical or cultural. Its notoriety due to its involvement on television helps propel the attention and the importance of the building type and its style’s kind going forward.
Image 1: The-Shotgun-House(Official) https://www.isoldmyhouse.com/what-happened-to-the-homes-from-fixer-upper-after-the-cameras-stopped/
The Shōkōken Tea House is a small rectangular building that has a single low level with a sloping tiled roof. It has a very simple frame. It’s surrounded by the garden. It is a single-story structure. The entrance is low and modest, it is requiring visitors to bow slightly as they step inside. The floor is covered with tatami mats. The Circulation is minimal, visitors enter directly into the tearoom, which opens visually to the garden through sliding doors. Movement is calm, controlled, and ceremonial, and it’s divided into a 4.5-mat layout. Sliding shōji screens open toward the garden, letting in soft, diffused light. The structure is simple, and the materials used in this tea house are wooden posts, plaster walls, and bamboo details. Inside the house, there are ornaments, and only natural textures of wood and paper, with shadows shifting gently across the space.
Interpretive reading: This tea house was built for quiet gatherings and the ritual of the tea ceremony. Its small scale creates intimacy, while the natural materials encourage harmony with nature. The humble entrance and minimal decoration reflect the values of wabi-sabi, finding beauty in simplicity. Unlike nearby castles or temples, the tea house is not about power but about refinement, reflection, and calm. It serves as a cultural balance, offering a place for stillness and connection.
Builder: Himeji City and local craftsmen specializing in traditional Japanese tea houses
Architect: Unknown (constructed in traditional style by preservation teams)
Image 1: kokoengarden3.jpg https://www.japan-experience.com/sites/default/files/images/content_images/kokoengarden3.jpg
Image 2: Koko-en-Garden05-640x400.jpg https://visit-himeji.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Koko-en-Garden05-640x400.jpg
Image 3: Koko-en-Garden04-640x400.jpg https://visit-himeji.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Koko-en-Garden04-640x400.jpg
Located within Kōkō-en Garden, adjacent to Himeji Castle (UNESCO World Heritage Site).
The structure has a long, rectangular, vertical form in its layout. It does not have many levels as there is a singular set of steps at the front that lead you to the single floor. There are 2 doors (front and back) and 6 windows in total. This domestic structure makes it easy to move through the area, with connected rooms for habitation and a signature of no hallways. Its structure seems to follow a “box” like method, again relating back to its rectangular form. Its front stands out with pillars creating a small porch highlighted particularly with a swing. Its patterns are simplistic ones that you would find common for not only this domestic type structure, but for the domestic types of the region. Light enters through those windows. With its simple and compact structure, the shadows cast on the inside may be similar to those found in that of an ordinary structure. It is a similar effect with the structure on the outside, simple cast shadows caused by simple shapes. Wood plays a big role in the structure’s build. The pillars that help make up the front of the structure as well as the base structure appear to be made up of this wood. In addition to the wood, there are stones underneath the structure that elevate it. The structure plays a role in the cultural aspect of raising one of the most pulverizing celebrities and its region’s styles. In addition, Its build signals a working class status of the region and the structure’s time period.
Renovation architects: Johnson and McCarty
Image 1: Elvis_Presley's_birth_home_in_Tupelo,_Mississippi_LCCN2011633697 (1) (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Elvis_Presley%27s_birth_home_in_Tupelo%2C_Mississippi_LCCN2011633697.jpeg)
Originally Built: Began and completed in 1934
Tupelo, Mississippi, United States of America
The Central Moravian Church in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is a striking example of Georgian architecture adapted through the lens of Moravian religious and cultural values. Built between 1803 and 1806, the structure presents a symmetrical, rectangular brick form typical of Georgian design, with balanced window placement and a restrained classical vocabulary. Its façade is modest but orderly, reflecting the Moravian preference for simplicity over ornamentation. Large arched windows allow light to pour into the expansive interior, while a tall, hipped roof and central tower emphasize verticality without dominating the surrounding historic district. The overall composition reflects a British colonial architectural influence interpreted through Central European sensibilities, characteristic of the Moravian community’s Germanic roots. Inside, the church reveals its most unique features. The sanctuary is an open, column-free space spanning approximately 90 by 60 feet—an impressive feat achieved through a system of large wooden trusses. This clear-span design supports communal worship, which was central to Moravian spiritual life. The interior is simple yet elegant: whitewashed walls, wooden pews arranged to foster unity and visibility, and restrained classical detailing such as cornices and flat arched window frames. Colonial Germanic architectural features—including herringbone-patterned doors and brick eyebrows over the windows—highlight the congregation’s cultural heritage.
Patron: Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf Builder: Moravian settlers
Image 1: https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/5d/98/1490f06540c28792eecbf5a23a09/central-moravian-church.jpg
Formal description: The Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Catherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, more commonly known as Saint Catherine’s Monastery, stands at the foot of Mount Sinai in Egypt. Dating back to the mid-500s AD, it is one of the oldest and still occupied monasteries in the world. Harboring the aesthetics of most Byzantine and early Christian style structures, its plan is rather irregular and has a fortress-like format with its high, thick granite stone walls to house a collection of buildings. It is rather compacted and the various structures primarly range between 33 and 66 feet. The natural earth colored exterior blends in with the desert surroundings, as the granite was excavated from the surrounding mountain environment. A fortified gate named after Emperor Justinian, who ordered the building of the monastery (Justinian’s Gate or Gate of the emperor), was no longer used as the main entry point to preserve its condition. One of the main basilica-style churches has a timber roof, wooden doors, and decorative beams that contain intricate mosaics and depictions of important Byzantine icons. Next to it is the notable belfry, which is three stories but divided into 4 tiers, has open archways, and large bells that are still in use today. It is a much later addition to the monastery and was built in a style similar to 12th-century Syrian churches. The monastery's overall structure flexes its dual role as an elaborate sanctuary and fortress, as it was meant to protect monks and pilgrims within its massive granite walls that are practically impenetrable. Housing manuscripts, relics, and even a library of volumes in various languages, the monastery, for many, is a holy place and sacred. It is believed to be built where Moses witnessed the burning bush, which still lives on the premises. It was then that the building of all the surrounding structures became almost an act of worship in itself, and certainly a way for people to preserve the divinity of the area. Then, the body of Catherine of Alexandria (after which the monastery was later named) was also said to have been discovered there. This only further cements the status of it being spiritual, which has stretched across all three major Abrahamic religions. Each faith has its own tie to the area, such as the discovery of Christian Palestinian Aramaic, Arabic, and Hebrew texts.
Image 1: Katharinenkloster_Sinai_BW_2 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Catherine%27s_Monastery#/media/File:Katharinenkloster_Sinai_BW_2.jpg)
Image 2:1920px-Monastery_of_Saint_Catherine_at_Mount_Sinai-_drawing_from_the_Description_de_l'Égypte_(1809) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Catherine%27s_Monastery#/media/File:Monastery_of_Saint_Catherine_at_Mount_Sinai-_drawing_from_the_Description_de_l'%C3%89gypte_(1809).jpeg)
A stilted longhouse of the Karos people in Northern Sumatra. Usually it has a rectangular foothold, the structure rises around 12meters. It has an iconic triangular thatched roof that makes up over half of the structure's size. The insides are large enough to house large families. The purpose of the building's unique style is to resist the elements of the region, such as earthquakes and storms. Made of out wood, bamboo and reeds, traditionally without the need of nails or modern tools.
Karo Peoples of North Sumatra, Indonesia
Image 1: Siwaluh Jabu Desa Budaya Lingga.jpg (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Siwaluh_Jabu_Desa_Budaya_Lingga.jpg) Image 2: COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Een Karo Batak loods TMnr 60004176.jpg (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Een_Karo_Batak_loods_TMnr_60004176.jpg)
Lingga Village, Karo District, North Sumatra, Indonesia
The Parson Barnard House is a sturdy, symmetrical colonial structure made of weathered wood and framed with hand-hewn timber. Its steep gabled roof, covered in gray wooden shingles, reflects a practical design suited for New England winters. The front is balanced and orderly, with five evenly spaced windows—small-paned and framed with simple trim—and a central door framed by plain pilasters and a transom. A large brick chimney rises from the center of the roof, marking the heart of the home. The house rests low to the ground, with an ell extending from the back, suggesting later additions. The overall feel is modest and functional, with little ornamentation. It sits quietly in its surroundings, bordered by simple shrubs and a stone path, embodying the practical elegance of early American life.
Image 1:https://images.ctfassets.net/nonm77rtn1g8/GOyucsLWP9FH7R5RSvocy/e3e998e61f9ff05c549a7429f0025404/Sunny_Saltbox_Norwich_Connecticut__1670.jpg
Formal Description A beautiful, fascinating house that looks like it is standing tall right in the sky above all other houses, like it is floating in the sky like clouds without any base. Makes you wonder what it feels like to be up there. This house has many layers of walls, and the gates that surround the central tower. The layout is fascinating but also complicated and mysterious. It feels like a maze. It is mostly designed to confuse enemies. The paths of the house are twisted and turned, leading uphill through courtyards, towers, and narrow passageways. Each area is built to slow down attackers and protect the center. The highest tower is 152 feet tall. From the outside, it looks like it has five levels, but actually it has six levels inside and also a basement. Each level gets smaller as it goes up. The entrance of the house is made up of a large wooden gate at the very bottom of the hill. It moves through the paths and multiple gates, which lead to the main tower. The building material is a wooden post and lintel structure. Beams and columns support each floor. There are no vaults or domes, just stacked wooden levels with steep tiled roofs. The Surfaces are smooth white plaster over wood and stone. Roofs have repeating curved tiles and family crest tiles at the edges. Decorations are simple but elegant, with fish-shaped roof ornaments for protection. The light of this house comes through small windows and slits in the walls. The house is made of wood, stone, and white plaster. The base is made from a strong stone, and the towers and walls are mostly made out of wood, with plaster to help prevent fire.
Interpretive Reading This house was designed to protect, impress, and show power. The maze paths, tall stone base, and strong wooden structure were chosen to be a military defense, to make it hard for enemies to attack. At the same time, is elegant white walls and layered roofs gave it a beautiful, almost floating look, which signaled wealth, power, and control. In its historical context, it likely showed the strength of the ruling family and helped to keep the peace. The use of wood and plaster helped keep it light and flexible, which is good for earthquakes, and the stone base gave it the strength to keep it together. It may have felt like walking toward the sky and heavens. The whole structure can be seen as a metaphor for a mountain, with many levels rising to the peak, and the main tower is its hierarchy, where power is held.
Contemporary Resonance or Reflection Today, this house is a rare example of a large wooden structure that has survived for centuries, so it raises questions about how this building has lived for centuries that not even in modern times, with a lot of technology, we are unable to build such a building. It also reminds us to think about how power and beauty were shown through architecture, and how a design and an idea will still live on even after the architect dies.
Image 1: Himeji-Castle-01.jpg https://www.remotelands.com/travelogues/app/uploads/2019/07/Himeji-Castle-01.jpg
Original construction: 1333 by Akamatsu Norimura
Reconstructed Scandinavian Viking Longhouse - Vikingekongehal
Faithfully recreated biased on the largest royal hall known from the Viking Age in Denmark. Modernized with amenities such as air conditioning and heating. Vikingekongehal sits as Lejre Land of Legends greatest attraction, a large complex dedicated to preservation and historical life's of the Nordic people. Internally the building's massive hall spans multiple supports acting as a nature room divider. These supports hold important lighting which previous would be candles and torches now LED's for safety purposes. Along the sides built in seating, tables. and other misc items lay along the walls. Stepping down into the center a large stone hearth for cooking stands between two massive dinning tables ready for a feast. Weapons and shields hang on the walls.
Kongehal 25. maj 2020 10.jpg - Visit Denmark - https://www.visitdenmark.com/press/latest-news/denmarks-largest-viking-longhouse-opens
Part of the attraction Lejre Land of Legends established 1964. Reconstructed after original findings of the hall by archeologists in Gl. Lejre back in 2009.
Cathedral of Notre Dame; Notre Dame de Paris; Temple of Reason/Temple of the Supreme Being
Master Mason/Architect: Jean De Chelles (1250-1260)
image 1:Paris_Notre-Dame_Southeast_View_01,jpg (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Paris_Notre-Dame_Southeast_View_01.JPG)
image 2:Notre-Dame_de_Paris_2013-07-24.jpg (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Notre-Dame_de_Paris_2013-07-24.jpg)
1163 – Bishop Maurice de Sully begins construction of new cathedral.
1270 – South transept and rose window completed by Pierre de Montreuil.
15 April 2019 – A fire destroys a large part of the roof and the spire. Reconstruction begins two years later in 2021.
Fall 2024? - Notre Dame reopened after complete restoration.