An episcopal seminary

The site for this seminary is located within the northwest quadrant of the District of Columbia. The site consists of a ridge approximately one hundred and ten feet in elevation bounded by Clark Street at its north western tip and a rocky promontory a quarter of a mile to the southeast. Along its southwestern edge lies Canal Road, the C&O Canal and the Potomac River. To the northeast lies upper Georgetown. My intention was to utilize the natural axis of the ridge to construct a clear line of demarcation between the secular world and the world of religious education and scholarship. It was clear from the beginning that the site had to be developed in accordance with the natural orientation and steep topography of the ridge. The clearest means of access to the site exists to the north east along an abandoned rail bed that intersects Fox hall Road. The new road to be constructed within this depression constitutes the first in a series of moves to create a datum line between the natural setting of the seminary and the urban fabric of Georgetown. Parallel to this road lies a continuous reflecting pool eight hundred feet in length. This second element of separation is broken only at the entry to the seminary. The third and final element of separation is an extended wall that defines both the natural orientation of the site and the linear structure of the seminary. From the northwest it extends over one thousand feet to the southeast. Like the reflecting pool, the datum wall is broken only at its single point of entry. The structure of the seminary can be viewed in its entirety from the southwest. It is a linear composition with a semi-circular terrace at its entry which forms an open air cloister. On either side stand the auditorium and lecture spaces, administrative facilities, library, refectory, seminarian cells, chapel, terrace and bell tower.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Architecture

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Architecture

Department dc:contributor.department

Architecture

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Year dc:date.issued

1997

Author dc:creator

• Booth, Craig Allen

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Hunt, Gregory K.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Holt, Jaan
• Jenkins, Eric J.
• Markus, Richard

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10919/54371

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/54371