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Jeffersonian architecture

 
Jeffersonian Architecture

 
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Jeffersonian Architecture or Jeffersonian Colonial is an American form of Neo-Classicism
Neoclassical architecture

Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism that began in the mid-18th century, both as a reaction against the Rococo style of anti-tectonic naturalistic ornament, and an outgrowth of some classicizing features of Baroque architecture....
 or Neo-Palladian based on U.S.






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Thomas Jefferson's Monticello Estate
Uva Rotunda
Jeffersonian Architecture or Jeffersonian Colonial is an American form of Neo-Classicism
Neoclassical architecture

Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism that began in the mid-18th century, both as a reaction against the Rococo style of anti-tectonic naturalistic ornament, and an outgrowth of some classicizing features of Baroque architecture....
 or Neo-Palladian based on U.S. president and patriot, Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States , the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence , and one of the most influential Founding Fathers of the United States for his promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States....
's designs of his home, Monticello
Monticello

Monticello , located near Charlottesville, Virginia, Virginia, was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, the third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia....
, his retreat at Poplar Forest
Poplar Forest

Poplar Forest was Thomas Jefferson's plantation and plantation house in what is now Forest, Virginia, near historic Lynchburg, Virginia, which he treated as a private retreat and upon which he lavished attention from 1806 until his death 20 years later....
, the University of Virginia
University of Virginia

The University of Virginia is a public university research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson. Conceived by 1800 and established in 1819, it is the only university in the United States to be designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, an honor it shares with nearby Monticello....
, and his design of Barboursville
Barboursville (James Barbour)

Barboursville is the ruin of the estate of former United States Senate, United States Secretary of War, and Virginia Governor#United States James Barbour, located in Barboursville, Virginia, on the grounds of Barboursville Vineyards....
 for his friend and political ally James Barbour
James Barbour

James Barbour was an United States of America lawyer, amember and speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, the 19th Governor of Virginia, the first Governor to reside in the current Virginia Governor's Mansion, a U.S....
. The style was popular in the early American period about the same time period as the more mainstream Greek Revival architecture
Greek Revival architecture

The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States....
 was in vogue (1790s-1830s). Most heavily influenced by the Italian revivalist architect, Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio

Andrea Palladio , was a Republic of Venice architect, widely considered the most influential architect in the Architectural history. He was influenced by Roman and Greek architecture....
, Jeffersonian architecture is perhaps best described as "Palladian" in inspiration. Jefferson was also influenced by architect James Gibbs
James Gibbs

James Gibbs was one of Kingdom of Great Britain's most influential architects. Born in Kingdom of Scotland, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England....
, and by French Neo-classical buildings, such as the Hôtel de Salm in Paris
Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
, when he served as Ambassador to France
United States Ambassador to France

There has been a United States Ambassador to France since the American Revolution. The United States sent its first envoys to France in 1776, towards the end of that country's 400-year rule under the Bourbon dynasty....
. While the Jeffersonian style incorporates Palladian proportions and themes, it is at the same time unique to Jefferson's own personal sensibility and the materials available to him in early republican Virginia.

One characteristic which typifies Jefferson's architecture is the use of the octagon and octagonal forms in his designs. Palladio never used octagons, but Jefferson employed them as a design motif -- halving them, elongating them, and employing them in whole as with the dome of Monticello, or the entire house at Poplar Forest.

Even after Jeffersonian Colonial went out of vogue for other public buildings, it continued to have an influence on many Protestant church designs on the East Coast
East Coast of the United States

The East Coast of the United States, also known as the "Eastern Seaboard" or "Atlantic Seaboard", refers to the easternmost coastal states in the central and northern United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada....
 through the mid-twentieth century. The style is still employed on some southern college campuses, particularly in Virginia, and has enjoyed a certain re-emergence among some newer twenty-first century evangelical church complexes.

The University of Mary Washington
University of Mary Washington

The University of Mary Washington is a Mixed-sex education, state-funded, four-year Liberal arts colleges in the United States and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges in Fredericksburg, Virginia....
, previously the University of Virginia's college for women, is another primary example of Jefferson's architecture.

An example of Jeffersonian architecture outside the United States can be found in one of China's top universities, Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University

Tsinghua University , is a university in Beijing, People's Republic of China. Tsinghua University was established in 1911, originally under the name ?Tsinghua Xuetang?....
 in Beijing
Beijing

is a metropolis in northern China and the Capital of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the four municipality of China, which are equivalent to province in China's Political divisions of China....
. The University's "Grand Auditorium" was designed with elements of the Jeffersonian architectural style in the early 20th century.

Common design elements

  • Palladian design e.g. central core, symmetrical wings
  • Main floor slightly elevated above ground level
  • Red brick construction
  • White painted columns and trim
  • Octagons and octagonal forms
  • Chinese railings
  • Columns using Greek orders e.g. Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian
  • Doric
    Doric order

    The Doric order was one of the Classical order of Architecture of Ancient Greece or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic order and the Corinthian order....
    , Corinthian
    Corinthian order

    The Corinthian order is one of the Classical orders of Greece and Rome architecture, characterized by a slender Fluting column and an ornate capital decorated with acanthus leaves and scrolls....
     or Ionic
    Ionic order

    The Ionic order column forms one of the Classical order of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric order and the Corinthian order....
     order capitals
  • Portico
    Portico

    A portico is a porch that is leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls....
    -and-pediment
    Pediment

    A pediment is a classical architecture element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns....
     primary entries
  • Classical moldings


See also

  • Virginia State Capitol
    Virginia State Capitol

    The Virginia State Capitol is the seat of state government in the Commonwealth of Virginia, located in Richmond, Virginia, the third State Capital of Virginia....
  • University of Mary Washington
    University of Mary Washington

    The University of Mary Washington is a Mixed-sex education, state-funded, four-year Liberal arts colleges in the United States and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges in Fredericksburg, Virginia....