Clemson University students work to restore historic African-American site

A team of Clemson architecture students took on the challenge of transforming the dilapidated Keese Barn into a modern gathering place that commemorates the past.
The decaying Keese Barn site in nearby Pendleton wasnt much to look at just a short time ago, but the towns African American community knew it was worth saving.

The barn was important because it was once the only place, other than churches, where African Americans could meet, explains Grant Cunningham PhD 95, a professor of planning and president of the Pendleton Foundation for Black History and Culture.

A team of Clemson architecture students, under the direction of Cunningham and architecture professors Jori Erdmann and Patricio del Real, took on the challenge of transforming the dilapidated barn into a modern gathering place that commemorates the past. The team worked closely with the community, from elementary school classes to senior citizens groups.The Keese Barn project was one of the first projects of Clemsons Studio South, a program that links Southern culture with architectural design.

The students designed a new structure that respects the past by using salvageable parts of the original building and artifacts found at the site. Glass bottles were constructed into a window. To incorporate movement, part of the tin roof was fashioned into a large wind chime. And words were painted on pieces of weathered wood to form an abstract memorial wall.

For their efforts, Cunningham, his colleagues and students were awarded the 2004 Collaborative Practice Award from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Clemson University
• Keese Barn
• Pendleton
• African-American history