Many historic buildings that were once full of life and activity now stand vacant. The urban fabric is forever changed when those abandoned buildings are demolished, and part of the community's shared cultural and architectural history is lost. As a hypothetical model of historic preservation through adaptive reuse, the former 32nd Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, has served as the site location for this study. Repurposing this historically significant edifice may help to preserve the work of a celebrated architect, Wallace Rayfield, and the narrative of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. This study seeks to respectfully assign a new purpose to this landmark structure while commemorating its past. Three realms of inquiry are brought together for the purposes of this study and their intersections are examined. Firstly, the perceptions of study participants regarding adaptive reuse for ecclesiastical architecture are explored. Secondly, this study seeks to identify the sense of place qualities necessary to promote health and well-being in a temporary communal living environment; and lastly, the intersections of these issues are investigated to reveal possible areas of agreement and tension between adaptive reuse and sense of place goals. The intended use for this repurposed architecture is a hospital-associated hospitality house. This function has been selected because of the similar community outreach mission it shares with the former church, and the proximity of the site location to a regional hospital. The philanthropic purpose of a hospitality house is to provide patients and their families with a residential home base when they experience a medical crisis or must receive medical treatment far away from their primary home. In addition to providing shelter, hospitality houses may also offer food, transportation, counseling, and emotional support to their guests. This study uses a qualitative questionnaire methodology that is guided by a framework developed by Fritz Steele (1981) to inquire about sense of place issues with hospitality house residents and staff. In addition, community stakeholders that are associated with the neighborhood and/or the former church were interviewed to understand their perspectives and priorities regarding the adaptive reuse of the church building. The subsequent findings have provided insights about the relationships that exist between historic preservation and creating a "home-away-from-home" environment for an at-risk population. The results of this study indicate that meaningful historic architecture may contribute to the well-being and "at-home" atmosphere desired by hospital-associated hospitality houses and similar entities, while stipulating that the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems are modern, and that interior finishes are sanitary and promote a healthy environment. This study's findings have led the author to conclude that respectfully repurposing historic architecture includes acknowledging the imbued human spirit contributed by past inhabitants, as well as considering the modern needs and desires of the present generation. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Interior Design in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts. / Summer Semester, 2013. / June 26, 2013. / Hospitality Houses, Interior Design, Preservation, Sense of
Place / Includes bibliographical references. / Jill Pable, Professor Directing Thesis; Karen Myers, Committee Member; Jim Dawkins, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_183803 |
| Contributors | Lyons, Linda (authoraut), Pable, Jill (professor directing thesis), Myers, Karen (committee member), Dawkins, Jim (committee member), Department of Interior Design (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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