Bryan Clark Green
Bryan Clark Green is an architectural historian, historic preservationist, and educator whose work sits at the intersection of architecture and preservation. Through research and practice he investigates how buildings are modified over time, and how that modification impacts our understanding of architectural history. He teaches design studios and courses on historic preservation, adaptive reuse of historic buildings, and architectural history. Notable projects include the rehabilitation of Richmond’s Central National Bank into apartments; the conversion of the former Richmond Locomotive Works into the Movieland multiplex theater; and the adaptive reuse of the former Chesapeake & Chesapeake Railway Terminal into facilities for the VCU School of the Arts. He has produced historic structures reports on such landmarks as Bacon’s Castle in Surry County, Virginia; Robert Mills’ Monumental Church in Richmond, VA, James Renwick’s Fredericksburg Courthouse in Fredericksburg, VA, and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC.
Bryan is the author of In Jefferson’s Shadow: The Architecture of Thomas R. Blackburn, co-author of Lost Virginia: Vanished Architecture of the Old Dominion, among other books and articles, has given many lectures on Virginia’s architectural history, historic buildings, and preservation issues, and curated exhibitions on architecture. His recent projects include After the Monuments Fall: The Removal of Confederate Monuments from the American South (forthcoming, LSU Press); with Kathleen James-Chakraborty and Katherine Kuenzli, A Towering Memorial: The Robert L. Vann Tower and the Belgian Friendship Building (forthcoming, University of Virginia Press). He wrote the introductions for the Dover Publications reprints of Owen Biddle, The Young Carpenter’s Assistant (1805) and Abraham Swan, A Collection of Designs in Architecture, containing New Plans and Elevations of Houses, etc., (2 vols. 1757). He contributed catalog entries to The Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography, the Dictionary of Virginia Biography, the Biographical Dictionary of African American Architects, 1865-1945, and Treasures Revealed: From the Paul Mellon Library of Americana. His work has been published in the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, The Association for Preservation Technology Bulletin, Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture, The Classicist, American Arts Quarterly, Country Life, Traditional Building, Period Homes, and Forum Journal: the Journal of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
In addition to historic preservation practice, Green has taught architectural history and historic preservation at Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Mary Washington, and Goucher College. He has been a research fellow at the International Center for Jefferson Studies, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation, Monticello; the Office of Advanced Studies as well as the Winterthur Museum, Garden, & Library, and his research has been supported by the Global Architectural History Teaching Collaborative (GAHTC) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Anti-Racism and Global Architectural History Program and the Center for Palladian Studies in America.
Green recently received a Presidential appointment to serve on the National Capital Planning Commission in Washington, DC, which reviews all proposed alterations to federal buildings, structures, and spaces within our nation’s capital. He chairs the Heritage Conservation Committee of the Society of Architectural Historians, serving as its preservation officer and as an ex officio member its board. He co-chairs the Training and Education Committee of the Association for Preservation Technology International and serves as a member of its board. He also serves on the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Citizens Advisory Council on Furnishing and Interpreting the Executive Mansion, and formerly served on the City of Richmond Commission of Architectural Review and Urban Design committees. Bryan’s
longstanding commitment to this public service led him to Honorary Membership in both the Virginia Society and the Richmond Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
Historic preservation, adaptive reuse, preservation of modern and post-modern architecture, architectural history, and architectural drawings.
ARCH 4004 - Architecture IV - Option Lab, adaptive reuse
ARCH 4014 - Architecture IV - Integrative Design, adaptive reuse
ARCH 4114 - Ideas, Concepts, and Representations of Architecture
Current Book and Research Projects
· After the Monuments Fall: the Removal of Confederate Monuments in the American South (under contract, LSU Press).
· Building Barboursville: The Lives of a Virginia Landmark (book project sponsored by the Center for Palladian Studies in America).
· Reimaging the Science Museum of Virginia: Using Historic Union Station as a Platform for Modern Science Education (project, including a book and development of future exhibitions, sponsored by the Science Museum of Virginia).
· Preserving the Postmodern Past: Approaches to a Different Kind of Preservation (book of essays under development)
· “Capturing the Architect’s Voice: An Oral History of Virginia Architects (oral history project in progress, through the Heritage Conservation Foundation).
Books
· with Kathleen James-Chakraborty and Katherine Kuenzli, A Towering Memorial: The Robert L. Vann Tower and the Belgian Friendship Building (University of Virginia Press, forthcoming 2024).
· With Ann L.B. Miller and Conover Hunt, Building a President’s House: Newly Discovered Architectural Plans for James Madison’s Montpelier. Montpelier: The Montpelier Foundation, 2007.
· In Jefferson’s Shadow: The Architecture of Thomas R. Blackburn. Princeton Architectural Press, for the Virginia Historical Society, 2006.
· With Calder Loth and William M.S. Rasmussen, Lost Virginia: Vanished Architecture of the Old Dominion. Charlottesville: Howell Press, for the Virginia Historical Society, 2001. [Reviewed in The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 61 (June 2002): 253-55; Association for Preservation Technology International Bulletin 33.4 (2002): 57-58.]
Articles
· “Building the New Preservation Archive: a View from Practice,” APT Bulletin, forthcoming 2024.
· “Monumental Failure: The Loss of Graffiti on Richmond’s Former Confederate Monuments,” APT Bulletin (54.4), forthcoming 2024.
· “Contested Monuments, A Critical Issue in Times of Turmoil: A Report from the 2021 College of Fellows Roundtable,” APT Bulletin (53.1): 39-48.
· “Building Broad Street Station: John Russell Pope in Richmond, Virginia,” The Classicist 18 (2021).
· “Building the Model: Recording Barboursville,” Palladiana, Fall 2021.
· “Recording the Ruins: 3D Documentation of Barboursville,” Palladiana, Spring 2021.
· “Statement on the Removal of Monuments to the Confederacy from Public Spaces, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 79.4 (2020): 379-80.
· “Moral Treatment: Thomas R. Blackburn and Western State Hospital,” Palladiana, Fall 2020.
· “Capturing the Architect’s Voice: An Oral History of Virginia Architects,” Inform Magazine, April 2020.
· “New Buildings Among the Old,” Virginia Town and Country: The Magazine of the Virginia Municipal League 45.1 (Jan. 2010), pp. 11-12.
· “Filling in the Gaps in Historic Urban Neighborhoods,” Editorial, Richmond Times-Dispatch, 29 Nov. 2009.
· “Back to the Future,” Inform Magazine, March 2010.
· “Filling in the Gaps: Creating a Historic District Infill Tax Credit,” Period Homes, (June, 2009).
· “Taking Note: A Concrete Zero,” Inform Magazine (2009): p. 44.
· “Taking Note: Doing the Small Things Well,” Inform Magazine, May 2009.
· “Hand in Hand,” Period Homes (May, 2008): 130.
· “At the Edge of Custom: The Architectural Career of Thomas R. Blackburn, Architect in Antebellum Virginia,” in Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture X. Eds. Alison K. Hoagland and Kenneth Briesch. University of Tennessee Press, 2006.
· “Moving Historic Buildings in Virginia: Perspectives on the Practice, “Notes on Virginia, 2005.
· “Mirador, Home of Paul and Hope Hadley Burghardt,” Country Life (15 October 2003): 78-83
· “Defending the Ancients: The Architectural Theory of Robert Morris,” American Arts Quarterly (Winter 2003): 23-32.
· “Western State Hospital: Thomas R. Blackburn and a Jeffersonian Architecture of Reform, “Notes on Virginia, 2003.
· “Learning from Loss: Lessons from Virginia’s Lost Architecture,” Forum Journal: the Journal of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, 16.3 (Spring 2002): 28-36.
· “The Virginia Photographs of Lewis Hine,” History Notes, The Newsletter of the Virginia Historical Society, 2000.
· “Hollywood Cemetery, 1849-1999,” History Notes, The Newsletter of the Virginia Historical Society 36 (Autumn 1999): 6-7.
· "The Structure of Civic Exchange: Market Houses in Early Virginia," Shaping Community: Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture VI. Eds. Elizabeth Collins Cromley and Carter L. Hudgins. University of Missouri Press, 1997. 189-203.
Introductions
· “Introduction,” to Abraham Swan, A Collection of Designs in Architecture, containing New Plans and Elevations of Houses, etc., 2 vols. 1757. Reprint. New York: Dover Publications, 2006
· “Introduction,” to Owen Biddle, The Young Carpenter’s Assistant 1805. Reprint, Dover Publications, 2006.
Encyclopedia Entries
· “George Barnard,” in The Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography, 2 vols, John Hannavy, ed. New York: Routledge, 2007, Vol. 1, pp. 114-115.
· “Wet Collodion Negative,” in The Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography, 2 vols, John Hannavy, ed. New York: Routledge, 2007, Vol. 2, pp. 1486-1487.
· “Chesterman, Aubrey,” Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Vol. 3. Ed. Sara Bearss, Brent Tarter, and John T. Kneebone. Charlottesville: The University Press of Virginia, 2004.
· “Daniel J. Farrar, Sr.,” Biographical Dictionary of African American Architects, 1865-1945. Ed. Dreck Wilson. New York: Routledge Press, 2004.
· Ten catalog entries for The Virginia Historical Society, Treasures Revealed: From the Paul Mellon Library of Americana (Charlottesville: Howell Press, for the Virginia Historical Society, 2001).
· “Campbell, Edmund S.,” Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Vol. 2. Ed. Sara Bearss, Brent Tarter, and John T. Kneebone. Charlottesville: The University Press of Virginia, 2001.
Reviews
· Review of Steven Semes, The Future of the Past: A Conservation Ethic for Architecture, Urbanism and Historic Preservation New York, Norton, 2009. In Choice, 2010.
· Review of J. Stanley Rabun and Richard Kelso, Building Evaluation for Adaptive Reuse and Preservation New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. In Choice 2009.
· Review of David C. Fischetti, Structural Investigation of Historic Buildings: A Case Study Guide to Preservation Technology for Buildings, Bridges, Towers, and Mills. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. In Choice 2009.
· Review of John H. Stubbs, Time Honored: A Global View of Architectural Conservation New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. In Choice 2009.
· Review of Bill Addis, Building: 3000 Years of Design, Engineering, and Construction. New York: Phaidon, 2007. In Choice 2007.
· Rev. of Kenneth Hafertepe and James F. O’Gorman, eds. American Architects and Their Books to 1848. Amherst, Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts Press, 2001. In The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 61 (June 2002): 227-29.
· Rev. of Neil Harris, Building Lives: Constructing Rites and Passages. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999. In Vernacular Architecture Newsletter, (Spring 2000).
Selected Invited Speaking Engagements
The Society of Architectural Historians, The Association for Preservation Technology International; the Vernacular Architecture Forum; APVA / Preservation Virginia, Annual Virginia Preservation Conference; Restore Virginia (Preservation Virginia); The Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America; Architecture Exchange East; Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects; The Center for Palladian Studies in America; The American Association for State and Local History, The Victorian Society; The Colonial Dames of America; the Traditional Building Conference; The International Center for Jefferson Studies, Monticello; Montpelier; The Virginia Historical Society; The Valentine / Richmond History Center; The Historic Richmond Foundation; The Historic Staunton Foundation; Historic Petersburg Foundation; The Historic Columbus Foundation; the University of Virginia, University of Notre Dame, Salve Regina University, University of Mary Washington; the College of Charleston; Cornell University; Virginia Union University; Hampton University; Norfolk State University; Virginia Commonwealth University.
Historic Structures Reports (with Commonwealth Architects)
Annaburg, City of Manassas, VA
Princess Anne County Courthouse, Virginia Beach, VA
Bacon’s Castle, Surry County, VA
Monumental Church, Richmond, VA
Renwick Courthouse, Jail, and Wallace Library, Fredericksburg, VA
Liberia, City of Manassas, VA
Poindexter House, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, VA
Captain James Francis House, Wethersfield, CT
Scotchtown, Hanover County, VA
Prudence Crandall Museum, Plainfield, CT
Centre Hill Mansion, City of Petersburg, VA
National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC
First African Baptist Church Outbuilding, Richmond, VA
The Hyland House, Guilford, CT
Conservation, Rehabilitation, and Restoration Studies (with Commonwealth Architects)
Cocke Hall, Virginia Military Institute Lexington, VA
Moody Hall, Virginia Military Institute Lexington, VA
Superintendent’s Quarters, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, VA
Magnolia Grange and Castlewood, Chesterfield County, VA
Loudoun Museum, Leesburg, VA
The Zinke Building, 203 Governor’s Street, Capitol Square, Richmond, VA
The Aluminum Building, 217 Governor’s Street, Capitol Square, Richmond, VA
Dining Room Ceiling Investigation / Restoration, Governor’s Mansion, Capitol Square, Richmond, VA
Casemate 22, Fort Monroe, Hampton, VA
Hill Hall, Abbott Hall, Flagler Hall, and the former Finance and Accounting Office, Fort Belvoir, VA
Little England Chapel, Hampton, VA
City of Portsmouth Museum System, Portsmouth, VA
Belgian Pavilion, Virginia Union University, Richmond, VA
Commandant’s Quarters (The Maury House), Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, VA
Hotel Richmond/State of Virginia 9th St. Office Building, Richmond, VA
Virginia Slave Housing Recordation Project, Bacon’s Castle, Surry County, VA, and Ben Lomand, Prince William County, VA
Overseers Quarters, Staunton River State Park, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation South Boston vicinity, VA
American Locomotive Company, Richmond, VA
Tucker Brothers Merchandise, Charlotte Courthouse, VA
Boykin’s Tavern, Isle of Wight County, VA
Fort Norfolk Magazine, Norfolk, VA
Hooper’s Island Light Station, Dorchester County, MD
Egyptian Building, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Knight House, Stafford County, VA
4801 Walmsley Boulevard, Richmond, VA
Sanford Farm, Caroline County, VA
Solitude, Virginia Polytechnic and State University, Blacksburg, VA
Restoration Projects (with the Tidewater and Big Bend Foundation)
Hampstead, New Kent County, VA
Shuttlewood, New Kent County, VA
Mount Stirling, Charles City County, VA
Restoration Projects (with Commonwealth Architects)
The Stewart-Lee House, Richmond, VA
Dr. Tucker House, Buckingham Courthouse, VA
Magnolia Grange, Castlewood, and Point of Rocks, Chesterfield County, VA
Saul Building, St. Paul’s College, Lawrenceville, VA
James Monroe Museum, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA
The Maury House, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, VA
Washington Building, Capitol Square, Richmond, VA
Preservation Planning Projects (with Commonwealth Architects)
City of Fredericksburg Design Guidelines, Fredericksburg, VA
City of Hopewell Design Guidelines, Hopewell, VA
Preservation Master Plan, Virginia Union University, Richmond, VA (Getty Grant)
The Shirley House, New Market Battlefield, Virginia Military Institute, New Market, VA
Preservation Plan, Saint Paul’s College, Lawrenceville, VA
City of Portsmouth Design Guidelines, Portsmouth, VA
Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Projects (with Commonwealth Architects)
The Shanandoah Building, Richmond, VA
112-114 North Sycamore Street, Petersburg, VA
111 South Market Street Petersburg VA
Trailways Bus Station, Petersburg, VA
The Stewart-Lee House, Richmond, VA
St. Alban’s Building, Richmond, VA
The St. Luke Building, Richmond, VA
111 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA
Central National Bank, Richmond, VA
Richmond & Chesapeake Bay Railway Terminal, Richmond, VA
Southern Biscuit Company, Richmond, VA
Virginia Railway and Power Company, Richmond, VA
First National Bank, Richmond, VA
Wasena Cold Storage / River House, Roanoke, VA
The Harvester Building, 1709 East Clay Street, Richmond, VA
The American Locomotive Company, Richmond, VA
The Atlantic Motor Company, Richmond, VA
The Berry Burk Building, Richmond, VA
The Century Sprinkler Company, Richmond, VA
Fairmont School, Richmond, VA
Lock Lane Apartments, Richmond, VA
Maury School, Fredericksburg, VA
Exhibitions
“Staunton Architecture: Building Our Community” Contributing Curator, R.R. Smith Center for History & Art, September 1 – 27 2007 (contributor).
“In Jefferson’s Shadow: The Architecture of Thomas R. Blackburn.” The Virginia Historical Society, December 2005 – June 2006 (curator)
“Recording Post-War Virginia: Photographs of Michael Miley in Lexington, Virginia.” The Virginia Historical Society, March 2002 – June 2002 (curator).
"Learning from Tradition: Beaux-Arts Student Architectural Drawings from the University of Virginia," Guest Curator, Virginia Center for Architecture, Richmond, Virginia. February 2002 - July 2002 (curator).
“Child Labor in Virginia: the Virginia Photographs of Lewis Hine.” The Virginia Historical Society, October 2001 – April 2002 (curator).
“Lost Virginia: Vanished Architecture of the Old Dominion.” The Virginia Historical Society, January 2001 – May 2001. Traveled to Hampton University and The Fredericksburg Cultural Arts Center (curator).
“Hollywood Cemetery, 1849-1999.” The Virginia Historical Society, November 1999-May 2000 (curator).
Honorary Member, Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects, 2014.
Honorary Member, Richmond Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, 2014.
Gabriella Page Historic Preservation award, as co-author of Lost Virginia: Vanished Architecture of the Old Dominion, from the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, 2002.
Public Service
The Society of Architectural Historians, Chicago, IL
Ex Officio Board Member, 2015-present
Heritage Conservation Committee, Chair and Preservation Officer, 2015-present
Forrester Downing Award Committee, 2019-21
Exhibition Catalog Award Committee, 2021-22
Local Organizing Committee, Annual Meeting, Richmond, VA, 2002; Assistant Local Chair, 2000 to 2002.
The Association for Preservation Technology International
Board Member, 2021-present
Training and Education Committee, Co-Chair, 2022-present
Publications Committee, Co-Chair, 2020-2022
Special Publications Committee, 2020-present
Association Management Task Force, 2022.
The National Capital Planning Commission, Washington, DC
Commission Member, Virginia Representative (presidential appointment), 2022-present
The Center for Palladian Studies in America
Board Member, 2020 – present
The Citizens’ Advisory Council on Furnishing and Interpreting the Executive Mansion, Commonwealth of Virginia
Council Member, 2012-present
Member, Executive Committee, 2013-2021
Chair, Restoration Committee, 2013-2021
Commission of Architectural Review, City of Richmond, VA
Commissioner, 2010-2018
Vice-Chair, 2012-2014
Chair, 2014-2018
Urban Design Commission, City of Richmond, VA Commissioner, 2010-2018
Vice-Chair, 2013-14
Education
Ph.D., University of Virginia
MAH, University of Virginia
B.A., University of Notre Dame