[ RECENT PROJECT: ADAPTIVE REUSE]

The completed cast hall seen from the library. Student

works are arranged on easels next to the plaster cast
sculptures. The space on the back wall between the
left corner and column is the new concealed
doorway that leads to the back studio.
All photos: Lisa Jacoby

PROJECT
The Academy of Classical Design,
Southern Pines, NC

CONTRACTOR
Moodie Design/Build Inc.,
Southern Pines, NC

Creating
a Classical
Academy By D. Jeffrey Mims

30 CLEM LABINE’S TRADITIONAL BUILDING  www.traditionalbuilding.com

 BELOW: These four images show the process of raising the previous flat BOTTOM: The height of the new vaulted ceiling was determined by
ceiling of the commercial retail building into a spacious elliptical vault. the rapidly descending roof, visible here above ceiling joists which
The original ceiling joists were opened and the ends tied into the ribs have been cut away to reveal available attic space. The cased
that shape the new vault. The whole was covered with galvanized metal opening leading to the back studio will be rebuilt to the extreme
lath onto which a scratch coat of plaster has been applied. left corner of the room and concealed in the final wall treatment.

A
nyone who is familiar with the other artifacts of historical significance for the benefit
industrial and often chaotic sur- of future generations.The concept is a relatively new
roundings of most contemporary development in this country.
art school studios should not be Of course, the preservation of man-made objects
surprised with the results of student has a much older history. These tangible relics from
work influenced by such environments. Likewise, the past may be protected strictly for historical
anyone familiar with the historic rhythms and record, but inevitably the traditions that they repre-
cycles of architectural style should not be entirely sent will create a continuing stylistic dialogue with
surprised to learn that modernism would sooner the present, to be either rejected, or emulated and
or later be confronted by a return to tradition. In adapted to new circumstances.
the wake of that return, we recognize the need Perhaps the most adaptable and versatile of all
not only for the preservation of the finest achieve- building traditions is the classical. Expressed through
ments of the past, but also for the preservation of the integration of architecture sculpture and paint-
the art, craft and design education that will make ing, classicism remains the unsurpassed example of
possible our own original contributions to a con- this continuity in the Western world. For centuries
tinuing tradition. it has been recognized as the highest form of civic
If you were to ask ten different people to define design and it is responsible for much of the finest
historic preservation, chances are you would receive architectural heritage in the United States.
ten different responses. In general, the term is applied The Academy of Classical Design is a private, non-
to the protection of buildings, objects, landscapes or profit school of art with a special emphasis on mural

www.traditionalbuilding.com CLEM LABINE’S TRADITIONAL BUILDING 31

 1 1. Plaster artisan Patrick Webb applies a second layer
of plaster to the end lunettes in preparation for a final third
2. For the sculpted details of the library’s
coffered ceiling, students modeled proto-
layer (called the intonaco). This second coat should be types for the rosettes and pendants, then
allowed to cure for a minimum of six to twelve months cast plaster copies and applied gold leaf
before the actual fresco painting can begin. with painted patina.

“Expressed through the

integration of architecture
sculpture and painting,
classicism remains
the unsurpassed example
of this continuity
in the Western world.”
painting and the decoration of traditional architec-
tural spaces. In support of this unique curriculum, the
academy embarked on remodeling the interior of a
small Georgian style building in downtown Southern
Pines, NC, in 2014. The project transformed a low-
ceilinged room which had long served as commercial
retail space into a reinterpretation of the formal dis-
play galleries associated with the princely art collec- more humble scale than its stately predecessors, the palace was considered for a public museum of art.
tions of Europe which in turn became the modern aim has been to create a place where students might By the end of the 18th century, as academies of
art academies and museums of today. The rectangular begin to develop a broader concept of visual design, art were eventually established throughout Europe,
building consists of the 9x14-ft. library, the central cast while concentrating on mastering the fundamentals magnificent buildings came into being that were
hall (30x14 ft.) and a multi-purpose studio. of traditional drawing and painting. Connected to dedicated to the training of architecture, sculpture
As a student, I was fortunate to have been able this goal will be the formation of an elite group of and painting. Often symbolizing the cultural aspira-
to study in a number of these inspiring European artists, selected from our Mural Guild program, who tions of a city or nation, these impressive institutions
museum interiors, where the setting itself seemed will be equipped with the experience and ability to became the daily backdrop for artists and craftsmen
to intensify the quality and significance of the collaborate with traditionally oriented architects on who were learning their professions and who no
artwork exhibited – in rooms which were often future projects. doubt absorbed an indirect education of the vocabu-
in themselves a work of art. It was in Italy and par- lary, taste and instinct needed to succeed with large-
ticularly in Rome where my eyes were opened to In the Beginning scale collaborative projects.
the potential of the allied arts to unify and enrich The very first academy of art was founded in Our own new academy interior includes a library
interior spaces and so enhance our experience and Florence, Italy by Cosimo I de’ Medici. Artists of this and cast hall which were designed to serve as an
our memory of being there. period trained by copying the work in Michelangelo’s ongoing laboratory for the training of architectural
Many years later, as director of the Academy of sublime Medici Chapel, where sculpture, ornament decoration and mural painting. The approach to the
Classical Design, one of my primary goals has been and architecture had been integrated by the master central cast hall is through a small, elegantly paneled
to furnish students with a similarly elevated learning to produce one of his most outstanding designs. In a library. Decoration for the library called for a less
environment. Though adapted to the requirements setting no less impressive, the French academy had its pictorial, and more purely ornamental treatment.
of a specific curriculum and conceived on a far start in the Louvre, long before the use of that royal Located between the top rail and cornice of the

32 CLEM LABINE’S TRADITIONAL BUILDING  www.traditionalbuilding.com

3. View of the cast hall looking toward the front
library. Highly finished charcoal drawings are copied 4
from plaster casts displayed on built-in pedestals
which are connected to storage cabinets below. Note
the ceiling compartments have been lightly sketched
onto the scratch coat of plaster to indicate the com-
positional design for the eventual fresco.

5 6

4. Detail of the entablature during construc- 7

tion. The hard to find guttae below the Doric
triglyphs were adapted from wooden golf
tees. The droplet shaped gutta was originally
designed to pull water away from a wall and is
the origin of our word “gutter.”

5 & 6. Doors leading from the library to the

cast hall were a gift from a donor who discov-
ered them in an architectural salvage. The door,
its surround and wall panels all received multi-
ple layers of stain to achieve the unified patina
used to harmonize wood tones in this room.

7. The coffers with their elaborate levels

of molding were constructed individually,
stained and gilded before being installed onto
the library ceiling. Decorative panels were
painted to simulate a pattern of marquetry and
attached once the ceiling coffers were in place.

www.traditionalbuilding.com CLEM LABINE’S TRADITIONAL BUILDING 33

 wall paneling in this room, a space has been reserved for
a painted frieze to be realized either in oil or tempera by
advanced students.
The additional area needed for this feature was cre-
ated by raising the original ceiling height from eight
to twelve feet, lending a touch of splendor to even a
room of such small dimensions as this one. The real
focus of the library, however, is its coffered ceiling
which brings together joinery, ornamental sculpture,
gilding and decorative painting to produce an effect of
formality that would not have been out of place in art
academies of earlier times.
Modeled loosely on Greco-Roman temples of the
Doric order, the central cast hall is a simple rectangular
floor plan bearing two arched lunettes at each end cre-
ated by the elliptical vault of the ceiling These are the
main areas to be decorated by the academy’s Mural Guild,
using the ancient and now, seldom practiced technique
of true or “buon” fresco painting. Buon fresco is the
art of painting on damp lime plaster, using mineral pig-
ments ground in water. The washes of pigment merge
and set with the plaster, and so become an integral and
permanent part of the surface. In preparing the sub-
structure required to receive the fresco work, we have
been fortunate to collaborate with Patrick Webb, former
Professor of Plaster Working at the American College
of the Building Arts in Charleston, SC, and blogger for
Traditional Building magazine.
The fresco for the vaulted ceiling of the cast hall will
be divided into compartments which correspond to the
three bays on both side walls. Each bay is flanked by
built-in, wooden pedestals that support plaster casts of
sculpture from which students draw and paint – a method
of training artists that traces its origin back to the Italian
Renaissance. Individual work stations are situated beside
each pedestal with a pair of adjacent easels positioned over
shallow cabinets where students can store their art supplies
at the end of each day.
The projecting entablature above the side walls was
required for a special lighting system created to illuminate
both cast and easel, with individual controls to provide a
flexible range of visual effects. A concealed door on the
back wall of the cast hall leads to another less formal draw-
ing and painting studio which can also serve as a reading
room, lounge and reception area for visiting lecturers.
Throughout the planning stages of this project I
turned time and again to a variety of publications from
the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art. They
proved an indispensable resource. Working from the
rough drawings that I supplied and within the limited
dimensions of the existing building and in spite of an
even more limited budget, contractor Steve Moodie
of Moodie Design/Build Inc. with his dedicated crew
managed to produce an end result that is to our eyes a
small miracle.
The preservation of significant buildings is one way
that we can protect and learn from our cultural heri-
tage. It is related to – but not exactly the same as – the
preservation of craft necessary for the maintenance and
continued development of our most valued architec-
tural accomplishments. The future of traditional build-
ing needs both.

D. Jeffrey Mims is a painter, educator, lecturer and muralist who has

been at the forefront of the revival of the classical tradition for the
FROM TOP: Looking up The preservation of ornamental and figurative Completed cast hall past 30 years. In 1984 Classical America presented Mims with the
at a corner of the nearly painting traditions are part of the academy’s Mural of the Academy of
Arthur Ross Award for his work in fresco painting and in 2009
completed library ceiling Guild program which offers both the educational Classical Design looking
with decorative panels and vocational experience required to assist in toward the library.
he was the recipient of an Affiliated Fellowship at the American
installed. Each of these the production of large scale artistic collabora- Academy in Rome by The Institute of Classical Architecture and
panels was painted by tions. Here student instructor Rodney Wilkinson Art. He is founder and director of the Academy of Classical Design,
an academy student. works on a full scale copy from Raphael’s ceiling a school of fine art with an emphasis on traditional mural painting
in the Vatican’s Stanza della Segnatura. and the integration of the allied arts.

34 CLEM LABINE’S TRADITIONAL BUILDING  www.traditionalbuilding.com