Architectural History Research

My research agenda as an architectural historian is the forensic digital investigation of lost or destroyed works of architecture using original drawings, letters, and documents. The main goal is to use visual and spatial evidence to tell complex historical narratives that otherwise could not be fully understood. My methodology includes computer modeling, digital imaging, and hand techniques such as watercolor. Resulting computer models can be used to study architecture objectively (conceptually) and subjectively (perceptually). I employ image-based lighting, animation, video, and web-based techniques.

The first several projects are investigations into destroyed or visionary projects by B. Henry Latrobe at the U.S. Capitol. Images, animations, and JavaScript sliders can be seen on my website, MostBeautifulRoom.com.

In 2014 I presented my reconstruction of the Old Hall of the House of Representatives, as it stood before the Capitol was burned in 1814, in a lecture for the U.S. Capitol Historical Society.
Watch the lecture on C-SPAN

Click here for a virtual reality tour of the Capitol in 1814.