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About the Website

Launched in 2015, Modern Charleston is a comprehensive architectural survey of twenty-eight buildings built in the Charleston historic district from 2000-2015. The project began as a way to discover and learn more about the present-day architecture of Charleston’s historic district, as well as the current debates centered on the topic of contemporary building in an historical context.

We created this website as a digital place to share this information with others. Thank you for visiting!

Mission

Our goal with the Modern Charleston site is to take a closer look at Charleston’s recent architectural developments from the past 15 years and to make this visual information accessible in a digital, user-friendly, interactive environment.

The website is intended for a wide range of users:

  • Charleston residents interested in discovering more about their own city;
  • General public interested in the history of Charleston;
  • Local organizations, including preservation groups, community foundations, historical societies, and other local initiatives, interested in defending and protecting the city’s historic district;
  • Researchers, scholars, and architecture students interested in learning about the Charleston’s architecture and urbanism, and interested in issues related to building contemporary in a historical context;
  • Architects, designers, city planners, and building industry professionals who care passionately about the economical, social, cultural, and artistic success and well-being of places like Charleston’s historic district, especially in the long-term future of 15-50 years.

Methodology

Our work began in the same way that many research projects on buildings and cities do: we started with the collection and analysis of data based on direct observation. The buildings themselves served as primary sources, while written articles, documents, printed maps, and images served as secondary and archival sources. Then, we used a combination of digital visualization tools and techniques to process, analyze, and share the information. You can discover even more about the project background story here: Learn more.

Top Charleston Resources

Websites : these sites focus on Charleston, SC and regularly feature architectural news and discussion:

Places : these are libraries, archives, and other places where you can do research in and on Charleston:

Top Technical Resources

  • OpenLayers 3 – an open-source JavaScript library for displaying and building maps
  • D3.js – a JavaScript library for creating interactive data visualizations on the web
  • QGIS – an open-source Geographic Information System for visualizing and publishing GIS data

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