BUILT ENVIRONMENT:

BUILDINGS, STRUCTURES, AND OBJECTS

What to look for:

A.Type or form, such as dwelling, church, or commercial block.

B.Setting, including the placement or arrangement of buildings and other resources,such as in a commercial center or a residential neighborhood or detached or in a row.

C.General characteristics:

1. Overall shape of plan and arrangement of interior spaces.

2. Number of stories.

3. Number of vertical divisions or bays.

4. Construction materials, such as brick, wood, or stone, and wall finish, such as type of bond, coursing, or shingling.

5. Roof shape, such as gabled, hip, or shed.

6. Structural system, such as balloon frame, reinforced concrete, or post and beam.

D.Specific features, by type, location, number, material, and condition:

1. Porches, including verandas, porticos, stoops, and attached sheds.

2. Windows.

3. Doors.

4. Chimney.

5. Dormer.

6. Other.

E.Important decorative elements, such as finials, pilasters, bargeboards, brackets, halftimbering, sculptural relief, balustrades, corbelling, cartouches, and murals or mosaics.

F.Significant interior features, such as floor plans, stairways, functions of rooms, spatial relationships,wainscoting, flooring, paneling, beams, vaulting, architraves, moldings, and chimneypieces.

G.Number, type, and location of outbuildings, with dates, if known.

H.Other manmade elements, including roadways, contemporary structures, and landscape features.

I.Alterations or changes to the property, with dates, if known. A restoration is considered an alteration even if an attempt has been made to restore the property to its historic form (see L below). If there have been numerous alterations to a significant interior, also submit a sketch of the floor plan illustrating and dating the changes.

J.Deterioration due to vandalism, neglect, lack of use, or weather, and the effect it has had on the property's historic integrity.

K.For moved properties:

1. Date of move.

2. Descriptions of location, orientation, and setting historically and after the move.

3. Reasons for the move.

4. Method of moving.

5. Effect of the move and the new location on the historic integrity of the property.

L.For restored and reconstructed buildings:

1. Date of restoration or reconstruction.

2. Historical basis for the work.

3. Amount of remaining historic material and replacement material.

4. Effect of the work on the property's historic integrity.

5. For reconstructions, whether the work was done as part of a master plan.

M.For properties where landscape or open space adds to the significance or setting of the property, such as rural properties, college campuses, or the grounds of public buildings:

1. Historic appearance and current condition of natural features.

2. Land uses, landscape features, and vegetation that characterized the property during the period of significance, including gardens, walls, paths, roadways, grading, fountains, orchards, fields,forests, rock formations, open space, and bodies of water.

N.For industrial properties where equipment and machinery is intact:

1. Types, approximate date, and function of machinery.

2. Relationship of machinery to the historic industrial operations of the property.

ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES

A.Environmental setting of the property today and, if different, its environmental setting during the periods of occupation or use. Emphasize environmental features or factors related to the location, use, formation, or preservation of the site.

B.Period of time when the property is known or projected to have been occupied or used. Include comparisons with similar sites and districts that have assisted in identification.

C.Identity of the persons, ethnic groups, or archeological cultures who, through their activities, created the archeological property. Include comparisons with similar sites and districts that have assisted in identification.

D.Physical characteristics:

1. Site type, such as rockshelter, temporary camp, lithic workshop, rural homestead, or shoe factory.

2. Prehistorically or historically important standing structures, buildings, or ruins.

3. Kinds and approximate number of features, artifacts, and ecofacts, such as hearths, projectile points, and faunal remains.

4. Known or projected depth and extent of archeological deposits.

5. Known or projected dates for the period when the site was occupied or used, with supporting evidence.

6. Vertical and horizontal distribution of features, artifacts, and ecofacts.

7. Natural and cultural processes, such as flooding and refuse disposal, that have influenced the formation of the site.

8. Noncontributing buildings, structures, and objects within the site.

E. Likely appearance of the site during the periods of occupation or use. Include comparisons with similar sites and districts that have assisted in description.

F. Current and past impacts on or immediately around the property, such as modern development, vandalism, road construction, agriculture, soil erosion, or flooding.

G. Previous investigations of the property, including,

1. Archival or literature research.

2. Extent and purpose of any excavation, testing, mapping, or surface collection.

3. Dates of relevant research and field work. Identity of researchers and their institutional or organizational affiliation.

4. Important bibliographic references.

HISTORIC SITES

A. Present condition of the site and its setting.

B. Natural features that contributed to the selection of the site for the significant event or activity, such as a spring, body of water, trees, cliffs, or promontories.

C. Other natural features that characterized the site at the time of the significant event or activity, such as vegetation, topography, a body of water, rock formations, or a forest.

D. Any cultural remains or other manmade evidence of the significant event or activities.

E. Type and degree of alterations to natural and cultural features since the significant event or activity, and their impact on the historic integrity of the site.

F. Explanation of how the current physical environment and remains of the site reflect the period and associations for which the site is significant.

ARCHITECTURAL AND HISTORIC DISTRICTS

A. Natural and manmade elements comprising the district, including prominent topographical features and structures, buildings, sites, objects, and other kinds of development.

B. Architectural styles or periods represented and predominant characteristics, such as scale, proportions, materials, color, decoration, workmanship, and quality of design.

C. General physical relationship of buildings to each other and to the environment, including facade lines, street plans, squares, open spaces, density of development, landscaping, principal vegetation, and important natural features. Any changes to these relationships over time. Some of this information may be provided on a sketch map.

D. Appearance of the district during the time when the district achieved significance (see Period of Significance) and any changes or modifications since.

E. General character of the district, such as residential, commercial, or industrial, and the types of buildings and structures, including outbuildings and bridges, found in the district.

F. General condition of buildings, including alterations, additions, and any restoration or rehabilitation activities.

G. Identity of buildings, groups of buildings, or other resources that do and do not contribute to the district's significance. (See Determining Contributing and Noncontributing Resources for definitions of contributing and noncontributing resources.) If resources are classified by terms other than "contributing" and "noncontributing," clearly explain which terms denote contributing resources and which noncontributing. Provide a list of all resources that are contributing or noncontributing or identify them on the sketch map submitted with the form (see Sketch Map).

H. Most important contributing buildings, sites, structures, and objects. Common kinds of other contributing resources.

I. Qualities distinguishing the district from its surroundings.

J. Presence of any archeological resources that may yield important information with any related paleo-environmental data (see guidelines for describing archeological sites and districts).

K. Open spaces such as parks, agricultural areas, wetlands, and forests, including vacant lots or ruins that were the site of activities important in prehistory or history.

L. For industrial districts:

1. Industrial activities and processes, both historic and current, within the district; important natural and geographical features related to these processes or activities, such as waterfalls, quarries, or mines.

2. Original and other historic machinery still in place.

3. Transportation routes within the district, such as canals, railroads, and roads including their approximate length and width and the location of terminal points.

M. For rural districts:

1. Geographical and topographical features such as valleys, vistas, mountains, and bodies of water that convey a sense of cohesiveness or give the district its rural or natural characteristics.

2. Examples and types of vernacular, folk, and other architecture, including outbuildings, within the district.

3. Manmade features and relationships making up the historic and contemporary landscape, including the arrangement and character of fields, roads, irrigation systems, fences, bridges, earthworks, and vegetation.

4. The historic appearance and current condition of natural features such as vegetation, principal plant materials, open space, cultivated fields, or forests.

ARCHEOLOGICAL DISTRICTS

A. Environmental setting of the district today and, if different, its environmental setting during the periods of occupation or use. Emphasize environmental features or factors related to the location, use, formation, or preservation of the district.

B. Period of time when the district is known or projected to have been occupied or used. Include comparisons with similar sites and districts that have assisted in identification.

C. Identity of the persons, ethnic groups, or archeological cultures who occupied or used the area encompassed by the district. Include comparisons with similar sites and districts that have assisted in identification.

D. Physical characteristics:

1. Type of district, such as an Indian village with outlying sites, a group of quarry sites, or a historic manufacturing complex.

2. Cultural, historic, or other relationships among the sites that make the district a cohesive unit.

3. Kinds and number of sites, structures, buildings, or objects that make up the district.

4. Information on individual or representative sites and resources within the district (see Archeological Sites). For small districts, describe individual sites. For large districts, describe the most representative sites individually and others in summary or tabular form or collectively as groups.

5. Noncontributing buildings, structures, and objects within the district.

E. Likely appearance of the district during the periods of occupation or use. Include comparisons with similar sites and districts that have assisted in description.

F. Current and past impacts on or immediately around the district, such as modern development, vandalism, road contruction, agriculture, soil erosion, or flooding. Describe the integrity of the district as a whole and, in written or tabular form, the integrity of individual sites.

G. Previous investigations of the property, including:

1. Archival or literature research.

2. Extent and purpose of any excavation, testing, mapping, or surface collection.

3. Dates of relevant research and field work. Identity of researchers and their institutional or organizational affiliation.

4. Important bibliographic references.

Source: National Trust for Historic Preservation
http://www.nationaltrust.org/index.html

[Top]

Built Environment Overview

Integrating The Built Environment into the Curriculum

Built Environment Lessons (8)

Built Environment Reference Source for Lesson Plans

Areas of Significance

Types of Burial Places and Associated Features

Architectural Styles

Buildings, Structures, and Objects

Built Heritage Websites

Built Heritage Bibliography

Supplementary Resources Listings

Download Buildings, Structures and Objects in Word Document format.