Jeffersonian architecture

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Jeffersonian Architecture or Jeffersonian Colonial is an American form of Neo-Classicism or Classical Revivalist architecture based on U.S. president and patriot, Thomas Jefferson's designs of his home, Monticello, his retreat at Poplar Forest, and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. The style was popular in the early American period about the same time period as the more mainstream Greek Revival architecture was in vogue (1790s-1830s). Most heavily influenced by the Italian revivalist architect, Andrea Palladio, Jeffersonian architecture is perhaps best described as "Palladian" in inspiration. Jefferson was also influenced by architect James Gibbs, and by French Neo-classical buildings, such as the Hotel de Salm in Paris, when he served as Ambassador to France. While the Jeffersonian style incorporates Palladian proportions and themes, it is at the same time unique to Jefferson's own personal sensibility and the materials available to him in early republican Virginia.

Even after Jeffersonian Colonial went out of vogue for other public buildings, it continued to have an influence on many Protestant church designs on the East Coast through the mid-twentieth century. The style is still employed on some southern college campuses, particularly in Virginia, and has enjoyed a certain re-emergence among some newer twenty-first century evangelical church complexes.

[edit] Common design elements

• Palladian design e.g. central core, symmetrical wings
• Main floor slightly elevated above ground level
• Red brick construction
• White painted columns and trim
• Chinese railings
• Columns using Greek orders e.g. Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian
• Doric, Corinthian or Ionic order capitals
• Portico-and-pediment primary entries
• Classical moldings
• Alcove beds built into the bedrooms
• Fenestration (windows) - amount of light is calculated depending on room dimensions
• Beveled window surrounds to reflect light into the room
• Triple-hung windows that go all the way to the floor
• Skylights
• Use of circular and half-circle windows in some rooms and pediments
• Use of oval-shaped rooms e.g. in Rotunda on UVA campus
• Use of octagonal forms e.g. Poplar Forest, and the bays in Monticello
• Arcades and colonnades, e.g. Garden Room at Monticello, and covered walk at UVA
• Utilitarian stairwells e.g. very narrow stairs in Monticello
• Painted black colonial shutters
• Domed buildings reminiscent or directly patterned on the Pantheon in Rome
• Domes contain an oculus, a circular window, at the top