This fieldwork based project studied the relation of house form and ornament to understand their respective roles in architectural communication.;The fieldwork area was the region of eastern Virginia called the Northern Neck, lying between the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers and including the counties of Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, and Westmoreland. Fifty-eight houses dating from 1720 to 1840 were examined.;Virtually all house literature analyzes building technique or floor plan. This project explored the possibility of another meaningful way conceptually to organize a group of structures. Moving beyond the level of floor plan, I tried to ascertain any logic, function, or purpose to perceived patterns of domestic elaboration.;Architectural ornament is an important, unexplored technique for controlling and directing movement through domestic space. The fieldwork proves that the study of ornament can enrich our understanding of early domestic structures by amplifying but not precluding the fundamental study of floor plan.
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