Blogs & Editorials
Mike Jackson | Carroll William Westfall | Peter H. Miller | Patrick Webb | Judy Hayward | Clem Labine | David Brussat | Ken Follett | Rudy Christian | Vincent Michael | David Teague | John Mahshie | The Forum
A collection of Traditional Building's popular blogs and opinion-pieces from top professionals in the fields of architecture, restoration, the trades, historic buildings, and more.
The 2023 Traditional Building Conference Series
We're back at it, planning this year's Traditional Building Conference Series, hoping you will join us. Our first event in the Series takes place May 10-11, 2023 in Lake Forest, Illinois.
A Concrete Reality: Poured, formed and blocked.
Concrete is the most widely used building product in the world. Given the scale of this industry, it is not surprising that the APT Building Technology Heritage Library (BTHL) contains many listings for concrete products, construction techniques, equipment and designs.
History’s Damage
Histories of architecture present past buildings as deficient preludes to Modernism’s successes. This misstates the buildings’ most important role, which is to become architecture offering the beautiful as the counterpart to its service to the common good, roles that only traditional buildings can fulfill.
Real Estate and Remodeling Trends
The National Association of Realtors' “2022 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers” provides interesting insight about the people most likely to remodel their homes. Like much of the research we read, our observations are validated.
The Heat is on: Our Romance With Fireplaces
The fireplace has a unique place in design history, an obsolete technology that has an enduring grasp on our warmth, comfort and well-being.

From House to Home
A building is more than a mere functional apparatus. Its form points to its role in the civil life, and when it belongs to the traditions that guide the pursuit of the common good it facilitatesthe individual’s pursuit of happiness.
Old House Affordability and the Remodeling Opportunity
AIA and NAHB Forecast Remodeling Market Buoyancy.
APT Building Technology Heritage Library - Roofing
It’s all about the roof. The APT Building Technology Heritage Library contains more than 600 documents under the subject of roofing, which also includes accessories such as gutters, downspouts and flashing.
An Historic Brickyard on Martha's Vineyard
On the north shore of Martha’s Vineyard, a Massachusetts island founded in the 1600s, where the Roaring Brook meets the Vineyard Sound, there are the remains of a historic brickyard.
Architecture’s Service to the Nation
Modernism has excluded traditional and classical architecture from it role of offering beauty to serve and express our civil order’s quest to guarantee liberty and justice to all. How might we restore it to that role?
Building Technology Heritage Library: Classical Architecture – a capital idea
A view of classical architecture, from the perspective of the commercial fabricator rather than the architectural designer.
What I Learned at the American Institute of Architects Annual Convention in Chicago June 22-24, 2022
Walk down almost any street in the “Windy City” and you’ll see why Chicago has an architectural legacy as proud as any city in America, a fitting location for this year’s annual American Institute of Architects annual convention.
Architecture of Ascension
A rare glimpse inside the newly renovated Mormon Temple in Washington, DC.
Building Technology Heritage Library: Architectural Terra Cotta
The most prominent use of architectural terra cotta was that of a decorative cladding system, particularly for urban commercial buildings.
Understanding Classicism—I know It When I Frieze It
While we frequently consider what comes under the definition of classicism, few have crystallized what it means.
Architectural History, the Common Good, and the Beautiful
The current history of architecture undermines architecture’s essential role in serving the common good and offering beauty. Here I will discuss this history’s deficiencies, and in my next opinion piece I will offer an alternative to it.
Six Women Who Make a Difference
Does preservation architecture and traditional building design attract a disproportionate number of female professionals?
Stone: A Catalog History Using the APT Building Technology Heritage Library
Stone is one of the world’s most common and durable building material.
Progressivism and Progress
Ninety years ago European Modernism was introduced to America by a landmark exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. It challenged traditional architecture and soon replaced it with Modernism, an architecture that betrays architecture’s responsibility to contribute to the common good.
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