ABSTRACT
This chapter concerns the adaptive reuse of a historically significant structure built in 1835 in western Virginia, for a new use as a Bed & Breakfast. Any adaptive reuse project faces several challenges methodologically. It must respect the historic identity of the structure. But it must also accommodate the contemporary use. In addition, the new use must conform to governmental regulations that pertain to work done on historic structures. Interiority here relates to how the designer conveys the sense of continuity of the history embedded in the project, so that users of the new design nevertheless feel they are in the history of the structure. The chapter applies Jules David Prown’s theoretical matrix for analyzing material culture specifically to the project. In this way it highlights how theory informs adaptive reuse, and this approach is generalizable to all historic preservation projects. The chapter offers many generalizable cues applicable to adaptive reuse projects.
