Participation Type
Paper
Session Title
Session 2.04 Architecture
Presentation #1 Title
BackPacked Architecture: The Appalachian Trail and its "Primitive Huts"
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
A focused architectural study of the “primitive huts” found along the Appalachian Trail as it straddles the NC-TN line presents an opportunity for unique insights into a bygone era in which social works projects – such as New Deal programs that formed the Civilian Conservation Corps – and the need for modest, durable architectural shelters helped build the world’s most popular recreational footpath through the heart of Appalachia. In An Essay on Architecture (1753), the French theorist Marc-Antoine Laugier writes of the ”primitive hut” as an archetypal form of humanity’s presence in the world. The shelters along the Appalachian Trail embody this historic architectural ideal. These small structures represent the enduring constructive by-product of a Great Depression social experiment initiated by Benton MacKaye and implemented by Myron Avery. Since its first “completion” in 1937, the route of the Appalachian Trail has been extensively relocated, rebuilt, and reallocated from private to publicly-owned land. Anchoring the 2,100+ mile path is a network of approximately 260 trail shelters. They are simple structures in both concept and execution: architecture without artifice. Yet no research has been devoted to the important roles these “little bits of architecture” have performed for the Trail community historically, experientially, or socially. In a world increasingly saturated by technology and media, the idea of “getting away from it all” via a walk in the woods seems ever more prescient. The origin and evolution of the Appalachian Trail shelters offers a small-scale building typology advantageous for historical inquiry, architectural investigation, and constructive experimentation
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
D. Jason Miller is an Assistant Professor of Building Science in the Department of Technology and Environmental Design at Appalachian State University and an architect practicing in the mountains of North Carolina. His scholarly and professional work explores an applied history research approach and integrative design-build methodologies to create collaborative, tactical solutions for building projects.
BackPacked Architecture: The Appalachian Trail and its "Primitive Huts"
A focused architectural study of the “primitive huts” found along the Appalachian Trail as it straddles the NC-TN line presents an opportunity for unique insights into a bygone era in which social works projects – such as New Deal programs that formed the Civilian Conservation Corps – and the need for modest, durable architectural shelters helped build the world’s most popular recreational footpath through the heart of Appalachia. In An Essay on Architecture (1753), the French theorist Marc-Antoine Laugier writes of the ”primitive hut” as an archetypal form of humanity’s presence in the world. The shelters along the Appalachian Trail embody this historic architectural ideal. These small structures represent the enduring constructive by-product of a Great Depression social experiment initiated by Benton MacKaye and implemented by Myron Avery. Since its first “completion” in 1937, the route of the Appalachian Trail has been extensively relocated, rebuilt, and reallocated from private to publicly-owned land. Anchoring the 2,100+ mile path is a network of approximately 260 trail shelters. They are simple structures in both concept and execution: architecture without artifice. Yet no research has been devoted to the important roles these “little bits of architecture” have performed for the Trail community historically, experientially, or socially. In a world increasingly saturated by technology and media, the idea of “getting away from it all” via a walk in the woods seems ever more prescient. The origin and evolution of the Appalachian Trail shelters offers a small-scale building typology advantageous for historical inquiry, architectural investigation, and constructive experimentation
