Today the architecture students at the Clemson Design Center in Charleston took a field trip to historic Savannah, Georgia. This was an exciting trip as I, personally, haven’t been on a field trip since undergrad.
Savannah is a great city with a rich history and culture that we were able to experience today, some of us for the first time. While there we walked through the many public squares that Savannah is known for and to the water’s edge. There was discussion about the way Savannah was planned from an urban design standpoint which it is known for wide sidewalks and streets and is organized in a grid system. Savannah is a complete contrast to Charleston in those ways. We also discussed how Charleston has a very strict historic preservation hold on its buildings that make it more difficult to get approval on projects while Savannah more so holds onto the scale and organization of the city rather than the historic fabric. Savannah is also able to expand as much as possible because it only has water on one side whereas Charleston is surrounded by water on three sides making it almost impossible to continue expanding outward.
This was a great field trip and provided a nice break from our usual schedule of class and work. Everyone enjoyed going somewhere different and learning about the similarities and differences between Savannah and Charleston. I would highly recommend a trip to Savannah if you have the time!