Ina's List is a rich collection of building and history resources for Charleston, the Lowcountry, and South Carolina.
Try to address as many of these as you can:
BUILDING NAME - a building may be known by several names (at once or over time), including variant names (Fallingwater or Falling Water), its street address (30 Rockefeller Plaza), or relationship to a client (Kaufmann Residence, Trump Tower, Wells Fargo Center). Collect them all!
BUILDING TYPE - often defined by function (which can change over time) but just as often defined by form or context
DATES - of design, start of construction, or construction completion; renovations & major changes/events over time
LOCATION/CONTEXT - urban, zero lot, suburban, rural,
DESIGNER - may be a single individual, a collaborative, an architect or design firm, or multiple persons/firms over time.
PATRON/CLIENT - For whom was it built? may be anonymous (vernacular), an individual, institution, government, or corporate entity
PERIOD/STYLE - periods are defined relationally as much as by time; styles can be revisited from one epoch to the next [e.g., classical, neoclassical, classical revival]
BUILDING TECHNOLOGY - construction method & materials, technological innovations or significance
SIGNIFICANCE - historical, technological, aesthetic, cultural: first, last, best, tallest, largest, worst, "only example of ___," etc., impact within the fabric of its context
CHANGES OVER TIME - alterations, additions, renovations, restorations, catastrophic damage, demolition, changes in function or in population that used/s it
WHY WAS IT BUILT? - why was it built in this place, at this time, in this way? What were the alternatives?
WHO BENEFITED? WHO DID NOT?
WHAT IMPACT DID IT HAVE, AS PHYSICAL OBJECT AND AS MEANINGFUL (SYMBOLIC) OBJECT? at the time of construction and since
WHAT IMPACT DID IT HAVE ECONOMICALLY, SOCIALLY, POLITICALLY? - at the time of construction and since
WHAT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT did it have initially and over time. What is its impact today?
WHY SHOULD WE CARE?