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Building a Future

click any of the photos below to start the slideshow

As graduation for the inaugural class of the American College of the Building Arts approaches, the students share the challenges and triumphs of their four-year journey from apprentices to craftsmen, bridging old-world skills with modern careers at the only such institution in the country

Photographs by
Jörg Meyer
ACBA grads (from left) Shara Satterfield, Moyer Fountain, James Murphy, Adam All, Stephen Browning, Kyle Dooley, and Will Denton IV. Says Denton, “We know how to write reports and get our hands dirty. We know how to nominate buildings for the historic register, but we also know how to save them from falling over. Most companies and groups get locked into one area, but we can do it all.”
“These first students have become amazing spokespeople for the school,” says ACBA founder and comprehensive campaign director John Paul Huguley, “and that’s great because it’s really all about them, what they’ve experienced and learned here.”
Timber-framing students (from left) Moyer Fountain, Will Denton IV, James Murphy, and Kyle Dooley honed their skills at the Storehouse Row studio at ACBA’s Noisette Campus in North Charleston.
Kyle Dooley went from majoring in business at a Georgia community college to wielding chisels.
Building a Future
Fellow architectural ironwork majors Shara Satterfield and Adam All both hope to eventually design and build their own creations—from furniture to stair rails and beyond—rather than focus solely on restoration. They employ the same materials, tools, and methods as those used by blacksmiths for a thousand years.
Building a Future
Building a Future
Carpentry major Stephen Browning carved this newel post (top)—his first—to replace a decrepit one at the Old City Jail, the home of ACBA’s classrooms. Stephen teamed up with timber-framing students to build stair models.
Building a Future
Tradition demands placing a bough—or a full-size tree—atop a newly constructed structure (top); some say it’s to appease the gods for the sacrificed wood. Timber-framing students built this frame as a model for a potential school building.
Building a Future
Building a Future
Building a Future
Building a Future
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