Home as Hat: Elvia Lahman

"Elvia Lahman" 2017 from Home as Hat series

Continuing to create hats inspired by architectural styles, Elvia's chapeau was based on the famous William G. Low House in Bristol, Rhode Island. It was known for its 140 foot long low single gable and was a prime example of Shingle-style architecture. It's continuous horizontal shape and lack of ornamentation was a backlash to the highly decorated patters of the previous generation's architectural style.

Although Shingle-style architecture flourished between 1879 and 1890 primarily on the coast of New England, I believe it was one of the forerunners of modernism. It shunned the revivalism going on during this period and looked towards the future of functionalism with its open plan blurring the lines between interior and exterior space.

The roof was in fact the home.

Using cedar shingles to cover its monolithic facade, the architect Charle McKim built the William G. Low House in 1887 using a single massive asymmetric shape. The organic color of the continuous shingles helped to connect the house to the outdoors making this uniquely American architecture stand out from the highly decorated structures of the past.

Julie Green
February 18, 2017