As you watch the video, you can browse by subject using the course outline and timestamps below. As you progress through the units, you can use the below optional (ungraded) questions to help assess your understanding of the material. Please note that these are not the summative assessment questions to be answered at the end of the course. You will also need to complete the summative assessment in order to earn course credit.
0:00: Introduction
2:00: Origins of Colonial Architecture; Framing
Review: Which of the following is NOT a reason for the simplicity of early colonial architecture?
Incorrect – this was one reason for the simplicity of early colonial architecture. The earliest colonists did not include many trained craftsmen who were able to replicate Tudor architecture or devise new forms of ornamentation.
Correct! Colonists had significant access to wood and other natural resources. In fact, they had significantly greater access to raw materials than builders in England. However, other factors, such as a lack of experienced craftsmen and the need to quickly erect new structures, inhibited early colonial architecture from focusing on ornamentation.
Incorrect – this was one reason for the simplicity of early colonial architecture. Consider the circumstances of the earliest colonists; their focus was on quickly creating shelters, and in fact the earliest structures included ‘pit houses’, which simply consisted of a hole in the ground with a roof.
9:34: Siding
Review: Which of the following regions commonly used wood shingle siding?
Correct! Wood shingle siding is traditional in these storm-prone areas. Plain shingles, rather than those with decorative shapes, are used.
Incorrect – Virginian architecture typically uses another specific kind of siding. You may be thinking of the wood shingles often seen in Virginian roofs, not siding.
Incorrect – South Carolinian architecture typically uses another specific kind of siding. Which is it?
17:54: Roofs and Roofing Materials
Review: Which of the following describes a gambrel roof?
Incorrect – this describes a clipped gable.
Incorrect – this describes a gable roof in the ‘salt box’ form.
Correct! This type of roof is also commonly called a “Dutch roof”, though gambrel roofs are also found in houses built by English colonists.
32:44: Windows
Review: Which of the following is frequently true of window frame meeting rails in colonial architecture?
Correct! This was done as a sophisticated detail to make the meeting rail appear consistent in thickness with the muntins of the window. This detail is often not carried over into Colonial Revival architecture.
Incorrect. This would not be seen on either colonial or Colonial Revival architecture, as it would cause the window to appear highly unbalanced.
Incorrect. While historically inaccurate restorations as well as Colonial Revival architecture tend to employ meeting rails the same size as the window frame, this is not true of colonial architecture.