Faculty Directory
Andrew Johnston headshot
AJ

Andrew Scott Johnston

Associate Professor
Director of the Program in Historic Preservation
Unit: School of Architecture
Department: Department of Architectural History
Office location and address
Peyton House 108
110 Bayly Dr
Charlottesville, Virginia 22903
fieldmethods.iath.virginia.edu/16SpARH5610/
fieldmethods.iath.virginia.edu/16SuARH5611/
www.arch.virginia.edu/people/andrew-johnston
Education
PhD, University of California, Berkeley
MArch, University of California, Berkeley
MS Urban Design, Pratt Institute
Biography

Andrew Johnston is a licensed architect and certified planner with a PhD in architectural history and extensive experience both in practice and in academia.  He has served as a supervising architect for the Historic American Engineering Record and as an environmental planner for the California State Department of Transportation (Caltrans), working with a wide range of experts and stakeholders on the preservation and interpretation of historic cultural landscapes. In China he joined with UNESCO affiliates as one of a team of experts working on historical gardens, intermediate cities, and urban cultural landscapes and served as Consulting Architect in Heritage Preservation with the China Suzhou Institute of Architectural Design.

Recent courses as listed in the Student Information System (SIS) Course Catalog:
SARC 1500: SARC Advising Seminars
Credits: 1
SARC 1500 courses are 1-credit seminars capped at 20 first-year students, all of whom are assigned to the instructor as advisees. They are topically focused on an area identified by the faculty member; they also include a significant advising component centered on undergraduate issues (e.g., choosing a major, study abroad opportunities, undergraduate research, etc.).
ARH 3500: Special Topics in Architectural History
Credits: 1–3
Topical offerings in architectural history.
ZFOR 3503: International Study
Placeholder course for students studying abroad
ARH 3604: Field Methods I Building Archaeology
Credits: 3
This combined upper level undergraduate and graduate class is a field based seminar on methods of analyzing and recording historic buildings, especially vernacular buildings and landscapes. Students will be introduced to an intensive building analysis geared to understanding change over time. Students will also learn methods of careful field recording for the purposes of both documentation and analysis.
ARH 3608: Historic Preservation Theory and Practice
Credits: 3
This seminar surveys preservation from its historical beginnings through contemporary emerging trends, focusing on the changing nature of its ideals and practice in a critical and international perspective. We will explore the role of historic preservation and heritage in cultural politics, historical interpretation, urban development, and planning and design practice.
ARH 3613: UNESCO, World Heritage and Tourism
Credits: 3
Open to all, this course concerns the interplay of UNESCO, heritage practices, & tourism in a comparative, international context. We will ask questions concerning definitions of heritage, decision-making concerning heritage resources, tangible & intangible heritage, tourism, & the ties between heritage & economic development. among other questions. While focused on China & the Asia-Pacific Region.
ARH 3620: Cultural Landscape of Virginia
Credits: 3
A cultural landscape tells the story of interactions between a natural landscape and cultural groups. In this course we'll focus on the history and development of the Virginia cultural landscape in the regional South, as well as its connections throughout North America and the Atlantic World.
ARH 4600: Arch History Practicum: Preserv Intern
Credits: 3
Internship at World Heritage Site; Monticello or the University of Virginia. 6-8 hours weekly. Some projects have a digital component.
IMP 4970: Interdisciplinary Thesis
Credits: 3
Required Thesis for Interdisciplinary majors.
IMP 4971: Interdisciplinary Thesis
Credits: 3
Required Thesis for Interdisciplinary majors.
ARH 4993: Independent Studies in Architectural History
Credits: 1–4
Advanced work on independent research topics by individual students.
ARH 4999: Major Special Study: Thesis
Credits: 3
Advanced independent research projects by fourth year architectural history students. Prerequisite: Instructor approval and departmental approval of topic.
LAR 5230: Cultural Landscapes
Credits: 3
Seminar introduces contemporary theory and practice for describing, interpreting, planning, preserving, and designing vernacular and designed cultural landscapes (urban/peri-urban/rural; sylvan & postindustrial) and historic sites. Exploration through case study review, close reading and discussion of texts, short position papers & field trips. Graduate course will have additional course requirements.
ARH 5500: Selected Topics in Architectural History
Credits: 1–3
Special topics pursued in a colloquium. Prerequisite: Instructor permission.
ARH 5600: Arch History Practicum: Preserv Intern
Credits: 3
Internship at World Heritage Site; Monticello or the University of Virginia. 6-8 hours weekly. Some projects have a digital component.
ARH 5601: Historic Preservation Theory and Practice
Credits: 3
This seminar surveys preservation from its historical beginnings through contemporary emerging trends, focusing on the changing nature of its ideals and practice in a critical and international perspective. We will explore the role of historic preservation and heritage in cultural politics, historical interpretation, urban development, and planning and design practice. Graduate course will have additional course requirements.
ARH 5602: Community History Workshop
Credits: 3
The Community History Workshop is both an in-depth historical analysis of the architecture, urban form, and planning of a selected community, and a forum for speculative futures and plan making for the community, informed by the historical analysis. This preservation-focused course explores the historical significance of the built landscape as an element in, and an expression of, the social and cultural life of the community.
ARH 5604: Field Methods I Building Archaeology
Credits: 3
This combined upper level undergraduate and graduate class is a field based seminar on methods of analyzing and recording historic buildings, especially vernacular buildings and landscapes. Students will be introduced to an intensive building analysis geared to understanding change over time. Graduate course will have additional course requirements.
ARH 5611: Architectural Field School: The Cultural Landscape of Birdwood
Credits: 3
Through lectures, readings, discussions and on-site tutorials, students in this course will learn fieldwork and archival research methodology through a detailed exploration of the historic UVA Birdwood site. Students will analyze and interpret the data collected to prepare field reports and formal architectural drawings explicating the meanings and significance of the site. 9am to 12pm daily, with time spent both on-site and in the studio.
ARH 5612: ArchHist Practicum: Pres Intern II
Credits: 1–3
Continuation of Internship in historic preservation/architectural history. 6-8 hours weekly.
ARH 5618: Materials and Culture
Credits: 3
Combining seminar discussions, shop exercises and laboratory exercises, this course explores the material culture of architecture from the perspective of materials science. Material culture is the physical stuff that is part of human life, and includes everything humans make and use including materials we use to shape the environment. Graduate course will have additional course requirements.
ARH 5993: Independent Studies in Architectural History
Credits: 1–4
Advanced work on independent research topics by individual students. Departmental approval of the topic is required.
ARH 7500: Special Topics in Architecture History
Credits: 1–3
Topical offerings in architectural history.
ARH 7613: UNESCO, World Heritage and Tourism
Credits: 3
Open to all, this course concerns the interplay of UNESCO, heritage practices, & tourism in a comparative, international context. We will ask questions concerning definitions of heritage, decision-making concerning heritage resources, tangible & intangible heritage, tourism, & the ties between heritage & economic development, among other questions. While focused on China & the Asia-Pacific Region. Graduate students will have additional course requirements.
ARH 7620: Cultural Landscape of Virginia
Credits: 3
A cultural landscape tells the story of interactions between a natural landscape and cultural groups. In this course we'll focus on the history and development of the Virginia cultural landscape in the regional South, as well as its connections throughout North America and the Atlantic World. The graduate course will have additional course requirements.
ARH 7993: Independent Study: Architectural History
Credits: 1–3
Independent research on topics selected by individual students in consultation with a faculty advisor.
ARH 8601: Historic Preservation Theory and Practice
Credits: 3
This seminar surveys preservation from its historical beginnings through contemporary emerging trends, focusing on the changing nature of its ideals and practice in a critical and international perspective.We will explore the role of historic preservation and heritage in cultural politics, historical interpretation, urban development, & planning & design practice. Graduate Students will undertake additional course requirements.
ARH 8604: Field Methods I Building Archaeology
Credits: 3
This combined upper level undergraduate and graduate class is a field based seminar on methods of analyzing and recording historic buildings, especially vernacular buildings and landscapes. Students will be introduced to an intensive building analysis geared to understanding change over time. Students will also learn methods of careful field recording for the purposes of both documentation and analysis.
ARH 8994: Thesis
Credits: 3
Preparation and completion of a thesis..
ARH 8995: MA Thesis Research
Credits: 3
Research on topic for Master Thesis.
  • Professore Visittore Didattica, 'Sapienza' Università di Roma 

In December, 2017, named “Professore Visittore Didattica, 2017 for the Facolta di Architettura, Dipartimento di Storia Disegno Restauro dell'Architettura,

  • Innovations in Practice Grant

$7000 grant to bring an internationally acclaimed practitioner to UVA for teaching and research collaboration. 2016-2017.  With Dr. Jessica Sewell.

  • External Fellowship/ Residency

Invited to be in residence as a visiting scholar at the East-West Center, in Honolulu, HI during a three-month period in 2016.

  •  External Fellowship/ Residency

In-residence at the Institute for Advanced Study, School of Social Science, in Princeton, NJ during the summer of 2015.

  •  Leading Talent in Internationalized Disciplines Award, 2013-18  [SIP, Special Economic Zone Government Grant, Suzhou, China]

$170,000 grant over five years. The grant is to support leading educators, scientists, and entrepreneurs working in the SIP special economic zone, Jiangsu Province.  This grant funds my heritage research in China, including funding research assistants and teaching relief.

PUBLICATIONS:

Book

Mercury and the Making of California: Mining,Landscape and Race, 1845-1900.  Boulder:University Press of Colorado, 2013.

Articles 

“The Hotels as Spaces of Enslaved Labor” in LouisNelson and Maurie McInnis, eds,  Slavery at the University of Virginia,University of Virginia Press, forthcoming. Co-written with Jessica Sewell. 2017.

 “Landscape and People in CulturalResource Management: Taking Mines, Mining and Mines as an Example.” ChinaArchitectural Heritage, v. 17, January, 2016. (in Chinese)

 “CitySection: A Pedagogy for InterdisciplinaryResearch and Collaboration in Planning and Environmental Design,” Journalof PlanningEducation and Research (JPER). November,2014.

“Mines, Mining, andResource Management on Mariscal Mountain: Landscapes and People in CulturalResource Management.” Mining History Journal. Vol. 21. MiningHistory Association, 2014.

“Material Culture andthe Dobsonian Telescope.” SpontaneousGenerations: A Journal for the History and Philosophy of Science, Vol 4, No 1, 2010. (written with JessicaSewell)

 “The Mercury Mining Industry,Chinese Labor, and the California Constitution of 1879.” Journalof the West, 43(1) Winter. 2004

Proceedings (peer-reviewed)

"CulturalHeritage Data Synthesis for Architectural History Field Methods"

Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology(Computer Applications in Archaeology, 2017) Co-author with members of IATH andthe Scholars’ Lab.

 “Nostalgiaand Forgetting: Mining Landscapes of Gold and Mercury in the CaliforniaImagination” Proceedings:5th IndustrialArchitecture Heritage Academic Conference, Xi’an, November 2014.

“CitySection: A Pedagogy for Interdisciplinary Research andCollaboration in Planning and Environmental Design.” Proceedings:Association of European Schools of Planning, Utrecht, Netherlands, July 2014