Cheryl Hackett, a freelance writer and director of communications for Newport Collaborative Architects, recently released a book, “Newport Shingle Style” (Frances Lincoln Publishers, Ltd. May, 2010). The Rhode Island resident and graduate of Salve Regina University in Newport says she’s long held passions for architecture and writing. She recently took some time to speak with Providence Business News about the 128-page book, which can be found at online retailers and some local bookstores.
PBN: Can you tell us a little about the book and why you decided to write it?
HACKETT: “Newport Shingle Style” is a coffee table book that features 15 highly original Shingle Style homes from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. The collection includes the Isaac Bell House in Newport, Blackwatch in Jamestown, and Out to Sea at Carnegie Abbey in Portsmouth. I have written about architecture and interior design for national magazines for 20 years, and I was ready to tackle a book project that focused on one aspect of Rhode Island’s rich architectural heritage. “Newport Shingle Style” is unique because it showcases the homes’ exteriors, interiors, gardens and ocean views.
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PBN: Can you tell us more about the Shingle Style?
HACKETT: Shingle Style is an American achievement that flourished in Newport in the 1880s. Shingle Style features asymmetrical wood frames and shingled stories set on stone foundations. These romantic homes were intended to blend with the surrounding landscape, so patterned shingles were left to weather naturally. Shingle Style exteriors incorporate decidedly Colonial, Queen Anne and Stick Style elements such as gables, gambrel roofs, brick and stone chimneys, bands of small-paned windows, turrets, columns and pediments.
The interiors contain imaginative staircases, art glass windows, hand-crafted millwork and emphasize open floor plans for gracious living. Large and freely spaced windows and doors open to porches positioned to take advantage of ocean views and summer breezes. Most fittingly, architectural critic Vincent Scully hailed early Shingle Style homes as “the Architecture of the American summer.”
PBN: Shingle Style originated in the 1870s. Why did you pick the 15 projects you did?
HACKETT: Wonderfully preserved 19th century Shingle Style homes distinguish Newport’s historic districts and serve as muses to generations of designers. Recently, American architecture has witnessed a renaissance as impressive new Shingle Style homes are built alongside those that have presided here for more than a century. Attention-to-detail is so exquisite that the latest interpretations are often mistaken for 19th century originals causing us to ponder – is that Shingle Style, then or now? Whether built in the 1880s, 1980s or 2005, each of the homes featured in the book has the same spirit running through it.
PBN: Whom do you see reading the book?
HACKETT: I think architects, interior designers, builders and homeowners who share a collective passion for this unique vernacular that holds a deep reverence for history, follow form and function, and boast an organic aesthetic will enjoy the book.
PBN: What inspired your interest in architecture?
HACKETT: I first became interested in architecture when I was an American Field Service Exchange student at the age of 16. I had the opportunity to live with a Finnish family in Helsinki, Finland. The father is a prominent architect and taught me a great deal about Finnish architecture and interior design. That experience inspired me to pursue a writing career that focused on architecture, interior design and historic preservation.
Salve Regina University was the perfect place to study English and journalism while being surrounded by extraordinary architecture. After earning both undergraduate and graduate degrees from Salve, I began writing for magazines and Newport has never ceased to yield fascinating story ideas.
