Preliminary virtual model of the Market House in 1772 © Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Digital History Center.
Over the coming months the Virtual Williamsburg team will be updating readers on the virtual model of the Market House. Continuing with the approach we previously took for the Armoury reconstruction, this model is being developed alongside the physical reconstruction to illustrate the supporting research and show the site without the concessions reflective of modern living. In this first of a series of occasional installments, we will cover the physical elements of the building, along with the initial research and planning undertaken on the details of the Market House.
Plan of the layout of stalls in the virtual Market House © Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Digital History Center.
As part of their initial design work for the physical reconstruction, the Foundation’s architectural historians created a virtual model of the Market House in the 3D software SketchUp ™. This model was used to develop the final design for the building, and thus offered an excellent starting point for developing the 3D virtual model for Virtual Williamsburg. The basic SketchUp™ model geometry was imported into 3D Studio Max ™, and the modeling team began detailing it by adding wood and brick textures to the geometry. With the help of the architectural historians, some of the modern features necessary for the physical reconstruction were remodeled to their 18th-century appearances. These included elements of the physical building that have been added to conform to the modern practices, such as ADA requirements and product sales points. This preliminary virtual reconstruction was then added to an environmental model of Williamsburg in 1772. This provides us with the first real glimpse of the building and how it looked amongst the other 18th-century buildings on the Market Square. The research team will continue to review this updated model to ensure it reflects all of the available historical evidence, and then the modelers will undertake additional detailing and texturing, which will be described in future updates.
Planning layout of Butcher’s stalls in the virtual Market House © Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Digital History Center.
With modeling of the structure well underway, we also began to research other aspects of the original 18th-century Market House, such as butcher, fish and poultry stalls. These features will not be incorporated into the physical reconstruction, but the virtual model will provide a sense of the 18th-century market house environment, some features of which may seem unusual to modern sensibilities.
Initial layout of a stalls in the interior of the virtual Market House (roof removed) © Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Digital History Center.
The physical Market House that is being built in Williamsburg’s Revolutionary City will provide guests with a unique personal experience, and access to a wide range of 18th-century style goods and products. Virtual Williamsburg will offer a complementary experience for guests to explore and compare how an 18th-century market house functioned.
Dr. Peter Inker, Manager of 3D Visualization, Digital History Center.
Roy Long says
Hey, where did the founding fathers get a cement truck to pour the floor of the Market house?
Good question, Roy… And you’re not the only one to ask! Reconstructing 18th century buildings is always a bit of a dance between traditional methods, and modern building codes. I asked Wayne Buhl, Colonial Williamsburg’s Architect, to weigh in on the concrete that was recently poured for the Market House. According to Wayne:
“The concrete foundation was placed to provide a strong base for the Market House. We are designing the foundation to meet current building code standards for wind loading, and for current soil conditions which have been affected by frequent excavations. As you might have guessed, the brick made in our Historic Trades brickyard using 18th century techniques is much softer than modern brick, and therefore cracks more easily. Without a strong concrete base, a foundation made of this brick would (on loose soil) settle quickly, causing cracks that require constant re-pointing.
The concrete foundation also allows us to drain the water away from the wood columns quickly, and shields the wood from termites. Ultimately, this helps preserve the wood columns so they will not need to be replaced as often.”
Thanks for keeping us on our toes, Roy!
Roy Long says
How about us re-enactors doing some market help? Most of us have experience with educating the public, we could have a part in the daily operations etc. It would be very realistic if period dressed “customers” and trades people were around the market area.
Thomas, Geoff, David and Louise~
As you have all noted, reconstructing buildings is just the first step in the interpretive process. As work continues in the trades shops and in the carpenter’s and brick yards, we are also thinking about how to show the resulting building, and how the space might be used in Historic Area programming. As you point out, a Market House provides wide-ranging opportunities for interpretation that we continue to mull over. At present, guests can observe and learn more about how foods were obtained and prepared in the eighteenth century by visiting one of our working kitchens, including the one recently reconstructed at the Armoury. As always, we appreciate your feedback!
Louise Despres says
Yes, it would be wonderful if “faux food” could be used-a plastic side of beef could be hung to show what a real side of beef would have looked like or how it was sold.
Thank youl.
David Ludwig says
Costumed interpreters presenting authentic 18th century market experiences would certainly create yet another great Williamsburg experience and educational opportunity!
(The “faux” food idea previously suggested seems like a workable approach.)
Geoff Wood says
I absolutely agree with Thomas’s comments above. In this era of pre-packaged supermarket living it would be great to show foods being prepared and sold as they did during the period. It would give visitors a better connection to the foods eaten both then and now as well as a better overview of the food supply process from field to table. Many people today have little to no understanding of this.
Is there an expected completion date on this project? So glad you have a webcam so we can watch the progress. I know work has been going on, but it’s hard to see much progress so far. I apologize for all the people that have been working on it.
Peg~
Welcome back! We anticipate completion of the Market House late in the fall of this year- though weather and availability of materials occasionally force us to recalibrate! As for the second part of your comment, no apologies needed; it is often difficult to see progress on “active” reconstruction projects, especially during the winter months. We are taking your question, therefore, as inspiration for this week’s blog posting. Check back in a day or two to see who’s working on the Market House, and where the action is!
Meredith
Thomas-
That’s a terrific idea! I’ll pass it up the “food chain” and we’ll see what happens. Thanks for your input!
With modern advances in creating “faux” food, it is a pity that meat, poultry and fish could not be represented in the market house in some way. With the “Pig to Pork” program popular (at least when I have visited) I would not think that the publics’ squeamishness would be the controlling factor. I think it would be a marvelous tool for interpretation if “housewives” or “servant” came to market for their foodstuffs.
In any case I wish the project great success.