A dorm room located in McMillan Hall in 1907, now converted into office space in the Anthropology Department
Benson, Mary Ellen. (2012). Iconic Buildings, Modern Uses. Washington Magazine. Retrieved from http://magazine.wustl.edu/2012/december/Pages/iconic-buildings-adaptive-reuse.aspx |
What is currently an office for professors of the Department of Anthropology was once the University’s first women’s dormitory on the Danforth Campus. Dorm rooms were transformed into office spaces. These may seem like two very different spaces, but the current and past landscape of McMillan Hall relates to many aspects of W.G. Hoskins’ landscape theory discussed in class. As Hoskins describes, landscapes are history; he identifies and documents the factor of temporality and the past in his discussion of landscape. He notes, "Everything is older than we think," suggesting that in order to understand a landscape, we must take into account its history (Hoskins, 12). He also emphasized the importance of locality, noting that deep analysis should be carried out by intensive investigation of a discrete territory. Looking at the office space, the ceilings are lower than most other buildings on campus, the floors are wooden, and a fireplace resides in the corner. These aspects come together to make the room feel warm and comforting, as a form room would feel. The dorm been transformed into an office through the use of a large desk replacing a bed, storage space to keep papers rather than clothing, and walls lined with awards and credentials of the professor who works there rather than posters of friends and family of the women who lived there. Using Hoskins’ theory of looking at landscapes through a historical lens and using a deep analysis of a discrete territory, we see how the history of the room is still embedded in the office space it is today. It provides a certain warmth and coziness to the building itself, adding to the significance of McMillan as being a collaborative environment for professors and students to learn and work.
Hoskins, W.G. (1955). The Making of the English Landscape. London: Hodder and Stoughton. |