FHB Logo Facebook LinkedIn Email Pinterest Twitter Instagram Tiktok YouTube Plus Icon Close Icon Navigation Search Icon Navigation Search Icon Arrow Down Icon Video Guide Icon Article Guide Icon Modal Close Icon Guide Search Icon Skip to content
Subscribe
Log In
  • How-To
  • Design
  • Tools & Materials
  • Videos
  • Blogs
  • Forum
  • Magazine
  • Members
  • FHB House
  • Podcast
Log In
How-To

Tailgate: Colby M. Broadwater III, College President

This retired army officer now leads the American College of the Building Arts, which trains the next generations of craftspeople.

By Aaron Fagan Issue 253 - Aug/Sept 2015

Web Extra: Extended Tailgate Interview

I find the presence of a school like yours encouraging. How did it begin?

After Hurricane Hugo slammed into Charleston, S.C., in 1989, qualified artisans to work on the city’s historic structures were not available. City leaders and others were determined to do something, and that’s what led to this college. The skilled workers in this country are aging, and no one is replacing them.

If you go back two or three hundred years, the guild houses of the various trades were some of the finest buildings around. A hundred years ago, mass production and assembly lines took the glamour off that.

Our point of view is that some of that glamour needs to be restored. We all appreciate the beauty and long-lasting quality of fine old homes and craftsmanship, but if we don’t have a new generation of skilled artisans producing that work, there won’t be anything left to appreciate in the future. We’re trying to do our small part to ensure that the skills learned over thousands of years are maintained so that we can continue to build to those standards for people who demand it.

How have you engaged your community?

The iconic Charleston ironworker of the 20th century was a gentleman named Philip Simmons. Years ago, he wondered who would be there to repair his ironwork. In the early 1960s, he made the Christopher Gadsden House gate, which features a distinctive rattlesnake detail that was inspired by Gadsden’s design of the “Don’t Tread on Me” flag from the American Revolution. Our students are now restoring that gate, and it’s fitting that Simmons played a part in forming our school.

What’s the curriculum like?

Our students—about 50 at present—all have the same academic curriculum, and they major in one of six areas of building arts: ornamental ironwork, timber framing, carpentry, plasterwork, masonry, and stone carving. They study the hands-on skill for four years, which includes three summer internships that give them exposure to the business side of being a working craftsperson. This blending of an academic degree with the skills learned in the shops and laboratories brings their education to life.

Not only do students learn the art of preservation and construction, but they also learn the science of it. When they master both, they come out of here not only knowing what solution is appropriate for a particular building challenge and why, but also how to implement it.

The Compagnon system in France, which dates back to the Middle Ages, helped us develop the hands-on approach we use. It gave us a historically grounded way to meet the challenges of today. Its techniques are as applicable to new construction as they are to preservation.

Describe the typical ACBA student.

Our students tend to be a little bit older than the average college freshman, and they all have an artistic leaning. Some of them may not even know the full extent of that capacity, but it really comes out of them when they’re here. They have a deep commitment to learn how to make something that is lasting. That is the real draw.

Do your graduates go on to become home builders?

Most of our graduates are subcontracted for timber framing or to build components that will be used in homes. Some of them are employees, and some have started their own businesses. In each discipline, they have restored historic work, and they have produced what will someday be historic work worthy of preservation.

Is there an arc to the typical student experience?

With good training, people can do just about anything. With the education and training our students get here, they motivate themselves to get better by being exposed to these classic building materials and techniques. What we try to do is give them the skills and the opportunities to do that.

We forget that the recipe for cement was lost after the fall of the Roman Empire.

People forget that at least half of those alchemists in medieval Europe, who were said to be trying to make gold, were actually trying to make porcelain—they called it white gold. Somebody’s got to sustain those skills.

 

Recently there was a workshop here on scagliola, which involves making plaster that looks like marble. You could see these young men and women arrive at an understanding of how the marble formed through pressure and so on, and that the veining was caused by natural sediments being forced in different ways. Watching them re-create that out of plaster was amazing. It is almost a lost art.

Sign up for eletters today and get the latest how-to from Fine Homebuilding, plus special offers.

Signing you up...

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
See all newsletters
See all newsletters
×

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Signing you up...

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
See all newsletters
See all newsletters

New Feature

Fine Homebuilding Forums

Ask questions, offer advice, and share your work

Log in or create an account to post a comment.

Sign up Log in

Become a member and get full access to FineHomebuilding.com

Up Next

Video Shorts

Featured Story

Turn Up the Heat With Induction Cooktops

Learn what induction is, what you need to know about making the switch from gas or electric, and top products to consider.

Featured Video

A Modern California Home Wrapped in Rockwool Insulation for Energy Efficiency and Fire Resistance

The designer and builder of the 2018 Fine Homebuilding House detail why they chose mineral-wool batts and high-density boards for all of their insulation needs.

Related Stories

  • Exterior Materials for a Midcentury Home
  • Hand-Crafted Pendant Lights
  • Durable and Sustainable Zinc Roofing and Cladding
  • 7 Ways to Tie Home to Land

Discussion Forum

Recent Posts and Replies

  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |
View More Create Post

Highlights

Fine Homebuilding All Access
Fine Homebuilding Podcast
Tool Tech
Plus, get an extra 20% off with code GIFT20

"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Signing you up...

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
See all newsletters
See all newsletters

Video

View All Videos
  • Exterior Materials for a Midcentury Home
  • Architectural Strategy for a Unique Skylight
  • Podcast 569: Members-only Aftershow — Rob Yagid’s Addition
  • Brick Veneer Details for an MCM House
View All

Architecture and Design

View All Architecture and Design Articles
  • 7 Ways to Tie Home to Land
  • Practical and Sustainable Prefab Home
  • Passive House Homestead on Protected Land
  • Functional Floating Vanity for Smaller Bathrooms
View All Architecture and Design Articles

BOOKS, DVDs, & MERCH

Shop the Store
  • Pretty Good House
    Buy Now
  • 2022 Fine Homebuilding Archive
    Buy Now
  • Code Check Complete 3rd Edition
    Buy Now
  • 2023 Tool Guide
    Buy Now
  • Shop the Store

Fine Homebuilding Magazine

  • Issue 318 - October 2023
    • Make Mudsills Square and Level
    • Turn Up the Heat With Induction Cooktops
    • The Fine Homebuilding Interview: Lloyd Alter
  • Issue 317 - Aug/Sept 2023
    • Finishing Drywall With Seamless Results
    • A Flat Roof in a Cold Climate
    • Compact Cordless Shop Vacs
  • Issue 316 - July 2023
    • Timber-Framed Solar Canopies
    • Build a Transom Above a Stock Door
    • Understanding Toilet Design and Efficiency
  • Issue 315 - June 2023
    • How to Craft a Copper Roof
    • 5 Lessons from Building in a Cold Climate
    • The Advantages of Cellular PVC Siding
  • Issue 314 - April/May 2023
    • 7 Options for Countertops
    • Tool Test: Wood-Boring Bits
    • Critical Details for Ductless Heat Pumps

Fine Homebuilding

Follow

  • YouTube
  • instagram
  • facebook
  • pinterest
  • Tiktok
  • twitter

Newsletter

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Signing you up...

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
See all newsletters
See all newsletters

Membership & Magazine

  • Online Archive
  • Start Free Trial
  • Magazine Subscription
  • Magazine Renewal
  • Gift a Subscription
  • Customer Support
  • Privacy Preferences

Taunton Network

  • Green Building Advisor
  • Fine Woodworking
  • Fine Gardening
  • Threads
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Copyright
  • Terms of Use
  • Site Map
  • Do not sell or share my information
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility
  • California Privacy Rights

© 2023 The Taunton Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

X
X
This is a dialog window which overlays the main content of the page. The modal window is a 'site map' of the most critical areas of the site. Pressing the Escape (ESC) button will close the modal and bring you back to where you were on the page.

Main Menu

  • How-To
  • Design
  • Tools & Materials
  • Video
  • Blogs
  • Forum
  • Reader Projects
  • Magazine
  • Members
  • FHB House

Podcasts

  • FHB Podcast
  • ProTalk

Webinars

  • Upcoming and On-Demand

Podcasts

  • FHB Podcast
  • ProTalk

Webinars

  • Upcoming and On-Demand

Popular Topics

  • Kitchens
  • Business
  • Bedrooms
  • Roofs
  • Architecture and Design
  • Green Building
  • Decks
  • Framing
  • Safety
  • Remodeling
  • Bathrooms
  • Windows
  • Tilework
  • Ceilings
  • HVAC

Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Magazine Index
  • Subscribe
  • Online Archive
  • Author Guidelines

All Access

  • Member Home
  • Start Free Trial
  • Gift Membership

Shop the Store

  • Books
  • DVDs
  • Taunton Workshops

More

  • FHB Ambassadors
  • Reader Projects
  • Podcast
  • FHB House
  • Customer Support

Account

  • Log In
  • Join

Newsletter

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Signing you up...

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
See all newsletters
See all newsletters

Follow

  • YouTube
  • instagram
  • facebook
  • pinterest
  • Tiktok
  • twitter

Join All Access

Become a member and get instant access to thousands of videos, how-tos, tool reviews, and design features.

Start Your Free Trial

Subscribe

FHB Magazine

Start your subscription today and save up to 70%

Subscribe

We hope you’ve enjoyed your free articles. To keep reading, become a member today.

Get complete site access to expert advice, how-to videos, Code Check, and more, plus the print magazine.

Start your FREE trial

Already a member? Log in