Students from two West Virginia University programs will tour one of the nation’s historical architectural treasures Saturday, April 8.
Representatives of WVU ’s programs in Cultural Resource Management and Interior Design will travel to Asheville , N.C. , to tour the Biltmore Estate and other attractions in the area.
The trip has been organized by Shari Park-Gates, assistant professor of interior design in the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences.
Park-Gates is excited not only by the trip’s itinerary but also the chance to collaborate and share perspectives with another WVU program.
I love the idea of students from different programs sharing this experience, because we learn so much more when we see the other perspectives,Park-Gates said.
The educational goal for the interior design program will be more than just to tour and learn more about the grandeur of a fine example of a French Renaissance chateau,she added.
The Biltmore house is America’s largest house, with more than 65 rooms. The Estate also has a century-old garden designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, widely considered the nation’s defining landscape architect, who also designed Central Park in Manhattan .
There will be 10 travelers from the cultural resource management program and 15 from interior design.
Students from both programs will begin to understand how our designs reflect our culture and the importance of restoring and preserving our heritage in the form of historical architecture, interiors, and landscapes,Park-Gates said.
Barbara Rasmussen, assistant professor of history in the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and coordinator of the graduate certificate program in Cultural Resource Management, feels the Biltmore Estate will offer a unique learning opportunity for students in the program.
I am eager to participate in this experience because I want my students to see the possibilities of place,Rasmussen said.The architecture of Biltmore Estate is one of the most stunning sights in the United States . The gardens there are also wonderful expressions of landscape architecture. This trip is about broadening our understanding of the built world in which we live.
The WVU contingent also plans to meet with faculty and students from the hotel and restaurant management program from Georgia Southern University while in Asheville .
We all will tour the Grove Park Inn, a fine historical example of an arts-and-crafts hotel that has been turned into a resort and spa,Park-Gates said.All of the programs will have a different perspective and hopefully we will all learn from the tours but also the experience of sharing others perspectives on the same structures.