Perfect Porches: A lecture with President Wallace

By Cheryl Montgomery

“The house porch endures as a cross-cultural site of real significance throughout the South. Much of my own ‘southernness,’ particularly my pen­chant for greeting, undoubtedly owes something to my grandmother’s Louisi­ana porch.”

– Jocelyn Hazelwood Donelyn

Like Donelyn, SCAD President Paula S. Wallace attributes porches to shaping her ‘southerness.’ She began her lecture by reminiscing of time spent at her childhood home on 2201 Montrose Avenue here in Atlanta, stating, “[Porches] are portals that claim theatre of daily life.”

However, today, porches have seen a decline in use and are becoming an extinct archetype in the design of contemporary homes. Wallace credits the porches’ scarcity to the mid 20^th century, when air conditioning and the television were invented.

According to Wallace, a porch should espouse four elements, the first being perspective. This is the art of arranging and rearranging a space to create a sensory experience. “The better we can see our space, the better we can see into ourselves,” stated Wallace.

Next, the porch should be practical. Ask yourself: What will this space be used for? Should my porch be a sleeping porch or do I imagine this space to be used for gatherings and conversation? For example, the sleeping porch at Ivy Hall was not practical for academic use, so the space was transformed into a study room. Once you know the use of the space, design for that use.

Third, a porch should be punctuated. This punctuation can come in the form of elegance or whimsy, but should definitely have delight.

Last but not least among Wallace’s elements, the porch should become personal; make the space your own. Wallace expressed that one way she makes a porch her own is to update the hardware. She stated, “Door knobs are the first things one touches, and they are the first things I change.”