Sardis - the Agonist: a Monument to the Resurrection of a Dormant Cultural & Commercial Center

Author

Inocencio Ruiz, Kennesaw State UniversityFollow

Date of Submission

Spring 5-5-2025

Degree Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Architecture

Department

Architecture

Committee Chair/First Advisor

Peter Pittman

Abstract

The rural American Southeast is a region of deep cultural significance that is shaped by resilience, adaptation, and an ever-evolving relationship with the land. Sardis, like many crossroad towns in Georgia, bears the imprint of shifting economies, environmental forces, and the enduring spirit of its people. This thesis combines a familiar vernacular of place that is integrated with a neo-cultural sophistication to explore how material details become the foundation for composing and proposing a neo-narrative architecture that represents a people, a region, and its rural southern heritage.

Sardis, Georgia is a complex and historically important small town... the materiality that comes from its patina, its people – past and present, and the town center that was incorporated into the Georgia Legislature in 1911: the heart and soul of its existence. I am interested in how architecture can serve as a narrative vessel by embedding stories within details that speak to the identity of place. By altering and reinterpreting architectural elements, I aim to craft a museum that stands as a testament to the people of Sardis. It will honor their history while embracing the inevitability of change. An architecture that belongs to the common man rather than serving as an exclusive monument.

The works of Herzog & de Meuron and Carlo Scarpa have profoundly influenced this approach, particularly in their sensitivity to materiality, craftsmanship, and the dialogue between past and present. My time spent in Sardis has reinforced my belief that architecture should not merely preserve history but actively participate in it – allowing materials to tell their own story of transformation, decay, and renewal. Drawing from the ideas of Mostafavi and Leatherbarrow (1993) On Weathering as a condition of architecture, this thesis embraces the passage of time as an integral design strategy. The notion of a Dirty Regionalism, which resists the sterility of static architectural tectonics, pushes the project to acknowledge that materiality is not just an aesthetic choice but a cultural and social act. The coal chute in Sardis, once an emblem of industry now a vessel for nostalgia and memory, offers a way to embrace the dirt, imperfections, and evolving narratives that shape place and identity.

Sardis, Georgia is a town where history is inscribed in its weathered surfaces. It reveals a dialogue between time, place, and material. This thesis research and investigation pursues and explores a rich socio-cultural identity, rooted in human experience, dignity – cultural expression, and symbolism. By reinterpreting the town’s vernacular forms and embracing the evolving patina of its built environment, I aim to shape a spatial experience that bridges past and present. In doing so, the interrogation proposes altering and resurrecting a once significant architectural place that sits at a crossroads next to an abandoned railroad track between nowhere and nowhere...