SUMMARY OF INFLUENCES AND RESPONSES THAT SHAPE THE CHARACTER OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
ECOLOGICAL INFLUENCES
Flat landforms with gently rolling hills.
High rainfall.
Hot, humid summers.
Rapidly changing weather with
thunderstorms, hurricanes, and
tornadoes.
Humidity, intense summer sun, and
presence of insects, such as termites,
that quickly decay building materials.
Dense vegetation with a high canopy of trees.
Forests of pine with hardwoods in drainages.
Plants that grow quickly.
Sandy coastal soils.
Rivers that take the form of slow-running
estuaries with dark waters.
Many marshes, swamps, and other wetlands.
Abundant wildlife, from insects to alligators.
Figure of Coastal - Low Wetlands with
Pine Oak and Hemlock
Figures of Coastal pine forests and Lower Piedmont with
Hardwood Live oak and Pines.
CULTURAL INFLUENCES
Settled by Europeans for 400 years;
has deep historical roots.
Developed and altered landscape bisected
by roads; no forest lands are more than a
few miles from a road, and all are within a
short drive of urban areas.
Made up of an unconsolidated patchwork of
private and public lands and forest lands.
Contains a rich architectural history that
includes huts, slave cabins, and smokehouses
as well as grand lodges and the estates and
plantations of the aristocracy.
Provides timber building material.
Draws tourists to historic, as well as
natural, sites.
Provides water for boating, fishing, and
swimming.
Figures of Culturally influenced buildings such as
French Creole cottage
Plantation
Early CCC
English and
Spanish.