Detail View: Graduate Thesis Collection: Camp Low: The Architecture of Where Girls Grow Strong

Camp Low: The Architecture of Where Girls Grow Strong

Barnard, Kimberly

Thesis (M.F.A.) -- Architectural History

Savannah College of Art and Design -- Department of Architectural History

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This thesis analyzes the architecture of Girl Scout Camp Low located on Rose Dhu Island in Savannah, Georgia and explores the how a Girl Scout camp uses its architecture to reinforce transition, separation, rusticity, and self-reliance. Camp Low is compared to other camps that share similarity in layout and building design. Few other scholarly works have been written on camps in general, but those that do include the 1960’s article, “Camping in Relation to Child Growth and Development,” by Dan W. Dodson containing history of early camps and problems that have been encountered. W. Barksdale Maynard’s 1999 article, “An Ideal Life in the Woods for Boys,” that explores more camp history and the missions of the first camps. Abigail van Slyck’s A Manufactured Wilderness: Summer Camps and the Shaping of American Youth, 1890-1960, which explores how important camps are and the buildings that make up each camp. Manhood Factories, by Paula Lupkin also offers insight into early YMCA clubs and the importance of gender reinforcement in the built environment. Drawing upon the similarities and differences found between these organizations and camps this thesis demonstrates how Camp Low provides a transitional place, where scouts can build courage, confidence, and character. These skills allow girls to grow into independent and self-reliant young women. In facilitating this process, the camp relies on a remote location, dispersed layout, and undecorated vernacular architecture with abundant windows.

Savannah, Georgia : Savannah College of Art and Design

2012-08

PDF : 85 p. : ill.