Jeffersonian architecture - wikipedia Jeffersonian architecture This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( December 2007 ) Jefferson 's sketch plan for the Rotunda at the University of Virginia The Rotunda in 2006 Jeffersonian architecture is an American form of Neo-Classicism and / or Neo-Palladianism embodied in the architectural designs of U.S. President and polymath Thomas Jefferson, after whom it is named. These include his home ( Monticello ), his retreat ( Poplar Forest ), a college he founded ( University of Virginia ), and his designs for the homes of friends and political allies ( notably Barboursville ). Over a dozen private homes bearing his personal stamp still stand today. Jefferson 's style was popular in the early American period at about the same time that the more mainstream Greek Revival architecture was also coming into vogue ( 1790s -- 1830s ) with his assistance. Contents 1 Sources and inspiration 2 Characteristics 2.1 Jeffersonian architectural attributes 3 Monticello 4 Influence 5 List of Jeffersonian buildings 6 Gallery 7 References 8 Bibliography 8.1 Other sources 8.2 Further reading 9 External links Sources and inspiration In colonial Virginia during the 18th century there were no schools of architecture, so Jefferson learned the trade on his own from various books and by studying some of the various classical architectural designs of the day. As a self - taught architect and classicist, he was most heavily influenced by the Italian revivalist architect Andrea Palladio ( 1508 -- 1580 ). His `` bible '' was Andrea Palladio 's The Four Books of Architecture, which taught him the basic principles of classical design. Jeffersonian architecture is therefore perhaps best described as `` Palladian '' in inspiration. Jefferson was also influenced by architect James Gibbs ( 1682 -- 1754 ), and by French Neo-classical buildings, such as the Hôtel de Salm in Paris, when he served as Ambassador to France. While the Jeffersonian style incorporates Palladian proportions and themes, it is at the same time unique to Jefferson 's own personal sensibility and the materials available to him in early republican Virginia. Throughout his adult life Jefferson made many architectural drawings and wrote extensively about architectural design. Today there are over 600 pages of architectural documents by Jefferson now housed at the Massachusetts Historical Society and are commonly referred to as the Coolidge Collection. Characteristics Poplar Forest, note the octagonal design One characteristic which typifies Jefferson 's architecture is the use of the octagon and octagonal forms in his designs. Palladio never used octagons, but Jefferson employed them as a design motif -- halving them, elongating them, and employing them in whole as with the dome of Monticello, or the entire house at Poplar Forest. Jeffersonian architectural attributes Palladian design ( e.g., central core, symmetrical wings ) Portico - and - pediment primary entries Classical orders and moldings ( especially Tuscan ) Piano nobile ( main floor elevated above ground level ) Red brick construction White painted trim Sand painted columns Octagons and octagonal forms Chinese railings `` Suppressed '' ( hidden ) stairs, instead of grand stairways Monticello Main article : Monticello Monticello Located just outside Charlottesville, Jefferson 's Virginia home and estate is situated on the summit of an 850 - foot ( 260 m ) - high peak in the Southwest Mountains. Its name comes from the Italian for `` little mountain. '' Jefferson began work on his original `` Monticello '' in 1768. He left his home in 1784 to serve as Minister of the United States to France. During his tenure in Europe, he had an opportunity to see some of the classical buildings with which he had become acquainted from his reading, as well as to discover the `` modern '' trends in French architecture that were then fashionable in Paris. His decision to remodel his own home may date from this period. In 1794, following his service as the first U.S. Secretary of State ( 1790 -- 93 ), Jefferson began rebuilding his manor house based on the ideas he had acquired in Europe. The remodeling continued throughout most of his presidency ( 1801 -- 09 ). Jefferson added a center hallway and a parallel set of rooms to the structure, more than doubling its area. He removed the second full - height story from the original house and replaced it with a mezzanine bedroom floor. The most dramatic element of the new design was an octagonal dome, which he placed above the West front of the building in place of a second - story portico. The room inside the dome was described by a visitor as `` a noble and beautiful apartment, '' but it was rarely used -- perhaps because it was hot in summer and cold in winter, or because it could only be reached by climbing a steep and very narrow flight of stairs. The dome room has now been restored to its appearance during Jefferson 's lifetime, with `` Mars yellow '' walls and a painted green floor, although safety regulations about use of the narrow stairs to the upper floors largely preclude visitors to Monticello from seeing the room. Monticello, along with the nearby University of Virginia, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. Influence Further information : Neoclassical architecture Influence of the Lawn Jefferson 's `` Academical Village '', University of Virginia ( 1856 engraving ) The Grand Auditorium at the Tsinghua University In 1803, President Jefferson appointed Benjamin Henry Latrobe as surveyor of public buildings in the United States, thus introducing Greek Revival architecture to the country for the first time. Latrobe went on to design a number of important public buildings in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, including work on the United States Capitol and the Bank of Pennsylvania. Even after Jefferson 's style went out of vogue for other public buildings, it continued to have an influence on many Protestant church designs on the East Coast through the mid-20th century. The style is still employed on some Southern college campuses, particularly in Virginia and the Peabody College campus of Vanderbilt University, and it has enjoyed a certain re-emergence among some newer 21st century evangelical church complexes. The University of Mary Washington, previously the University of Virginia 's college for women, is another primary example of Jefferson 's architecture. An example of Jeffersonian architecture outside the United States can be found in one of China 's top universities, Tsinghua University in Beijing. The University 's `` Grand Auditorium '' was designed with elements from the Jeffersonian architectural style in the early 20th century. List of Jeffersonian buildings This list is incomplete ; you can help by expanding it. Pavilions III and V, The Lawn, University of Virginia The Virginia State Capitol in 1865 The University of Alabama Quad ( rear view ) in 1859 ; Everything visible was burned in Wilson 's Raid ( 1865 ) and never rebuilt. Designed by Jefferson : Monticello I ( 1768 -- 1784 ; demolished ) Monticello ( 1794 -- 1805 ) Poplar Forest ( 1806 -- 1826 ) The Lawn, or `` Academical Village '' ( 1817 ), University of Virginia Farmington Country Club Main Portico, `` Jefferson Room '' Barboursville ( Completed ca. 1822 ; ruins ) The Rotunda, University of Virginia ( 1822 -- 26 ; burnt 1895 ; rebuilt 1898 - 99 ) Jail, Nelson County Courthouse grounds, site is present day Sheriff 's Offices. Directly influenced by Jefferson : Manor house, Lower Brandon Plantation ( 1760s ; Possibly designed by Jefferson ) Virginia State House ( Completed 1788 ; Design partially credited to Jefferson ) Manor house, Belle Grove Plantation ( 1794 -- 1797 ; Consultation by Jefferson ) Manor house, Bremo Plantation ( 1819 ; Consultation by Jefferson ) Indirectly influenced by Jefferson : The old University of Alabama Quad, Tuscaloosa, Alabama ( 1828 ) - Destroyed 1865 Belle Mont, Tuscumbia, Alabama ( 1828 ) Ruffner Hall, Longwood University ( 1907, destroyed 2001, rebuilt 2005 ) Various buildings, University of Mary Washington ( Post-1908 ) `` Grand Auditorium '', Tsinghua University, Beijing, China ( 1917 ) Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee ( 1875 ) Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Washington, D.C. ( 1939 -- 1943 ) Grawemeyer Hall, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky ( 1926 ) Dallas Hall, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, ( 1912 ) Gallery Under the dome at Monticello References Jump up ^ Brodie, 1974, pp. 87 - 88 Jump up ^ Berstein, 2003, p. 9 ^ Jump up to : `` Dig Deeper - Building Monticello ''. Thomas Jefferson Foundation. Retrieved Aug 22, 2013. Jump up ^ Kern, Chris. `` Jefferson 's Dome at Monticello ''. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 16. Jump up ^ Jefferson Architectural Drawings, Massachusetts Historical Society Jump up ^ The Architectural Ideology of Thomas Jefferson by Ralph G. Giordano ( McFarland ; 2012 ) Jump up ^ Kern, Chris. `` Jefferson 's Dome at Monticello ''. Retrieved 2009 - 07 - 10. Jump up ^ Federal Writers ' Project ( 1937 ), Washington, City and Capital : Federal Writers ' Project, Works Progress Administration / United States Government Printing Office, p. 126 Bibliography Bernstein, Richard B. ( 2005 ) ( 2003 ). Thomas Jefferson. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 518130 - 2. Brodie, Fawn ( 1974 ). Thomas Jefferson : An Intimate History. W.W. Norton & Company. p. 594. Url Wills, Garry ( 2002 ). Mr. Jefferson 's University. Washington, DC : National Geographic Directions. ISBN 0792265319. ( Describes the campus building by building. ) `` The Architectural Ideology of Thomas Jefferson '' by Ralph G. Giordano ( McFarland 2012 ) Other sources `` Thomas Jefferson Papers : Architectural Drawings, ( manuscript ), circa 1772 - 1819 ''. Massachusetts Historical Society. Retrieved Aug 30, 2013. Further reading Wills, Chuck ( 2008 ). Thomas Jefferson : Architect : The Interactive Portfolio. Running Press ; First Edition. p. 92. ISBN 978 - 0762434381., Book External links Jefferson 's Dome at Monticello Thomas Jefferson 3rd President of the United States ( 1801 -- 1809 ) 2nd U.S. Vice President ( 1797 -- 1801 ) 1st U.S. Secretary of State ( 1790 -- 1793 ) U.S. Minister to France ( 1785 -- 1789 ) 2nd Governor of Virginia ( 1779 -- 1781 ) Delegate, Second Continental Congress ( 1775 -- 1776 ) Founding documents of the United States A Summary View of the Rights of British America ( 1774 ) Initial draft, Olive Branch Petition ( 1775 ) Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms ( 1775 ) 1776 Declaration of Independence Committee of Five authored physical history `` All men are created equal '' `` Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness '' `` Consent of the governed '' 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom freedom of religion French Revolution Co-author, Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ( 1789 ) Presidency Inaugural Address ( 1801 1805 ) Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves Louisiana Purchase Lewis and Clark Expedition Corps of Discovery timeline Empire of Liberty Red River Expedition Pike Expedition Cumberland Road Embargo Act of 1807 Chesapeake -- Leopard Affair Non-Intercourse Act of 1809 First Barbary War Native American policy Marbury v. Madison West Point Military Academy State of the Union Addresses ( texts 1801 1802 1805 ) Cabinet Federal judicial appointments Other noted accomplishments Early life and career Founder, University of Virginia history Land Ordinance of 1784 Northwest Ordinance 1787 Anti-Administration party Democratic - Republican Party Jeffersonian democracy First Party System republicanism Plan for Establishing Uniformity in the Coinage, Weights, and Measure of the United States ( 1790 ) Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions A Manual of Parliamentary Practice ( 1801 ) Jeffersonian architecture Barboursville Farmington Monticello gardens Poplar Forest University of Virginia The Rotunda The Lawn Virginia State Capitol White House Colonnades Other writings Notes on the State of Virginia ( 1785 ) 1787 European journey memorandums Indian removal letters Jefferson Bible ( 1895 ) Jefferson manuscript collection at the Massachusetts Historical Society Related Age of Enlightenment American Enlightenment American Philosophical Society American Revolution patriots Member, Virginia Committee of Correspondence Committee of the States Founding Fathers of the United States Franco - American alliance Jefferson and education Religious views Jefferson and slavery Jefferson and the Library of Congress Jefferson disk Jefferson Pier Pet mockingbird National Gazette Residence Act Compromise of 1790 Sally Hemings Jefferson -- Hemings controversy Betty Hemings Separation of church and state Swivel chair The American Museum magazine Virginia dynasty Elections United States Presidential election 1796 1800 1804 Legacy Bibliography Jefferson Memorial Mount Rushmore Birthday Thomas Jefferson Building Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression Jefferson Lecture Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service Jefferson Lab Monticello Association Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson College Thomas Jefferson School of Law Thomas Jefferson University Washington and Jefferson National Forests Other placenames Currency depictions Jefferson nickel Two - dollar bill U.S. postage stamps Popular culture Ben and Me ( 1953 short ) 1776 ( 1969 musical 1972 film ) Jefferson in Paris ( 1995 film ) Thomas Jefferson ( 1997 film ) Liberty ! ( 1997 documentary series ) Liberty 's Kids ( 2002 animated series ) John Adams ( 2008 miniseries ) Jefferson 's Garden ( 2015 play ) Hamilton ( 2015 musical ) Jefferson -- Eppes Trophy Wine bottles controversy Family Peter Jefferson ( father ) Jane Randolph Jefferson ( mother ) Lucy Jefferson Lewis ( sister ) Randolph Jefferson ( brother ) Isham Randolph ( grandfather ) William Randolph ( great - grandfather ) Martha Jefferson ( wife ) Martha Jefferson Randolph ( daughter ) Mary Jefferson Eppes ( daughter ) Harriet Hemings ( daughter ) Madison Hemings ( son ) Eston Hemings ( son ) Thomas J. Randolph ( grandson ) Francis Eppes ( grandson ) George W. Randolph ( grandson ) John Wayles Jefferson ( grandson ) Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. ( son - in - law ) John Wayles Eppes ( son - in - law ) John Wayles ( father - in - law ) Dabney Carr ( brother - in - law ) Dabney Carr ( nephew ) ← John Adams James Madison → Architecture of the United States Colonial American colonial architecture Colonial Georgian Dutch Colonial French Colonial German Colonial Spanish Colonial Early Republic Adam Federal Jeffersonian Mid-19th century Greek Revival Italianate Gothic Revival Victorian Richardsonian Romanesque Second Empire American Renaissance Folk Stick style Queen Anne Shingle Territorial Late - 19th to mid-20th century Beaux - Arts Chicago School Colonial Revival Dutch Colonial Revival Mediterranean Revival Mission Revival Spanish Colonial Revival Tudor Revival Pueblo Revival Territorial Revival American Craftsman Prairie School American Foursquare California bungalow Art Deco Streamline Moderne PWA Moderne Post-World War II to current International style Usonian American ranch Modern Postmodern Neo-eclectic New Classical Architecture Vernacular Hall and parlor house Central - passage house Log cabin Cape Cod Saltbox Creole cottage Dogtrot house I - house Shotgun house Sod house Carpenter Gothic First Period Historicism and Revivalism in Western architecture and decorative arts International Baroque Revival Beaux - Arts Byzantine Revival Carpenter Gothic Egyptian Revival Gothic Revival Greek Revival / Neo-Grec Moorish Revival Neoclassical New Classical / Neo-Historism Renaissance Revival Châteauesque Italianate Palazzo style Romanesque Revival Second Empire Spanish Colonial Revival Swiss chalet style Vernacular France French Renaissance Henry II style Louis Treize Louis Quatorze Louis Quinze Directoire style Empire style Second Empire Belle Époque Art Nouveau Art Deco Germany, Austria - Hungary Biedermeier Gründerzeit Nazi architecture Resort style Rundbogenstil Great Britain Adam style Bristol Byzantine Edwardian Baroque Indo - Saracenic Revival British India Jacobethan Queen Anne style Regency Scottish baronial style Tudor Revival / Black - and - White Revival Greece and Balkans Mycenaean Revival Serbo - Byzantine Revival Italy Stile umbertino Mexico Mayan Revival Netherlands Traditionalist School Nordic countries National Romantic style Dragon Style Portugal Pombaline Neo-Manueline Soft Portuguese style Russian Empire and USSR Byzantine Revival Russian Revival Stalinist architecture Spain Neo-Mudéjar United States Jeffersonian architecture American Renaissance Collegiate Gothic Colonial Revival Federal style Greco Deco Mediterranean Revival Mission Revival Polish Cathedral style Pueblo Revival Queen Anne style Richardsonian Romanesque Territorial Revival Modern architecture '' `` The Architectural Ideology of Thomas Jefferson '' by Ralph G. Giordano ( McFarland 2012 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jeffersonian_architecture&oldid=798384097 '' Categories : American architectural styles Revival architectural styles Architectural styles Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from December 2007 All articles needing additional references Incomplete lists from May 2010 Talk Contents About Wikipedia فارسی Italiano Nederlands Edit links This page was last edited on 1 September 2017, at 16 : 15. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who decided to use the neoclassical architectural style for his home in virginia
Answer: Thomas Jefferson