Brittany V. Lavelle Tulla

BVL HPR was established through Brittany’s passion to “humanize” old spaces and places. Eager to use research to bring soul, identity and purpose back to misunderstood or forgotten structures, Brittany has dedicated her life to showcasing stories of past generations so that we may better understand, honor and USE America’s historic buildings. In addition to leading BVL HPR, she serves as an adjunct professor in Clemson University’s School of Architecture, where she teaches a course on researching historic properties, serves on the board of the Preservation Society of Charleston's Charleston Heritage Symposium and is a member of the SC250 Steering Committee. She formerly served as the executive director and lead architectural historian for the non-profit Charleston World Heritage Coalition, which was dedicated to gaining World Heritage recognition for historic resources in Charleston, as a former commissioner of the Town of Mount Pleasant Historical Commission and received the Drayton Hall Wood Family Fellowship in 2015. Brittany holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Elon University, and she earned a Master of Science degree in Historic Preservation from Clemson University joint program, where she was awarded the Ann Pamela Cunningham Award. Her graduate thesis focused on the powerful role of the women of Drayton Hall.

Before establishing BVL HPR, Brittany served as an architectural historian for a cultural resources management firm in her home state of New Jersey. She conducted historic research, architectural surveys and conditions assessments on large-scale government preservation projects, including the Statue of Liberty. While consulting, Brittany assisted her community in rebuilding following Hurricane Sandy by documenting and showcasing the historic architecture of the Central Jersey Shore through her weekly architecture blog. She served as a contributing feature historian for several local newspaper and magazine publications.

Since the firm's founding, Brittany was one of ten women honored in the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America's national “Power in Preservation” exhibit in Washington, D.C. that celebrated the role of women in preservation, named to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 40 Under 40: People Saving Places, one of three women featured in Historic Charleston Foundation's inaugural “Women Who Impact Preservation” series and has presented her research at both professional conferences and events across the nation.