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 A sizable share of the construction market deals with existing buildings. Many of those buildings are historic and this new reality begs the question, “Are the architects ready?”
This is an important question, and the fact that it was written in an article published almost a decade ago (included and updated here) tells us that we’ve been talking about this for a while. What have we accomplished and what has changed in the intervening decade? And what can we continue to do to move forward an agenda that adequately educates architects for this reality—both in school and through continuing education?
These are the questions addressed in many of the articles in this issue of Preservation Architect.
I’ve had the honor of teaching a graduate seminar, Design in Historic Contexts, at the Tulane University School of Architecture this semester. Interaction with these students has further convinced me that exposure to preservation resources and projects broadens the students’ knowledge of opportunities within the architecture field and gives them to draw upon for future projects. These students may not choose to specialize in historic preservation, but they now know about resources available for historic material treatment, The Secretary of The Interiors Standards, and the nuance of the debate around contextual and contrasting new construction; tools that will serve them well as they enter practice.
This topic will be the focus of much of the Historic Resources Committee in the year ahead, and we hope to bring the Institute, practitioners, the academy, licensing and credentialing authorities into . If you would like to join on this task force please reach out to me directly at whillis1@tulane.edu.
We need to make sure all architects have the skills to succeed and lead with the reuse and re-appropriation of our built environment.
Wendy Hillis, AIA | 2017 Chair, AIA Historic Resources Committee
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