The 19th annual Traditional Timberframe Research and Advisory Group (TTRAG) Symposium was held in the colonial Dutch region of upstate New York, May 21-23, 2010. The TTRAG Symposium represents a unique opportunity to meet and interact with some of the foremost authorities on traditional timberframing while getting a behind-the-scenes look at some highly significant examples of historic timber construction. The historic Stockade District of Schenectady, New York is the oldest continuously occupied residential neighborhood in the U.S. with more than 40 pre-Revolutionary War houses, some continuously occupied since the 1600s. On Saturday morning the Symposium continued at Mabee Farm, a historic site in Rotterdam Junction, about 5 miles west of Schenectady. The c. 300 year old farm includes the oldest standing home (1680) in the Mohawk River Valley, a New World Dutch barn c.1760, blacksmith shop and other buildings, and re-creations of two Revolutionary War bateaux moored on the riverbank. Originally a fur trading post and now a museum and education center, the farm remained in the Mabee family for 288 years. The distinctive New World Dutch Barn at Mabee Farm is an example of some of the oldest and rarest survivals of early American timber architecture.

Presentations included: an overview of Dutch building styles and distinguishing features by John Stevens, author of Dutch Vernacular Architecture in North America and Senior Architectural Historian for the Society for the Preservation of Hudson Valley Vernacular Architecture; Alex Greenwood of the New Jersey Barn Company discussed ways Dutch framing traditions influenced other types of farm buildings; and Walt Wheeler, Senior Architectural Historian at Hartigan Archeological Associates, talked about framing details and patterns during the post-Revolutionary period. Architect, builder, and author, Jack Sobon provided a lively commentary on lessons learned from thirty years of experience in constructing timber framed buildings exclusively by hand. Don Carpentier of Eastfield Village described his approach to learning new crafts and becoming a proficient jack of all trades in order to learn the skills needed to restore the more than 20 buildings that make up Eastfield Village. Jan Lewandoski presented details on the fruit houses of Isle LaMotte on Lake Champlain and framing in the Champlain Islands.

The Traditional Timberframe Research and Advisory Group (TTRAG) was organized in 1990 as a special-interest group within the Timber Framers Guild, to focus on the documentation, repair, preservation, reconstruction and reproduction of historic timber framing. Membership in TTRAG requires an active commitment to understanding the history and development of timber structures and techniques demonstrated by completion of a combination of completed survey forms and documentation of involvement in historic timberframing projects as well as a presentation at a Guild sponsored conference or publication of an articles in Timber Framing, the quarterly journal of the Timber Framers Guild. TTRAG members have made major contributions to the published literature on historical timberframing including Historic American Timber Joinery written and illustrated by Jack Sobon, and Historic American Roof Trusses, a compilation of articles from Timber Framing and new material by Jan Lewandoski, Ed Levin and Jack Sobon on the principles of timber trusses including scissor trusses, kingpost and queenpost trusses, and compound and raised bottom chord trusses using a variety of historic examples. No library on historic American architecture is complete without these invaluable references.

For anyone with an interest in early American architecture and historic wooden buildings the TTRAG Symposium is is an extraordinary opportunity to engage with a community of practitioners who combine scholarly research with deep knowledge of the skills, techniques and practices of traditional timber framing. I come away from every TTRAG Conference with a notebook filled with sketches and observations and a renewed determination to finally, one and for all, get my survey forms completed for full TTRAG membership in time for the next meeting. TTRAG 2011 will be in early April in Ipswich, MA. Stay tuned to the Timber Framers Guld website for details.

The Timber Framers Guild is a vibrant organization with an international membership founded in 1984 to promote the centuries old craft of timber framing. The Guild is dedicated to establishing training programs for timber framers, disseminating information about timber framing and timber frame building design, and serving as a center of timber framing information for the professional and general public alike.

I first learned about the Guild through a 1990 interview with founding member Ed Levin in a magazine called Design Spirit. I thought, “Wow, there are people out there who really do this.” In 1992, while I was working at the National Park Service Historic Preservation Training Center in Williamsport, an itinerant timber framer stopped by to check out a project in progress in our yard and told us about a covered bridge raising he’d just come from in Guelph, Ontario where Guild members constructed a 120-foot clear span lattice truss bridge over the Speed River. That was it; I knew I had to join the Guild. I attended my first Western Conference in Skamania, Washington in 1994, and I realized instantly that this was one of the most remarkable groups of people I’d ever encountered. As an organization founded on a traditional system of building knowledge, the Guild has moved timber framing from a historical footnote to a close-knit community of practitioners with a solid body of newly made and restored buildings, as well as research, publications, education and community engagement.

The Guild holds two conferences a year, one eastern and one western, as well as a symposium of the Traditional Timber Frame Research and Advisory Group (TTRAG), the component of the Guild with a primary focus on traditional and historic timber framing. Although I’ve attended many Guild Conferences and events over the years and never fail to find inspiration and fresh insights into timber construction and traditional building, I looked forward to the 2010 Western Conference with particular anticipation. I hadn’t attended a Western Conference since 1997 at Timberline Lodge, and this would be my first conference as a member of the Timber Framers Guild Board of Directors.

The Guild’s 24th annual Western Conference was held at the Coeur d’Alene Resort on the shores of beautiful Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, April 22-25, and featured a packed schedule of pre-conference workshops, speakers, demonstrations and events such as a Joint Busting Contest and Children’s Workshop, as well as the projects Slideshow and Auction. The Eastern and Western Conferences each have their own unique flavor, but attending either one is an unforgettable experience. Although it simply isn’t possible to take in every presentation or demonstration here are a few of the highlights of this year’s Western Conference . . .

Among the featured presenters for the Western Conference was Ma Bing-jian, a renowned expert in traditional Chinese architecture from Beijing. Mr. Ma is currently Director of the Beijing Traditional Chinese Architectural Design and Research Institute and a professor at the Beijing Institute of Civil Engineering and Architecture. Mr. Ma is a senior engineer and registered architect who also worked as a carpenter for eight years for the national recognized Traditional Architecture Construction and Restoration Company upon graduating from high school. Mr. Ma is the author of The Building Technology of the Timberwork of the Ancient Buildings in China (Beijing Science Press, 1991) and The Architecture of the Quadrangle in Beijing (Tianjin University Press, 1999).

Mr. Ma taught a pre-conference workshop on Ching Dynasty Dou Gong bracket set (see photos above). Dou gong bracket sets, a unique and beautiful feature of traditional Chinese timber construction served to reduce beam spans, increase eave widths and provide lateral and seismic stability. Mr. Ma also delivered a fascinating talk on the Eight Characteristics of Traditional Chinese Timber Framing during the Conference. Richard Wiborg who served has Mr. Ma’s translator has a wonderful explanation of the features and construction of the bracket sets, along with a selection of lovely photos of traditional Chinese architecture and construction on his website.

Another notable speaker was Johnpaul Jones, FAIA, principal of Jones & Jones Architects and Landscape Architects. Mr. Jones’ design philosophy is deeply informed by his Cherokee-Choctaw heritage and reverence for the connections between the natural, animal, spirit and human world. Among the projects he discussed were the Northwest Native Canoe Center, a living museum on Seattle’s Lake Union that will celebrate the rich and active canoe culture of the Coast Salish tribes, and the design for the Nikkei World War II Exclusion Memorial, “Nidoto Nai Yoni/Let it Not Happen Again” on Bainbridge Island.

Other outstanding presentations included Jennifer Anthony founder of Fearless Engineers, PLLC of Missoula, MT on getting the most out of working with your engineer through successful communication, and Mira Jean Steinbrecher, AIA on making a timber frame more than the sum of its parts with finishing details. Hubert Burboeck, an Austrian journalist and consultant who managed to negotiate the travel chaos produced by the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland to address Wooden Building Trends in Europe, which include a mandate to plant more trees than they harvest, and employ a broad range of technologies from traditional log houses and timber frame buildings, up to multi-level buildings made out of X-lam (cross laminated) timber. Ben Brungraber of Fire Tower Engineered Timber and John Miller, CEO of Cascade Joinery presented A Cautionary Tale, a lively dialog on managing client relationships and doing an engineered remediation of trusses in failure.

The Conference wasn’t just PowerPoints in darkened rooms. Barr Quarton, a master blacksmith and tool maker, owner of Barr Specialty Tools, gave a demonstration of forging techniques, including drift pins for scribing. A set of Barr’s hand forged framing chisels that I received as a gift in 1994 is among my most cherished possessions, so I was thrilled both to see him again, and to add one of his elegant slicks to my tool box. Higgs Murphy demonstrated hewing and adzing and other techniques for converting round logs into timber. A Children’s Discovery Workshop paired a number of very young and very enthusiastic future timber framers with veterans to produce a beautiful small frame for sale at the conference auction. Fire Tower Engineered Timber & Fraserwood Industries teamed up to sponsor a Joint Busting program which made for some dramatic moments waiting for the crack of failing timbers under load. All of this combined with a chance to catch up with friends, enjoy the camaraderie of the member slide show, live auction and impromptu musical gatherings, made for a memorable time and great learning experience. I’m already looking forward to the 2011 Western Conference at historic Fort Worden in Port Townsend, Washington!

On March 12th I made the two hour drive to Providence, Rhode Island for the 1st Preservation Trades Network “Shop Stop” at Heritage Restoration Inc. Jeremy Ballard, a PTN Board member and owner of Ballard Preservation Inc. and Rob Cagnetta, owner of HRI and President of the Preservation Trades Network and came up with the idea of a “micro-regional rendezvous” to introduce PTN members to different trades people and skills and provide an opportunity for networking among local preservationists and trades people.  The intent is to kick off a series of informal meetings that move from shop to shop. Any PTN member is invited to host an event, and all are welcome to attend. Each meeting will feature a “hands on” demonstration of different preservation trades skills, lunch and a chance to connect with friends and colleagues.

Although I’ve worked with Rob on a number of projects and events over the years, this was the first time I’d ever had a chance to visit the Heritage Restoration, Inc. shop located in the historic Atlantic Mills complex on the Woonasquatucket River.  The Atlantic Mills complex dates back to 1851, when it started as the “Atlantic Delaine” factory for the manufacture of worsted textiles. The main surviving buildings were constructed from 1863-1882 and are notable their domed circular towers.

The featured demonstrator was Andy Panciotti of Providence Cornice Co.  Andy has over 25 years of experience in the design, fabrication, installation and repair of sheet metal and roofing, and specializes in the restoration or reproduction of 19th to early 20 century metal roofs and features. I first met Andy at the Casey Farm Preservation Trades Workshop in Saunderstown, Rhode Island in 2007. Andy is a highly skilled metal worker who pursued a traditional apprenticeship, becoming a self employed Master Sheet Metal Mechanic in 1991. He’s also an extremely articulate and engaging speaker and demonstrator. His message for the eighteen people attending the workshop is that he wants them to learn metal working techniques that they can incorporate in their projects. He said, “I don’t need to do everything on a job, there’s a lot that you can do, and then call me in if there’s a problem or something that needs to be worked out.”

The HRI window restoration shop was the setting for the demonstration, complete with a roof mock up featuring wood gutter, chimney, cricket and eaves for application of copper roofing, flashing and rain goods. Andy brought a ten-foot long sheet metal hand brake for bending and forming that survived a devastating fire at his shop last year. Everyone had a chance to try cutting, forming and soldering the various copper roofing components. Andy reviewed layout basics, tools, equipment selection and use and materials for various applications. There was also a discussion of diagnosing failures due to improper materials selection and detailing.

As the first event of its type, I think all agreed that it was an unqualified success, and well worth the $30 event registration and a day away from work. It was great to catch up with old friends, see some new faces and get a number of practical tips and insights into copper roofing from a master of the trade. I’m certainly looking forward to the next Shop Stop and anticipate many more opportunities for learning and meeting up with colleagues through programs like this one. Thanks to Rob and Heritage Restoration Inc. for hosting an outstanding event. If you’re interesting in learning more about attending or hosting a PTN Shop Stop contact the Preservation Trades Network.

Master plasterer Earl Barthé passed away at his home in New Orleans on January 11th at the age of 87. He was a 5th generation plasterer who ran the family business his great-great-grandfather started in 1850 after arriving from Nice, France, via Haiti. He was a craftsman with an extraordinary love and respect for his trade, and he worked tirelessly to teach, preserve and pass on his skills and knowledge to future generations of trades people.

In 2005, Mr. Barthé received an NEA National Heritage Award for “contributions to the American cultural mosaic”.  When the award was presented in Washington, DC on September 22nd, 2005 he had to borrow a suit since his home, shop and belongings were destroyed by the levee failures caused by Hurricane Katrina.

I first heard about “Mr. B” as he was affectionately known, from Dr. Marjorie Hunt of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, who met him while conducting research for the Masters of the Building Arts program for the 2001 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.  The Preservation Trades Network was holding the International Preservation Trades Workshop (IPTW) and 1st International Trades Education Symposium (ITES) in October 2005 at Belmont Technical College in St. Clairsville, Ohio in the grim days following Katrina.  The membership of the Preservation Trades Network voted unanimously to hold IPTW 2006 in New Orleans with the goal of actively working with the residents of the Lower Ninth Ward and Holy Cross Neighborhood to help them  repair and reoccupy their homes in this historic and vibrant neighborhood.

IPTW 2006 was held in the historic Holy Cross neighborhood in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward, one of the oldest and most intact of the historic communities inundated by the flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. That year the IPTW was open to all and focused on repairing the historic late 19th and early 20th century buildings in Holy Cross with the theme Rebuilding Hope – Reclaiming Heritage. The work was done in educational “workshop” settings designed to offer learning opportunities for people of all backgrounds and interests. PTN worked in partnership with the World Monuments Fund (WMF) and Holy Cross Neighborhood Association to make this event accessible to all residents of New Orleans seeking technical assistance and practical information on how to restore their properties.

It was a great honor to meet Mr. Barthé when he was presented with the Askins Achievement Award at IPTW 2006. His gentleness, humor and infectious pride in his work, family and community was an inspiration that I will carry with me always. As much as he will be missed, his legacy will live on in all the generations of crafts people he touched. It’s easy to imagine him encountering St. Peter in Heaven and, with a twinkle in his eye, suggesting a few small repairs and embellishments for the Pearly Gates.

The work still goes on to recover and rebuild in New Orleans. Visit Historic Green to learn about efforts to integrate sustainable practices with preservation of Holy Cross and the Lower Ninth.

More:
Listen to an audio interview with Mr. Barthé by Craig Kraemer of New Orleans Podcasting
More Than Just a Trade: Master Craftsmen of the Building Arts by Laura Westbrook. Based on the New Orleans Building Arts Project, this virtual book features an introduction by Laura Westbrook, an article by C. Ray Brassieur, and interviews with masons, painters, ironworkers, roofers, lathers, tile masons, wood crafters, plasterers, blacksmiths, shorers, and more. This site complements the exhibition book, Raised to the Trade: Creole Building Arts of New Orleans, By Jonn Ethan Hankins, Steven Maklansky, published by the New Orleans Museum of Art.
2005 National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship, interview with Mary Eckstein
Fine Old Plasterwork and Water Don’t Mix by Patricia Leigh Brown, New York Times, September 22, 2005.
A Bittersweet Moment for Heritage Honorees by Washington Post staff writer Jacqueline Trescott, September 23, 2005.
Master of Plaster Passes the Torch by Karen Taylor Gist, InsideOut, October 21, 2006, The Times-Picayune

Like some preservationists of my generation I admit to a certain amount of ambivalence about preservation of modernist architecture. I’ve spent most of my professional life researching, working on and preserving old buildings. I live in an 18th century house. When I think about buildings I usually think in terms of hewn timbers, mortise and tenon joinery, lime mortar, soft brick and natural stone. I’m somewhat bemused by the fact that a lot of the people currently enamored of retro design weren’t even born during the period captured with such sleek ironic seductiveness by the series Mad Men.

I grew up in a mid-century modern house in Lubbock, Texas, constructed in 1954 for the price of $16,500 as part of a new development designed by architect Donald Hahn of Oklahoma City. At the time Lubbock had a population of around 72,000 (which has since tripled). Buddy Holly had yet to begin his meteoric rise to fame after seeing Elvis Presley sing live in Lubbock in early 1955. Then as now, the largest employer was Texas Technological College, now Texas Tech University, where my mother, Elizabeth Skidmore Sasser taught from 1949-1990 in what is now the College of Architecture. At the time the house was built it was at the southernmost edge of the city. Across the street cotton fields stretched away toward a long, level horizon.

Although relatively modest by the standards of the better known Joseph Eichler houses, it shared similar characteristics – open plan living areas, exposed beams, and a broad window wall off the principal living spaces. Growing up I remember it being filled with books and art, iconic Charles and Ray Eames furniture, and as the site of frequent gatherings of Tech faculty and students. My mother’s student Butch Hancock sometimes came over with his guitar and brought his friends Jimmy Dale Gilmore and Joe Ely. When I was in the 4th grade photographers from Life Magazine did a shoot at our house intended to be part of a feature piece on modern living. Publication of the article was preempted by coverage of John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

On a recent trip home I was working with my father on some projects around the house. As we were scraping and painting the garage I realized that the random 2×4 and 2×6 tongue and groove siding was incredibly high quality clear, vertical grain redwood. In a time when “shoddy” seems to be one of the more common descriptions of new residential construction, this small detail made me appreciate the qualities of this and other houses like it even more.

2009 Preservation Studies Summer Field School: “Cities of the Dead: Above-Ground Cemetery Preservation, Conservation, Documentation Methodology and History”
July 13 - July 31, 2009 - New Orleans, Louisiana

Rudy Christian, Executive Director of the Preservation Trades Network talks about the 2009 Field School, restoration work at Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, and the importance of “hands on” learning for preservation.

The 2009 Preservation Studies Summer Field School was offered by the Tulane School of Architecture Preservation Studies Program and Preservation Trades Network in partnership with the 1772 Foundation, National Center for Preservation Training and Technology, World Monuments Fund and Save Our Cemeteries.

“Tulane School of Architecture’s Preservation Studies students are learning the dying art of touching up New Orleans’ tombs” by Molly Reid, Staff writer, The Times-Picayune, Tuesday July 28, 2009

“Time and Place”, A Place for the Trades, Rudy Christian’s Blog on Traditional Building, July 30, 2009

Preservation Philosophy for People Who Maintain Old Buildings
July 20 - 24, 2009
Blow-Me-Down Farm, Cornish, New Hampshire

In more than twenty years of teaching preservation skills and philosophy one of the greatest pleasures has been working with Judy Hayward, Executive Director of the Preservation Education Institute (PEI) in Windsor, Vermont. Judy is a true pioneer in preservation trades education. Since 1982, the training program she developed at PEI in historic preservation skills, technology, and philosophy for building professionals has served more than 2,500 students.

PEI offers a Certificate in Preservation Skills & Technology as a program of continuing education for building professionals in the field of historic preservation. The program includes eight required workshops, five electives, and a community service preservation project. One of the workshops in the Certificate program is Preservation Philosophy for People Who Maintain Old Buildings, which the PEI website describes as follows”

This workshop will help general contractors, caretakers, maintenance personnel, property managers, and proprietors of “handyman” businesses to make typical judgment calls on the job: repair or replace, preservation, restoration, or rehabilitation; and setting priorities with modest budgets. Workshop topics include the following: balancing the goals of buildings, landscapes, and collections maintenance; a review of the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation as they relate to routine maintenance; communication skills between supervisors and workers, clients, and preservation consultants; architectural history in the context of how technology shaped building construction practice; and building diagnostics and some of the tools that can be used in the field.

The Preservation Philosophy workshop is generally offered every two or three years, usually in Vermont, but once memorably in New Orleans. I’ve been one of the workshop instructors since 1993, and was thrilled when Judy called last spring to say the the workshop would be offered in in July at Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish, New Hampshire with support from the National Park Service Historic Preservation Training Center.

Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site is undoubtedly one of the jewels of the National Park Service Northeast Region, and the only National Park Service site in New Hampshire. The site commemorates the work of Irish-born American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907) noted for works such as the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial on Boston Common and the grand equestrian monuments to Civil War generals including William Tecumseh Sherman, as well as design of the twenty-dollar “double eagle” gold piece, for the US Mint in 1905–1907. Along with Weir Farm National Historic Site, Saint-Gaudens NHS is one of only two National Park Service site established in recognition of a visual artist. I’ve visited the site many times and coordinated development of their Park Asset Management Plan in 2008.

The workshop was held at Blow-Me-Down Farm, the historic home of Charles C. Beaman, a New York City lawyer who was responsible for bringing Augustus Saint-Gaudens and many others to Cornish, NH, indirectly establishing what would become known as the “Cornish Colony”, a notable group of influential, painters, sculptors, writers and architects who found inspiration in the natural beauty of the area and the opportunities for creative exchange. The 48-acre property is owned by the Saint-Gaudens Memorial, Inc. a non-profit organization founded in 1919. The National Park Service is expected to acquire the property in the next year. Potential uses of the site include development of partnership programs to preserve the site and operate an artist residency program.

There are a number of remaining historic properties at the site including the main residence, an expanded version of what was once known as Charles Beaman’s “Casino,” a building that had served as a social center for the Cornish Colony. The Dance Hall, located adjacent to the Casino/Main House, contains 2,500 square foot open area, with a cupola and a large fireplace. Along with a Blacksmith Shop and several sheds and outbuildings, the other principal structure is the large Red Barn constructed by Charles Beaman in 1884, which was stabilized and repaired in 1999 by the Saint-Gaudens Memorial, Inc.

Eighteen students participated in the workshop, along with several others who attended the two day American Building Design and Technology session taught by Thomas Visser, University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program on Tuesday & Wednesday. The eighteen students in the Preservation Philosophy workshop were National Park Service maintenance employees and facility managers from all over the country. Canaveral National Seashore, Gettysburg National Military Park, the Arlington House (Robert E. Lee Memorial), and Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore were among the NPS sites represented. Four people in the class were also participants in the NPS Facility Managers Leadership Program (FMLP), an outstanding year-long education and training program to build asset management capabilities in the NPS workforce.

The students in the Preservation Philosophy workshop came from diverse backgrounds including the trades, facility management and engineering. All were extremely articulate, competent and engaged. One of the things that stood out about the participants in this and other workshops that I’ve been involved in the the last few years, is the complete acceptance of the importance of cultural resource management and the role of maintenance in stewardship and protection of resources. As fundamental as this may seem, it hasn’t been that many years ago that people in similar workshops would routinely say things like, “I don’t know what the big deal is about these old buildings, it would be cheaper to tear them all down and build new ones.”

The workshop started out on Monday with introductions from Judy Hayward and Dorothy Printup, Training Manager, NPS Historic Preservation Training Center. Steve Walasewicz, Natural Resource Manager at Saint-Gaudens NHS provided an orientation to the site and a history of Blow-Me-Down Farm. I gave the afternoon talk on “Introduction to Preservation Planning”. That evening the course participants toured Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site with Chief of Interpretation, Greg Schwarz. The gardens and grounds were exceptionally lovely following one of the rainiest summers on record in the Northeast. Just at sunset, following refreshments on the porch of Saint-Gauden’s studio, the haunting tones of a bagpipe drifted across the field as a lone piper made his rounds. Apparently not an unusual occurrence at the park, but nonetheless, a remarkable way to enjoy the sunset over Mount Ascutney.

On Thursday the Preservation Philosophy workshop resumed after Thomas Visser’s two day session on American Building Design and Technology. My friend and colleague John Gilbert, Facility Manger at Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park in Woodstock, Vermont presented a session on preservation and maintenance. John is an outstanding and frequent teacher at NPS cultural resources management and maintenance workshops. He also has in depth knowledge of the resources at Saint-Gaudens NHS having been the Facility Manager there for many years before moving to Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHS. After John’s session I gave a presentation on Building Diagnostics. The class then divided into three teams to conduct a conditions assessment exercise on the buildings at Blow-Me-Down Farm. John, Judy and I worked with the teams to produce a prioritized list of deferred maintenance and component renewal items for the structures and develop a five-year maintenance plan.

The teams brought to bear an impressive range of experience and background to investigate and develop their recommendations. It was especially good to see was how the workshop participants extended their focus to consider things like character defining features and building evolution. It was clear that the subjects covered in the workshop sessions were being applied to a real world situation and used as tools to look at maintenance problems in terms of addressing causes rather than merely treating symptoms. The maintenance plans developed by the teams will have real value when the National Park Service assumes management of the site.

In all I can’t think of a better way to spend a week.

“Virtual Tour” of Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site and the Blow-Me-Down Farm, Cornish, NH

August 25-29, 2009, the Preservation Trades Network (PTN) will hold the 13th annual International Preservation Trades Workshop in Leadville, Colorado in partnership with the Colorado Mountain College Historic Preservation Program.  IPTW 2009 will include three pre-conference workshops on Historic Log Structures Preservation, Historic Brick Masonry Cleaning and Cemetery Preservation, as well as the 3rd bi-annual International Trades Education Symposium, (ITES) August 25-27th.

The ITES will be held at the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum in Leadville and will feature presentations by a distinguished group of educators and tradespeople from the US, France, England and Scotland on the theme “Finding Common Ground” and “building a new culture for craft education and industry”.  Speakers will include: Carol Heidschuster, Manager of the Works Department at Lincoln Cathedral; Dr. Dean Kashiwagi, Arizona State University, Performance Based Studies Research Group; Alain Rolland and Daniel Wawszczyk, General Managers of the Compagnons du Devoir; Will Beemer, Co-Executive Director of the Timber Framers Guild and many more.

The International Preservation Trades Workshop will take place at the Hayden Ranch, an intact example of a high country ranching operation c. 1872-1947, a National Register Historic Site, and surely one of the most beautiful and memorable venues for a PTN event.  Demonstration sessions will feature traditional ornamental plasterwork methods, an overview of copper forging methods since 3200 BC, masonry restoration, tool sharpening, and a tour of local historic preservation projects.

A “Virtual Tour” of the Hayden Ranch

The Hayden Ranch was purchased by Colorado Mountain College in 2008 for use as a laboratory, shop and classroom space for students in the preservation trades program.  The Colorado State Historical Fund has provided over $240,000 in grants to assist in the stabilization, planning and repair work on the buildings.

Donovan D. Rypkema is principal of PlaceEconomics, a Washington, D.C.-based real estate and economic development-consulting firm. The firm specializes in services to public and non-profit sector clients who are dealing with downtown and neighborhood commercial district revitalization and the reuse of historic structures. He is the author of The Economics of Historic Preservation: A Community Leader’s Guide and The Importance of Downtown in the 21st Century.

As noted by Lloyd Alter a Canadian architect, developer and web journalist, Mr. Rypkema’s declaration that LEED stands for “Lunatic Environmentalists Enthusiastically Demolishing” is a particularly pointed critique of architects and developers using LEED as an excuse to tear down perfectly good buildings. Mr. Rypkema goes on to say the following in his blog:

Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy that LEED exists. It is an excellent first shot at trying to make buildings and neighborhoods more environmentally responsible.

But to say that LEED is necessary but not sufficient for sustainable development is no different than saying dentistry is necessary but not sufficient for health care. But my other two dissents from LEED-mania are: 1) LEED only deals with the environmental component of sustainable development, not at all with the other two components — economic responsibility and social/cultural responsibility; and 2) even within the environmental responsibility component of sustainable development the contributions of existing buildings is irresponsibly inadequate on multiple levels.

I’ve often been at a loss to understand how it is that the intrinsic link between historic preservation and sustainable development link has not been fully embraced on the sustainable development side. Clearly not every historic building can, or should be, preserved, and new (sustainable) buildings can bring new life, vigor and beauty to communities. Yet, what could possibly be a better way to reduce, reuse and recycle than preserving and maintaining existing buildings?

One answer to this question undoubtedly lies in how architects are trained. The AIA Historic Resources Committee 2005 Symposium: Historic Preservation and Architecture Education: An International Dialogue was held September 11-14, 2005, in Bath, England to continue the Preservation Education Initiative begun with meetings in Washington, D.C., in November 2004 and January 2005.

One of the discussion group reports concentrated on how to raise the level of understanding of the building process in a first professional degree program in architecture and offered the following recommendations:

a. Integrate the missions of construction, materials, and building failures into history of architecture courses—including modern architecture.
b. Make technology exciting by using materials, physical contact, making and testing, materials labs.
c. Introduce old texts on building construction, historical details, and so on in courses on building technology.
d. Visit building sites, manufacturing plants (note growing problems for legal liability and other issues for fieldwork generally).
e. Bring in professionals (including crafts and trades) to talk about case studies that might parallel a design studio project.
f. Introduce heritage and conservation issues to 12- to 18-year-old students (note that this generation is conscious of need to recycle materials).

These all seem to be essential and eminently practical steps in bringing what Mr. Rypkema describes as “social/cultural responsibility” to sustainable building.

Other interesting and valuable presentations by Mr. Rypkema:

Economics, Sustainability, and Historic Preservation, National Trust Conference, Portland, Oregon, October 1, 2005.

Culture, Historic Preservation and Economic Development in the 21st Century, Paper Submitted to the Leadership Conference on Conservancy and Development, September 1999, Yunnan Province, China.

excerpts from Donovan D. Rypkema’s presentation, Sustainability, Smart Growth and Historic Preservation, given at the Historic Districts Council Annual Conference in New York City, on March 10, 2007.

Six months after Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, producer June Cross came across 82-year-old Herbert Gettridge working alone on his home in the lower Ninth Ward, a neighborhood devastated when the levees broke in August 2005. Over the next two years, Cross would document the story of the extended Gettridge clan - an African-American family with deep roots in New Orleans - as they struggled to rebuild their homes and their lives. The program will air on PBS on Frontline.

Mr. Gettridge is a master plasterer, one of many traditional tradespeople in New Orleans who lives were uprooted by the storm, the levee breach and subsequent failures in government response. Mr. Gettridge was one of the tradespeople profiled in Raised to the Trade: Creole Building Arts of New Orleans, a 2002 exhibit at the New Orleans Museum of Art, and book by John Ethan Hankins:

“The truth is I enjoyed plaster, period. I worked on all kind of projects…Like I say, I did it all, the cornice work all in the French Quarter…[E]ver been in the French Quarter and look at all that fancy work and stuff there? This is what I do. All on the Canal Street, some of the buildings on the outside have decorations; that’s what I do. I specialize in that. This here [flat work], I do that when I didn’t have anything else to do. But any kind of decoration, let the architect draw it on paper and give it to me, and I’ll put it up there.” - Herbert Gettridge

The Louisiana Folklife Program also chronicles the skills of the traditional tradespeople of New Orleans at More Than Just a Trade: Master Craftsmen of the Building Arts.

“The Craftsman”
by Marcus Christian

I ply with all the cunning of my art
This little thing, and with consummate care
I fashion it–so that when I depart,
Those who come after me
shall find it fair
And beautiful. It must be free of
flaws–
Pointing to no laborings of weary
hands;
And there must be no flouting of the
laws
Of beauty–as the artist
understands.
Through passion, yearnings infinite–
yet dumb–
I lift you from the depths of my own
mind
And gild you with my soul’s white heat to plumb
The souls of future men. I leave behind
This thing that in return this solace
gives:
“He who creates true beauty
ever lives.”

From Raised to the Trade: Creole Building Arts of New Orleans, by Jonn Ethan Hankins. Pelican Publishing Company (June 2003). This wonderful book is sadly out of print, but can still be found on Amazon and other booksellers.