Dorothy Krotzer

Investigation and analysis of paint finishes is an important part of the documentation and restoration of historic sites. They are incredibly useful tools for preservationists and building owners alike, as they can provide not only information on a building's original paint colors and design intent, but also data on construction chronology and building alterations. Although each paint study is different and demanding in its own way, some are especially challenging when it comes to how the paint analysis results are interpreted and replicated. A lack of remaining paint evidence, a site's preservation philosophy, current unavailability of traditional paint materials or techniques--all of these things pose challenges to the paint conservator and necessitate a collaborative approach with the owner and painting contractor to come up with a successful solution. This lecture will discuss such challenges and how successful outcomes were achieved at the U.S. Capitol, Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple and the Michigan State Capitol.

Dorothy Krotzer has more than twenty years of experience in the architectural conservation field and in this time has been involved with every aspect of building restoration—from conditions assessments to the development of construction documents to the creation of Historic Preservation Master Plans for large, complex historic sites such as Washington Union Station. Ms. Krotzer is currently the Director of the Philadelphia office of Building Conservation Associates, Inc. (BCA), an historic preservation consulting firm which also has offices in New York, Boston and Washington, DC.

Ms. Krotzer has worked on a broad range of preservation projects on numerous nationally significant buildings, many of which are National Historic Landmarks. She has extensive project management experience, as well as technical expertise in a range of historic building materials from the 18th through 20th centuries. She has an expressed interest and significant experience in the area of finishes analysis and has performed research on the historic paint finishes of numerous landmarks, including the U.S. Capitol, the United Nations Headquarters and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple. 

Ms. Krotzer is an ex-officio board member of the Association for Preservation Technology Delaware Valley Chapter (APT DVC) and is the former chair of the Architecture Specialty Group of the American Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC). Her other professional affiliations include the Association for Preservation Technology International (APTI), AIC, Docomomo and the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia.

If you require any accessibility accommodation, such as live captioning, audio description, or a sign language interpreter, please email news@design.upenn.edu. Please note, we require at least five (5) business days’ notice.