Historic preservation has existed as an active movement for over a century, and as a professional field for over 50 years. Within that time, concepts of heritage have evolved dramatically, expanding beyond the Neoclassical mansions of the Founding Fathers to include places such as vernacular neighborhoods, landscapes, and sites of memory. Yet, the basic principles of contemporary design in historic settings have not kept pace with the contexts and challenges facing preservationists, designers, regulators, property owners, and the general public. Last month, the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation convened the Design + Heritage Symposium to wrestle with these foundational principles and explore innovative strategies for thoughtful, creative design in historic contexts. The event was organized by Professor of Practice Pamela W. Hawkes and co-presented by the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation.
Historic Preservation and Anthropology students and faculty. Photo credit: Clark Erickson.
During spring studio travel week, students from the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation and the Department of Anthropology traveled to Fort Union National Monument in Mora County, New Mexico.
Figure 1: Southeast elevation facing the Delaware river from the rail viaduct. (Source: PECO, 1930s)
Richmond Power Generating Station
Historic Preservation Studio
HSPV 701-201
Clockwise from top left: Aki Sasamoto, A. Eugene Kohn, Dara Friedman, Steward Pickett, Carla Diana, Charles Renfro
Beginning Wednesday, January 18, PennDesign hosts more than 50 leading architects, artists, designers, planners, preservationists, and scholars in public lectures on the built environment and visual culture.
In “Greening Cities in an Urbanizing Age: The Human Health Bases in the Nineteenth and Early Twenty-First Centuries,” Theodore Eisenman, Assistant Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, considers the research on physi
Photo: Architectural Conservation Lab
It’s not uncommon for Penn students to travel south, or west, with the onset of Spring.
Penn Presidential Professor of Law and Education Wendell Pritchett, PennDesign alumna Prema Gupta (MSHP’05), Assistant Professor in the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation Aaron Wunsch
On Instagram, there are something like 1,500 photographs tagged with the phrase “This Jawn Matters,” a twist on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s “This Place Matters” campaign, customized for Philadelphia.
Lisa Servon at a book talk for Unbanking America: How the New Middle Class Survives
On January 30, Assistant Professor of Architecture Daniel Barber is among the panelists talking about “
From a video interview with graduating PennDesign students, 2016
Alumna Charlette Caldwell is a Project Manager at the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia.
Marcelo and Milton Roberto at the Edificio Marques do Herval, Rio de Janeiro, 1952; Photo courtesy Research and Documentation Center, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janiero
This winter, PennDesign faculty have been called upon by the media, cultural organizations and universities to share their expertise on topics from preservation in China to mid-century architecture in urban Brazil.
Aaron Wunsch, Assistant Professor in the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, is co-author with Lecturer Joseph Elliott of