Preservation Research Collaborative at Penn

Two people walking next to the ruins of a building
PRCP staff conduct fieldwork in Thurmont, Maryland, as part of a cultural landscape inventory for Catoctin Mountain Park, 2024.
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Two people walking next to the ruins of a building
A group of people standing outside of an old church
The Wupatki Pueblo
People taking photos of the MLK Memorial
A group of people standing in front of the Tanner House
A person in construction gear working on a wall
People talking outside of the Lincoln Memorial
Two people reading an instrument
PRCP staff conduct fieldwork in Thurmont, Maryland, as part of a cultural landscape inventory for Catoctin Mountain Park, 2024.
Professor Kwesi Daniels of Tuskegee University leads students on a tour of the historic Armstrong School in Macon County, Alabama as part of the PRCP’s Tuskegee x Penn Partnership.
PRCP team members have completed several projects at the Wupatki Pueblo, Wupatki National Monument, Arizona.
PRCP team members are working with the National Park Service to create a cultural landscape report for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Members of PRCP meet with the design team outside of the Henry Ossawa Tanner House. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Photo by Christopher R. Rogers.
PRCP staff perform grout injection treatments at Tumacácori National Historical Park, Arizona, in 2023.
PRCP staff conduct data collection fieldwork for a cultural landscape inventory of the Lincoln Memorial, 2021.
PRCP staff complete laser scanning at the Wupatki Pueblo, Arizona, in 2022.

The Preservation Research Collaborative at Penn is the research and practice platform of the Department of Historic Preservation at the Weitzman School of Design. PRCP enables faculty, staff, and students at Weitzman to lead research and practice projects at the intersection of built heritage, cultural landscapes, community values, and societal change.

Our platform supports and expands on the department’s longstanding research initiatives, including the Urban Heritage Project (UHP), the Center for Architectural Conservation (CAC), and the Center for the Preservation of Civil Rights Sites (CPCRS). We work domestically and internationally with partners at all scales, including governmental and NGO clients such as the National Park Service, World Monuments Fund, the Mellon Foundation, Monument Lab, Tuskegee University, the Rwandan government, and grassroots heritage organizations in Philadelphia, Washington, DC, the Alabama Black Belt, the American Southwest, and elsewhere around the world.

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Research and Practice Areas

Cultural Landscapes Architectural Conservation Civil Rights Heritage Rwanda National Genocide Memorials Preservation Planning + Design

People of the Preservation Research Collaborative

Headshot of Randy Mason wearing a suit jacket and white shirt Randall F. Mason Chair, Department of Historic Preservation // Professor, Historic Preservation / City & Regional Planning / Landscape Architecture Photograph of a woman with brown hair standing on a paved path Molly Lester Managing Director, Preservation Research Collaborative at Penn Professor Frank Matero head and shoulders visible, wearing blue suit jacket and white button down shirt Frank G. Matero Gonick Family Professor, Department of Historic Preservation // On sabbatical, academic year 2025-2026 Headshot of John Hinchman John Hinchman Senior Research Associate // Lecturer Jake Torkelson Jacob Torkelson Senior Research Associate Meg in a barn holding a frame Meg Frisbie Research Associate Ha Leem in safety vest standing on ladder taking a picture Ha Leem Ro Research Associate Schifitto headshot Lia Schifitto Manager of Research Initiatives, CPCRS
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Featured Work

A photograph of many people standing in front of a large stone monument depicting a male figure Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Diagram titled "Place Stewardship Toolbox," with a subheading of "What do we do next" Place Stewardship Toolbox Photograph of several people standing in front of an old stone church Tumacácori National Historical Park Photograph of a gravestone Hickory Ridge Public Outreach Study 3D diagram of a series of structures in an urban setting Resurrection City Digital Atlas Photograph of dark storm clouds over a historic stone church Pecos and Tumacácori National Historical Park