AIC's 52nd Annual Meeting

A mural on a Modernist icon, a landmarked Beaux Arts interior atrium, a Broadway theater: these sites seem to have little in common beyond their historical and architectural significance, but for a conservator developing a work program and monitoring them through construction they represent the same cautionary tale of the need for planning and coordination between disciplines. But even with extensive preparation, there are always surprises or mishaps along the way that must be addressed.

Documentation, materials testing, and probes are the foundation upon which architectural conservation is built, but when the information this testing provides doesn't tell the whole story the entire project can suffer. Architects, contractors, and owners rely on the results of conservation testing to plan their projects and entire design concepts are guided by the early findings from small-scale analysis. Limited by access, schedule, or budget, this testing may not be comprehensive enough and may not represent all conditions in the field. Conservators need to anticipate that additional access later in the construction process will uncover new challenges, illuminate discrepancies between record drawings and as-built conditions, or reveal previously unknown materials.

A conservator likes to work under controlled circumstances, but an active construction site is usually anything but orderly, even with the best construction manager. Whether the scope consists of a single element or an entire complex, the people working on a jobsite will have an impact on the work – sometimes literally as with an unsecured tool falling through a gap in protection netting. Even with years spent developing a comprehensive plan, something will inevitably go wrong and a solution will be needed to fix it… fast.

Using three case studies: a Louis Kahn Bath House mural, an ornate courthouse lobby, and a New York theater, this presentation focuses on how the conservator can and should be involved in the planning, monitoring, and execution of work not only at the beginning, but also throughout the construction process. It investigates how a limited conservation scope at the beginning of a project can have an outsize impact when new information is discovered later. and it discusses how to develop and reinforce relationships with trades, owners, and other partners who may not have a background in conservation or preservation to ensure buy-in, especially when that has an impact on budget and schedule.