Conservation Assessment Bootcamp: Understanding Entropy and Diagnosing Decay in Historic Buildings
We know our historic structures are in a constant state of entropy, so how do we make preservation decisions and manage this change? How do you assess a building or its components’ condition and identify the cause of deterioration? Answering these questions is a crucial early stage in the preservation process.
In this Conservation Assessment Bootcamp, participants will learn the basic techniques building conservators use to understand the way a building is aging and how to intervene in ways that prolong a building’s life—the essence of our work as preservationists. With around 30 historic structures, Historic Eastfield Village has no shortage of case studies to explore and is the perfect site to study these principles.
This introductory workshop is geared towards historic building owners who would like to better understand how to maintain their historic buildings and historic preservationists from the public history or cultural institutional fields who’d like a window into the work building conservators do to answer the question of what’s up with that building and what do we do now? However, all are most welcome!
Day 1 will consist of a presentation and discussion of conservation assessment principles and ways to approach looking at buildings with an afternoon walk through of the Village as a group to see the methods in practice.
Day 2 will make use of the Village as the preservation laboratory it was always intended to be! Participants will split up into teams and be assigned a building to put the principles they learned on Day 1 into practice. The resulting work from the weekend will be used by the Historic Eastfield Foundation to better plan preservation projects around the site!
Buildings are complicated, but with these methodologies, we can simplify the art and science to gather the necessary information that informs prioritization and strategic decision-making in the field of historic preservation. If you are curious at all about the way historic buildings work and age, and what to do about it, join us for a fall weekend at the Village!
Duration: 2 Days
Dates: September 6th - 7th 2025 (2 Days)
Includes:
Limited to: 20 Students
More: Workshop Information
All workshops begin at 9:30am on the first day of the program.
All participants must be 18+ years old.
We know our historic structures are in a constant state of entropy, so how do we make preservation decisions and manage this change? How do you assess a building or its components’ condition and identify the cause of deterioration? Answering these questions is a crucial early stage in the preservation process.
In this Conservation Assessment Bootcamp, participants will learn the basic techniques building conservators use to understand the way a building is aging and how to intervene in ways that prolong a building’s life—the essence of our work as preservationists. With around 30 historic structures, Historic Eastfield Village has no shortage of case studies to explore and is the perfect site to study these principles.
This introductory workshop is geared towards historic building owners who would like to better understand how to maintain their historic buildings and historic preservationists from the public history or cultural institutional fields who’d like a window into the work building conservators do to answer the question of what’s up with that building and what do we do now? However, all are most welcome!
Day 1 will consist of a presentation and discussion of conservation assessment principles and ways to approach looking at buildings with an afternoon walk through of the Village as a group to see the methods in practice.
Day 2 will make use of the Village as the preservation laboratory it was always intended to be! Participants will split up into teams and be assigned a building to put the principles they learned on Day 1 into practice. The resulting work from the weekend will be used by the Historic Eastfield Foundation to better plan preservation projects around the site!
Buildings are complicated, but with these methodologies, we can simplify the art and science to gather the necessary information that informs prioritization and strategic decision-making in the field of historic preservation. If you are curious at all about the way historic buildings work and age, and what to do about it, join us for a fall weekend at the Village!
Duration: 2 Days
Dates: September 6th - 7th 2025 (2 Days)
Includes:
Limited to: 20 Students
More: Workshop Information
All workshops begin at 9:30am on the first day of the program.
All participants must be 18+ years old.
We know our historic structures are in a constant state of entropy, so how do we make preservation decisions and manage this change? How do you assess a building or its components’ condition and identify the cause of deterioration? Answering these questions is a crucial early stage in the preservation process.
In this Conservation Assessment Bootcamp, participants will learn the basic techniques building conservators use to understand the way a building is aging and how to intervene in ways that prolong a building’s life—the essence of our work as preservationists. With around 30 historic structures, Historic Eastfield Village has no shortage of case studies to explore and is the perfect site to study these principles.
This introductory workshop is geared towards historic building owners who would like to better understand how to maintain their historic buildings and historic preservationists from the public history or cultural institutional fields who’d like a window into the work building conservators do to answer the question of what’s up with that building and what do we do now? However, all are most welcome!
Day 1 will consist of a presentation and discussion of conservation assessment principles and ways to approach looking at buildings with an afternoon walk through of the Village as a group to see the methods in practice.
Day 2 will make use of the Village as the preservation laboratory it was always intended to be! Participants will split up into teams and be assigned a building to put the principles they learned on Day 1 into practice. The resulting work from the weekend will be used by the Historic Eastfield Foundation to better plan preservation projects around the site!
Buildings are complicated, but with these methodologies, we can simplify the art and science to gather the necessary information that informs prioritization and strategic decision-making in the field of historic preservation. If you are curious at all about the way historic buildings work and age, and what to do about it, join us for a fall weekend at the Village!
Duration: 2 Days
Dates: September 6th - 7th 2025 (2 Days)
Includes:
Limited to: 20 Students
More: Workshop Information
All workshops begin at 9:30am on the first day of the program.
All participants must be 18+ years old.
Instructors
Ian Stewart
Ian has 20 years of international experience preserving historic buildings and historic trades. He co-founded Preservation Inc. and owns New Netherland Timber Framing and Preservation, companies that specialize in assessment and restoration of a wide variety of historic structures and landscapes around the world. Ian is a passionate advocate for trades education and has a wealth of experience in leading workshops and historic preservation courses. Notably, Ian gave a TED talk titled, “Can Preservation Trades Save Our Cities?”