sustainability: the future of historic preservation?

www.ncptt.nps.gov

National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

Sustainability:The Future of Historic Preservation?

www.ncptt.nps.gov

National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

NCPTT• Created by Congress in 1992• US DOI, NPS, WASO • Northwestern State

University of Louisiana in Natchitoches

www.ncptt.nps.gov

National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

MissionTo advance the application of

science and technology to historic preservation.

• Architecture & Engineering• Archeology & Collections• Materials Research• Heritage Education• Historic Landscapes

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National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

Why Sustainability?

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National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

Origins of Sustainable PreservationVitruvius – first sustainable designer,

first century B.C.Organic Act – National Park Service,1916Rachel Carson – environmental

awareness,1962 National Historic Preservation Act, 1966UN – sustainable development

definition,1987

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National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

The Vitruvian Man• Leonardo da Vinci

• 15th century

• Based on Vitruvius• Often reinterpreted

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National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

De architectura• By Vitruvius • For Caesar Augustus• Oldest extant work on

architecture • firmitas, utilitas, venustas

(durable, useful, beautiful)

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National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

• Durable- inferior walls last 80 years, quality walls last forever

• Useful- arrangement “presents no hindrance to use”

• Beautiful- “pleasing and in good taste”• Design, construction techniques,

proportions, site planning, recycling, occupant health, etc.

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National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

Organic Act 1916• Created NPS• Natural resource protection• Cultural resource protection• “protect unimpaired” for current and

future generations

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National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

Silent Spring• Rachel Carson• 1962• Dangers of pesticides • Changes in laws affecting air, land and water• “cornerstone of the new environmentalism”

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National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

National Historic Preservation Act, 1966

Created national preservation program as we know it today

SHPOS, FPOS,THPOS, ACHP, 106, etc.

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National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

Sustainable Development“Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development

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National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

Sustainable PreservationThe convergence of natural resource conservation and historic preservation.SP should be durable, useful and beautiful, conserve natural and cultural resources, be for today and tomorrow.

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National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

• Sustainable HP

• Jan./Feb. 2008

• NTHP

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National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

• research, training, meetings, conferences, and publications• $50,000 maximum per grant • About $8,000,000 since 1994• Pre-proposal requirement • Apply online at www.ncptt.nps.gov• 2009 Call available Fall 2008

PTT Grants Program

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National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

• Preserve cemeteries and places of worship, • Safeguard resources from effects of pollution

and climate, • Conserve cultural resources of the "recent

past," • Monitor and evaluate preservation

treatments, • Protect cultural resources against natural

and human threats, and • Investigate minimally invasive techniques to

inventory and assess cultural resources.

Research Priorities

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National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

• Energy performance of historic buildings• Embodied energy• Density studies and env./social/economic

costs: miles driven, infrastructure, police, fire, etc.

• System and material performance, i.e.. windows

• Life-cycle costing• ?

Possible proposals

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National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

“The greenest building is …the one that is already built.”

Carl Elefante, AIA, APT, LEED APPrincipal, Director of Sustainable DesignQUINN EVANS | ARCHITECTS

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National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

Andrew FerrellArchitecture & EngineeringNCPTT645 University ParkwayNatchitoches, LA 71457andrew_ferrell@nps.gov(318) 356-7444