S C H O O L O F R E S T O R A T I O N A R T S

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AN ESTATE

A SCHOOL

AN ATTITUDE

Learning by Doing

Explore new ways of teaching and learning.Combine the best of academic and appren�ceship tradi�ons.

Learn about bringing new life to old places.

We bring in the very best prac��oners from across Canada to provide mentorship and guidance. We do not shy away from the latest technology.But we insist on star�ng with tangible, hands-on connec�ons to materials and knowledge.

We level the playing field. We distrust hierarchy but we trust skill.

We teach within a na�onally-significant historic site. The site is our laboratory. It a�racts visitors from around the world because of its 8,000 years of cultural history.

We explore the conserva�on of both natural and cultural resources. We don’t shy away from adding sensi�ve contemporary layers. Willowbank is about con�nuity between past, present and future.

We are commi�ed to richly-layered places.

THE SCHOOL

The full-�me Diploma Program is the centerpiece of the School of Restora�on Arts. This three-year course of study introduces students to the full breadth of the conserva�on field, through a carefully constructed curriculum combining the best of academic and appren�ceship training. Our first year emphasizes individual skills and knowledge. The second year introduces team skills and more complex conserva�on planning. Our third year allows students to pursue individual passions, and can involve paid or unpaid internships at Willowbank or off-site. We make summer work opportuni�es available. Our faculty and students give equal weight to working with the mind and working with the hands. We believe in learning by doing. We bring in the very best prac��oners from across Canada to provide mentorship and guidance. We have an extraordinary range of faculty associates, over 50 in number. These people represent almost every discipline and skill in the conserva�on field, and come from the private sector, the government sector, and academia. Willowbank’s flexible curriculum and broad range of classrooms, workshops and field opportuni�es, allow us to use their talents in whatever se�ng best suits their individual strengths. The program accepts applica�ons from anyone with a high school diploma. It also welcomes people with exis�ng appren�ceship training and/or with college and university degrees. We are commi�ed to trea�ng all trades and disciplines as equal par�cipants in the conserva�on of significant cultural resources. Students from various backgrounds find that Willowbank is a place of sharing and mutual learning. The combina�on of individual and team projects allows for a variety of learning opportuni�es.

THE DIPLOMA PROGRAM

The Diploma Program / Course StructureThe Diploma Program ins�lls the research, design and cra� skills required for sustaining and revitalizing culturally-significant places. These places range from broad cultural landscapes to individual buildings and ar�facts, and they are appreciated for both their tangible and intangible quali�es. The five primary areas of study are:

1. Research and Analysis Understanding cultural heritage proper�es through archaeological and historical research, oral history, cogni�ve mapping, and field inves�ga�ons of various kinds.

2. Documenta�on Developing skills in field recording, measured drawings, AutoCAD, photography, and the development of historic structures reports

3. Conservation Planning and Design Developing research-based and values-based strategies for conserva�on, statements of significance, conserva�on plans, and design proposals, including the design and detailing of contemporary layers in historic places.

4. Project Management Developing skills in suppor�ng and coordina�ng mul�disciplinary teams, managing conserva�on projects of various scales, crea�ng connec�ons between design and build. 5. Cra� Skills

Developing hands-on experience with a wide range of fabrica�on and conserva�on skills, in a variety of materials, including wood, masonry, metals, glass, plaster, finishes, and fi�ngs.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT Project Management Framework Case Studies Field Projects Willowbank as Laboratory

RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS Cultural Landscape Research

Cultural Landscape Theory and Prac�ce Aboriginal Perspec�ves Upper Canada History Landscape Assessment

Archaeological Research Archaeological Methodology Field Excava�on Lab Workshop

Building Research Architectural History Architectural Styles Building Technologies Structural Analysis Building System Analysis

Research Methods Research I Research II

Case Studies Field Inves�ga�on

DOCUMENTATION

Field Inves�ga�on and Recording Pencil, Pen and Ink Drawings Measured Drawings AutoCAD Architectural Photography Historic Structure Reports

CONSERVATION PLANNING AND DESIGN Conserva�on Science

Introduc�on to Materials Conserva�on Molds and Pests

Conserva�on Planning Management Plan Framework Statements of Significance Development Op�ons Case Studies

Conserva�on Design Types of Interven�on Standards and Guidelines Contemporary design in historic se�ngs Presenta�on Methods

Built Heritage and the Development Industry Legal and Zoning Issue

Heritage Legisla�on Building Codes Municipal Procedures and Bylaws

Energy Systems LEED Overview Tradi�onal and Alterna�ve Energy Systems Sustainable Design

CRAFT SKILLS Wood

Types and Proper�es Milling Timber Framing Carpentry I & II Joinery I Windows

Masonry Geology of Niagara Region Quarrying Dry Stone Walling Mortars Stone Dressing and Coursing Stone Conserva�on Advanced Masonry

Metals Program Architectural Metals Forge I & II

Roofing Introduc�on to Sheet Metals Roofing I & II

Plaster Program Plaster Workshop Plaster Conserva�on

Finishes Historic Interiors Finishes Workshop

Fi�ngs Locks and Fastenings Ligh�ng

Glass Program Glazing I & II

COURSE STRUCTURE

SHORT COURSES

Willowbank offers short courses to provide mid-career professionals and other interested par�cipants with an introduc�on to specific conserva�on skills. These are intense three-day and five-day courses that draw on both the rich faculty resources of Willowbank, and the specialized classroom and workshop facili�es of its unique Na�onal Historic Site se�ng. These courses provide a microcosm of the special world of Willowbank, with its unique blend of theory and prac�ce, its in�mate rela�onship with prac��oners from all disciplines and skills, and its loca�on within the culturally and historically rich Niagara peninsula. The course topics vary from year to year, but reflect the five areas that make up the core Diploma Program curriculum – research, documenta�on, planning and design, project management, and cra� skills. Each course involves top people in the field, and allows an exchange of exper�se and experience between students and mentors. A variety of accommoda�on op�ons are available in the Niagara-on-the-Lake area, and the short courses can easily be combined with addi�onal opportuni�es before and a�er. This region offers world-class theatre at the Shaw Fes�val, opportuni�es to explore Canada’s finest wine region, and some of the best bicycle and hiking trails in the country.

Short Courses

TEACHING FACILIT IES

The Heritage Conserva�on Program reaches beyond four walls! The School of Restora�on Arts is located within the Willowbank Estate, a 13-acre Na�onal Historic Site located in the village of Queenston, Ontario. Lectures are held at the mansion in Reif Hall or the Bright Salon, while cra� skills are taught either on the estate proper, or in the Bluma and Bram Appel Barn complex. The barn complex is an example of adap�ve reuse, using a salvaged historic structure moved from an estate in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Students are currently involved in building a �mber-framed masonry shed and an addi�onal workshop facility in a salvaged 1920s Lord & Burnham greenhouse. Willowbank works with private and public owners of historic places in the region, to deliver its holis�c curriculum through a variety of hands-on projects. Recent collabora�ons have involved the Randwood Estate in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Lundy’s Lane School House in Niagara Falls, Roselawn in the City of Port Colbourne, Auchmar Estate in Hamilton, and Fort Mississauga in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

ITALY FIELD SCHOOL

WILLOWBANK CANOVA FIELD SCHOOL IN NORTHERN ITALY

This field school allows a select group of par�cipants to join Canadian conserva�on architect Julian Smith and his Italian conserva�on colleagues for a rare educa�onal opportunity. The Willowbank Canova Field School program involves documen�ng and revitalizing abandoned medieval stone villages in the Domodossola Valley north of Milan. The structure of the field school reflects Willowbank’s emphasis on combining academic and skills-based learning. Par�cipants are engaged in philosophical and technical debates as well as the hard but sa�sfying work of rebuilding beau�ful stone and wood medieval structures. The program overlaps with the annual Canova Interna�onal Architects’ Encounter, which has brought high-profile interna�onal par�cipants such as ICOMOS President Gustavo Araoz and Indian architectural conservator Poonam Verma to join the students in their explora�on of conserva�on theory and prac�ce. Field School Program Field Documenta�on and Design Analysis (five days) Canova Encounter (two days) Stone Building Restora�on (nine days) Case Studies (two days) Field Trips (three days)

GRADUATES AND CAREERS

Willowbank is a young program, but one whose graduates are already making a name for themselves in the field of cultural heritage conserva�on. One is the on-site project manager for a $20-million adap�ve reuse of an urban landmark; one is a heritage carpenter already asked to expand his employer’s business in the U.S. from a focus on historic windows to full historic interiors; one is a heritage mason with projects across Ontario; one is working on two historic proper�es owned by Canada’s Foreign Affairs department; one has just been appointed as the new heritage coordinator for one of Canada’s largest municipali�es. Others are working in the offices of some of Canada’s leading architectural conserva�on firms and heritage agencies, doing heritage impact statements, field inves�ga�ons, documenta�on, design development and site supervision for culturally-significant proper�es. Willowbank’s graduates start their careers with an unprecedented network of contacts in the conserva�on field, because of our unique faculty associate program. By the �me a student graduates from Willowbank, he or she has worked with more than 50 mentors and teachers from the cream of the profession in Canada and abroad, people who love coming to Willowbank to share their intellectual and cra� skills. These people are carpenters, joiners, �mber-framers, historians, archaeologists, social ac�vists, aboriginal leaders, cultural planners, landscape architects, architects and engineers. Our graduates provide leadership in the evolving field of heritage conserva�on, with its increasingly complex links to contemporary design and ecological approaches to cultural and natural resources. They are well posi�oned to understand this new world and to act as ini�ators, coordinators, and implementers. They also find they can draw on their fellow Willowbank alumni as significant colleagues.

AROUND CAMPUS

Willowbank is located in the historic village of Queenston, Ontario, which forms part of the larger township of Niagara-on-the-Lake. The Niagara area is rich in both Aboriginal and se�ler history, with the War of 1812 as a signature event. The old town of Niagara-on-the-Lake has fine examples of 19th Century Georgian and Victorian-style architecture. Both Parks Canada and the Niagara Parks Commission operate important historic sites. The Shaw Fes�val in Niagara-on-the-Lake offers an interna�onally recognized theatre season, and Willowbank hosts its own annual Jazz Fes�val. In addi�on, the region boasts some of the best bicycling, hiking and horse-riding trails in Canada. The Niagara Escarpment, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, borders the village of Queenston and contains not only remarkable flora and fauna but the remains of the Queenston Limestone Quarry, one of Canada’s finest sources of building stone for almost 200 years.

For further informa�on about Willowbanks School Programsvisit willowbank.ca or contact:

Shelley Huson905-262-1239 x 23school@willowbank.ca

14487 Niagara ParkwayBox 212Queenston ONL0S 1L0

www.willowbank.ca