Thirteenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices

Abstract

In the United States there is a clear professional distinction between the architect, the architectural historian, and the contractor for historic preservation projects. The architect is responsible for the means in which contemporary building materials and practices are integrated into a historic fabric. The architectural historian is responsible for defining the significance of the structure and provides technical expertise of material knowledge and past construction techniques that contribute and should be preserved in the architect’s proposed design. The contractor is responsible for the actual fabrication and construction of a project under the guidance of the architect who consults with the architectural historian. While legally American preservation practice has established these distinctions through contracts identifying liability, in practice these disciplines overlap responsibility through collaboration in order to make a successful project. A design studio at Mississippi State University experimented with how these disciplines can be introduced to architecture and building construction students to foster team effort in architecture school rather than stumbling into it in professional practice. The studio project was a feasibility study for a modernist building in a small Mississippi city. The students worked together to develop a design proposal, material preservation manual, project estimate, and a project delivery method and schedule following American historic preservation strategies. The students were guided by architecture and building construction faculty and an architectural historian. This paper will assess the pedagogical merits and challenges in this collaborative effort and suggest future development for incorporating historic preservation and building construction in an academic studio.