Architectural Conservation

Catalog description

Architectural Conservation is an introduction to the technical study of traditional building materials. This knowledge is essential preparation for any professional engaged in the conservation and adaptive reuse of structures built before the mid 20th century. The course focuses on these materials’ properties, performance, and especially weathering, and the basic laboratory-based methods that can be employed for their study, characterization, and specification for restoration. Lectures and coordinated laboratory sessions introduce the history of use, composition, and deterioration mechanisms of a wide array of traditional building materials including earth, stone, brick, terra cotta, concrete, mortars and plasters, metals, wood, and paints. The course provides a basic knowledge of the major building materials in use before the Second World War in industrialized as well as pre-industrial traditional contexts. Undergraduate level students may enroll. Basic undergraduate level understanding of chemistry required.