Field Trip Report What Is APT? Atlanta, Georgia Field Trip

Field Trip Report By F. LeBlanc, Head, Field Projects APT Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA Sept. 14-17, 2006 APT 2006 Conference - When modern becomes historic Barbara Campagna, President of APT What is APT? The Association for Preservation Technology International (APT) is a cross-disciplinary, membership organization dedicated to promoting the best technology for conserving historic structures and their settings. APT members, who hail from more than 30 countries, include preservationists, architects, engineers, conservators, consultants, contractors, craftspersons, curators, developers, educators, historians, landscape architects, students, technicians, and other persons directly involved in the application of methods and materials to maintain, conserve, and protect historic structures and sites for future use and appreciation. The 2006 Annual Conference was held in Atlanta, GA. More than 400 participants attended the various events. Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta is home of the famous Coca Cola company and the international news network CNN In contrast to the genteel old south image of Atlanta conjured up in Mar- garet Mitchell’s best selling novel, Gone With the Wind, Atlanta has always been considered a brash, dynamic, no-holds-barred center of a 1 uniquely American variety of commerce. Founded at the edge of the Georgia wilderness in 1837, Atlanta’s early development had more in common with the booming cities of the Ameri- can west than with the euro-centric east coast metropolises. To quote Atlanta historian Franklin Garrett, “While the number of good, moral citizens was increasing... the town was characterized as tough. It grew distinctively as a railroad center with the vices common to rough frontier settlements. Drinking, resorts, gambling dives and brothels were run wide open... and the sporting elements were insolent in their defiance of public order. There were more saloons than churches; more bawdy houses than banks.” By the onset of the Civil War, Atlanta had established itself as a major rail transportation and supply hub for the Confederacy. It was its significance as a logistics depot that made the destruction of Atlanta one of the main Margaret Mitchell wrote the novel objectives of Sherman’s 1864 march to the sea. The arrival of Sherman’s Gone with the Wind. She was from Atlanta. troops in July 1864 resulted in the virtual destruction of the city, with only 400 structures left standing after the conflict. Despite the devastation experienced during the war years, Atlanta quickly rebounded and by 1870 the city had been rebuilt and the population had increased to twice the prewar level. After the war, Atlanta quickly established itself as the capital of the “New South.” During this period, rail transportation continued to be the domi- nant economic engine driving the city. As the city grew, the first street car suburbs developed. Frederick Law Olmsted was instrumental in the planning of the historic Druid Hills neighborhood and his influence was strongly felt in the development of Ansley Park, Inman Park, and Pied- mont Park neighborhoods. This period also saw the construction of the Atlanta downtown in the 1890s. Atlanta was a mercantile and busi- city’s first skyscrapers. ness center. It was not built on in- dustry as were so many other cities. Today, Atlanta is a mixture of old and new. Busy thoroughfares border historic Victorian neighborhoods, modern skyscrapers are located adja- cent to expansive 19th century parks, and historic churches share streets with high-rise condominiums. Transportation continues to be vital to the region’s economic success with Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport rated as the busiest commercial airport in the United States and three major interstates intersecting within the shadow of the 1889 state capitol building. In addition to its physical growth, Atlanta has contributed to the growth of the spiritual conscience of the nation. Nobel Peace Prize winner and native son Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired generations of Ameri- cans to leave behind the bigotry and racism of the past and to unlock the opportunity and potential that is the right of every American citizen. After years of struggle, Atlanta has earned the hard-won title “The City too Busy Downtown Atlanta in 1920 too Hate.” Atlanta continues to be rated one of the fastest growing and most livable metropolitan areas in America. Ansley Hotel, opened in 1940 2 Keynote Speaker: Robert Silman Is Preservation Technology Neutral? A philosophical discussion of how technology has changed and what is required of us as practitioners in this modern era. Robert Silman is President, Robert Silman Associates, Structural En- gineers, New York and Washington, DC and Chair of Advisory Board, National Center for Preservation, Technology and Training, National Park Service, Natchitoches, LA. th st Robert Silman, Keynote speaker Most 20 and 21 century philosophers of technology start with the prem- ise that modern technology differs dramatically from technology as practiced in all of the previous millennia of man’s existence. Since the theme of the 2006 APT conference is Crossroads in Heritage Conservation: When Modern Becomes Historic, it is particularly appropriate that we start with an overview of how we practice technology in this modern era in comparison with how it might have been practiced previously. Members of APT are, by definition, technologists. We cannot escape that label, nor do most of us want to. That being true, we must then investigate We now have the technology that our responsibilities as members of the modern technologists’ community. enables us to move very large structures... but should we? How do these responsibilities differ from pre-modern times? The results of these changes in modern times significantly affect the question of neutrality of technology. As preservation technologists, what we do today is different from what Violet Le Duc may have done in his day. And concomitantly the choices available have different value out- comes. What is our moral obligation as technologists to develop and follow an ethic, at least in our sphere of technology, of which we can be proud and hold as an example for all to respect and follow? What comparisons can be drawn between the required ethics of pre-modern and modern times? During the early 70s, preservationists were asking the question: Can we do such-and-such a thing? (Strip paint, repair a structural beam, move a building etc.). Nowadays, they are more and more asking the question: Ought we do such-and-such a thing? Stripping paint from an old window frame is not a technological challenge; but using a paint stripper that is environmentally friendly as opposed to one that is not is a decision that a preservation technologist must make today. As preservationists, we are all “technologists”. We must be con- Technology is not neutral. Be- cerned with the application of technology and we must be responsible cause it is action oriented, there is stewards. We must act responsibly. Technology is not neutral. Because it always “value” associated with it. is action oriented, there is always “value” associated with it. For example, many technologies are available to strip paint, but not all are environmentally friendly. Technologists have a choice and a responsibility. 3 College of Fellows Keynote Lecture by John Sanday Buddhist Monasteries of the Himalayas — Balancing Modern Intervention with Traditional Craft Architect John Sanday delivered the Fellows Keynote Lecture concern- ing his work in the Himalayas. Mustang in the Himalayas John Sanday is Principal of John Sanday Associates, Katmandu, Nepal John Sanday is a British architect who has spent the last 36 years living Traditional architecture on the high and working in Nepal. As one of the leading architectural conservators in plateau of the Mustang region Asia, he has traveled and worked all over the sub-continent on a wide as- sortment of historic buildings: monasteries in the high Himalayas, Palaces in India, and since 1989, in the Monuments of Angkor Cambodia. John’s most recent commissions are in Mustang, Nepal and Bhutan where he has created programs to train young local professionals and craftsmen to master the skills of conserving and repairing their own cul- tural heritage. These teams will take on the responsibility to maintain their architectural masterpieces rather than the common practice of recon- structing them in new materials. Training in wall painting conserva- John gave a very well received presentation about his recent work in tion Nepal and Bhutan. What especially caught the audience’s attention was first how difficult it was for him to reach Atlanta to deliver this talk. His trip began with two days of horseback riding in the high Himalayas, followed by a day of walking and a day ride in a truck that took him to Katmandu. From there he caught a flight to Europe and from there another one to Atlanta. John has spent a great deal of time working with the community in Mus- tang and in other regions of Nepal to both learn from them their traditional techniques and help them restore their magnificent temples. The beauty of the wall paintings cleaned and brought back to life by his trainees was Understanding and applying tradi- astonishing and the PowerPoint presentation prepared by his 18-year old tional building crafts is key to saving buildings in Mustang son was filled with special effects. 4 College of Fellows Induction Ceremony This year, I was the Chair of the Jury for the selection of the new members of APT’s College of Fellows. The College of Fellows was created in 1990. All surviving APT founders were inducted as its first members on APT’s 25th anniversary in 1993. The College honors APT members who have given notable service to preservation and to APT. Its role is to advise the APT Board on issues relating to the philosophy and practice of preservation technology.

Load more