Masonry Magazine June 1980 Page. 9
"RESTORE"
The attitude that contractors and mechanics are merely to implement decisions is neanderthal. However, due to this attitude, the principal focus of preservation education has been oriented to academicians and not to the man/woman on the scaffold.
There are a number of architectural restoration courses or programs oriented to the college and post-graduate level. However, little or no attention has been devoted to creating programs to upgrade and update the restoration skills and preservation technology of the commercial contractor and his mechanic. As a result, the mechanic or craftsman wishing to specialize in architectural conservation work, has, at present, few possibilities for acquiring the necessary skills.
Officials of New York Local #66 (pointers, cleaners. caulkers) of the International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftsmen, with whom I've worked closely, Jack London and Jim Toner, have welcomed the Restore program because it complements the material they are teaching their apprentices. In fact, this year they sponsored five apprentices to the Restore program from their education fund, and several of the Restore workshop sessions were held jointly with the Local #66 apprenticeship program.
Since the Restore program began three years ago, it has been well received by the masonry industry and the union. Both have been very cooperative, open-minded and forward-thinking, which is essential to the success of any program. I am very grateful for the support and counsel they have given me.
Educated Judgments Required
The Restore program is based on the premise that restoration work requires educated judgments, both quantitative and qualitative, to be made by the restoration contractor/mechanic. Therefore, they have to be trained properly. There are no black or white, easy yes or no answers in restoration work. The nature of this work requires sophisticated judgments of the contractor and his mechanic as well as the architect.
It is therefore important that the architect and other members of a restoration team revamp their thinking to include the contractor and his mechanics. They make the architect look good or bad.
To illustrate this point, Bernard Feilden, who is the director of the International Centre for Conservation in Rome, known as the Rome Center, spoke to the Restore class in October last year when he was in New York. He described to the class his restoration work at both York Minster and St. Paul's Cathedrals, for which he received the Order of the British Empire. Both restoration projects involved delicate and risky operations. High-level conferences were held and elaborate schemes were devised by the restoration architects and engineers.
But, as Feilden pointed out, however brilliant or elaborate these schemes were, they were worthless unless they could be understood and executed by the conservation craftsmen. As a result, Bernard Feilden wisely gave final veto power to his conservation craftsmen.
Feilden told the Restore class that he needed 300 holes drilled into the masonry piers of York Minster Cathedral in preparation for pressure grouting. The drilling method devised by the engineers yielded only one hole a day. This clearly was not economically feasible, and the top-level professional staff could not come up with a safe and economical solution to this problem. Finally, Feilden called a halt to the high-level meetings and decided that this was a problem that had to be resolved by the "hand teaching the head." He was right.
The conservation contractor devised a drilling method which proved to be safe, and increased the rate of work by 700 percent!
The architect, who, unlike Bernard Feilden, does not draw upon the experience of the skilled mechanic and acknowledge him as an important member of a restoration team, is operating at a serious disadvantage.
Experience demonstrates that restoration projects must be a team effort. To enable the craftsman to contribute his due share to that teamwork, he should have a sound historical knowledge of his craft. He should also have a good understanding of old and new techniques and tools, and have a basic knowledge of the crafts related to his own.
The Restore curriculum has been designed to meet these needs. The curriculum includes the history of architecture and building technology, an historical review of building materials and construction methods, the forces of deterioration which threaten materials and buildings. modern conservation techniques, problems and difficulties of conservation work, possible effects of conservation work, and future maintenance requirements.
One of the consequences of working in a relatively new field is that there is no prepackaged ged text for a course like Restore. Nor is there any one person who can teach it, who has all the experience, all the answers and is up to date on all the technology. It is for that reason I have assembled what I believe to be an excellent teaching staff.
TERMINOLOGY
The following definitions are provided for treatments that may be undertaken on historic properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The source is the Technical Preservation Services Division, Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation, Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service.
Preservation
Is defined as the act or process of applying measures to sustain the existing form, integrity, and material of a building or structure, and the existing form and vegetative cover of a site. It may include initial stabilization work, where necessary, as well as ongoing maintenance of the historic building materials.
Rehabilitation
Is defined as the act or process of returning a property to a state of utility through repair or alteration which makes possible an efficient contemporary use while preserving those portions or features of the property which are significant to its historical, architectural, and cultural values.
Restoration
Is defined as the act or process of accurately recovering the form and details of a property and its setting as it appeared at a particular period in time by means of the removal of later work or by the replacement of missing earlier work.
Reconstruction
Is defined as the act or process of reproducing by new construction the exact form and detail of a vanished building. structure, or object, or a part thereof, as it appeared at a specific period in time.
Architectural Conservation
Is the science of preservation. It is the scientific method of observing and analyzing the evolution, deterioration, and care of buildings; the carrying out of non-destructive investigations to determine cause, effect, and solution to problems; and the directing of remedial interventions focused on maintaining the integrity and quality of historic resources. It is the technical means through which the whole spectrum of preservation processes such as restoration and rehabilitation is ultimately accomplished.