AIC's 44th Annual Meeting

With thirty-six historic house museum properties and one collections storage facility spread out in five New England states, the small but dedicated staff at Historic New England are always working to protect the cultural resources under their care. From microbursts to hurricanes, there is a never-ending barrage of weather related events to deal with and climate change has only intensified these events with higher amounts of moisture, higher intensity of lighting, and more damaging winds. Emergency preparedness, by necessity, is a never-ending process at Historic New England.   The Mother’s Day floods of 2006 stretched Historic New England’s resources thin during the worst flooding in New England since the hurricane of 1938. This storm highlighted some noble efforts to protect the resources but also major organizational deficiencies. Ice storms during 2008 showed the potential for damage if tree care did not receive a higher priority while a series of rain events in March 2010 resulted in an effort to explore and resolve drainage issues at the historic sites. A chain of severe lightning strikes during 2010 and 2011 led to analysis of existing lightning protection systems as well as the need for surge suppression in today’s age of sensitive computer equipment. More recently, the record-breaking winter of 2015 illustrated weaknesses in our snow and ice dam mitigation arsenal.  Historic New England has continually evolved our approach to preparedness and planning with each event. For example, one outcome from the 2006 floods was Disaster Day, a day dedicated to emergency preparedness. Disaster Day started with only the building and landscape staff attending. In the nine years since, Disaster Day has grown to include staff from all areas of the organization including site managers, collections and conservation staff, IT, guides and educators; all participating in different forms of training and sharing their response stories and lessons learned. In addition to Disaster Day, Historic New England has also initiated a campaign of risk assessments, improved pre-storm communication protocols, reviewed the access and response issues related to being a regional organization, and has been working with a statewide preparedness group for cultural resources, COSTEP Massachusetts, on an initiative to better integrate cultural resources with local responders. The weather related events also resulted to mitigation initiatives that range from drainage to lightning and surge suppression. Working with a historic house property, each potential mitigation effort has to be carefully reviewed comparing its ability to mitigate the issue and protect historic fabric with the effect the effort might have on historical authenticity. This paper will discuss the key weather related incidents and highlight how each have affected both emergency and project planning at Historic New England, provide an understanding of basic and complex mitigation efforts that might be undertaken at historic properties, and detail the different preparedness initiatives undertaken over the last decade.

The temples of Angkor monuments including Angkor Thom and Bayon in Cambodia and surrounding countries were constructed with sandstone exclusively. They show severely deterioration caused by physical, chemical and biological processes and, among them, the active growth of microorganisms on the sandstone surfaces leading to biodeterioration cannot be ignored, but knowledge on the microbial community and composition of the biofilms on the sandstone is not available from this region. This study investigated the microbial community diversity by examining the fresh and old microbial biofilms of the sandstone bas-relief wall surfaces of the Bayon Temple by analysis of 16S and 18S rRNA gene-PCR amplified sequences. A comparison of the microbial communities between the fresh and old biofilms showed that the bacterial community of old and fresh biofilms was very similar, but the eukaryotic communities were distinctly different between them. This information illustrates the dynamic formation and succession of microbial communities on sandstone in tropic region. Because biofilms are detrimental to the bas-reliefs engraved on the surface of sandstone, information about the microbial community is indispensable to control biofilm colonization. Non-destructive sampling of biofilm revealed novel bacterial groups of predominantly Rubrobacter in salmon pink biofilm, Cyanobacteria in chrome green biofilm, Cyanobacteria and Chloroflexi in signal violet biofilm, Chloroflexi in black gray biofilm, and Deinococcus-Thermus, Cyanobacteria, and Rubrobacter in blue green biofilm. Serial peeling-off of a thick biofilm by layers over depths with adhesive sheets revealed a stratified structure: the blue–green biofilm associated with serious deterioration was very rich in Cyanobacteria near the surface and Chloroflexi in deep layer below. Nitrate ion concentrations were high in the blue–green biofilm. The characteristic distribution of bacteria at different biofilm depths provides valuable information on not only the biofilm formation process but also the sandstone weathering process in the tropics. Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) amoA gene was amplified and investigated from Bayon temple, Angkor Thom. The results confirmed the detection of three large clusters, namely the Soil/sediment, the Nitrososphaera gargensis, and the Water column/sediment. Our sequences obtained fell into all three clusters and most of the clones were in the Soil/sediment cluster. The diversity of AOA amoA gene in Bayon, Cambodia was relatively high, indicating their contribution to production of nitrate from ammonia. AOB amoA gene-based PCR primer failed to generate any target DNA fragment bands after PCR amplification. AOB 16S rRNA gene was then introduced to amplify and detect AOB existence and abundance, but no AOB species were detected. AOB in all of the three samples from Bayon were below the detection limits. The information collective suggest that microorganisms are widely present on surface of sandstone temples and they are responsible for the different colors on surface; their activity is responsible for biodeterioration through nutrient cycling.

Presenting high quality information in a usable format is the key to guiding a successful restoration project after an emergency or disaster.  We describe how 21st century photogrammetry laser scanning, drone based video coupled with web based technology, computers and internet, were used to document and guide a 1936 Texas Centennial Fair Park Bas Relief Existing Condition Assessment and Preservation Plan development in anticipation of a future restoration project. Modern methods of documentation of monumental sculptures and architectural art. These investigation and documentation methods resulted in documentation that provided better information and hence more project control, reduced equipment and manpower effort during the investigation phase.  Detailed scaled documentation would provide the bidders as well as the next generation of preservationists and owner representatives a readily accessible record on which to base restoration project in the event of a disaster.   Photogrammetric imagery used to produce blueprints with full surface texture is demonstrated.  These blueprints enhance productivity, development of work scope and project management.  High resolution photo inspections viewed interactively side-by-side online with these blueprint substitutes were used to assist in RFP development and bidder review of work scope for the project.  In a partial disaster future imagery could be paired with baseline documentation to develop work scope using the comparison viewer. We demonstrate how the documentation tools allow for close-up assessment of the original surface features on a scaled rendering.  The web based display facilitates interactive use, and “on-image” recording of forensic investigation data, e.g. drill resistance testing, ground penetrating radar, impact echo and ultrasonic graphs and data, as well as pre and post damage and post restoration comparisons.  The use of the technology to make work scope and forensic data retrievable, accessible, and understandable to the field user is illustrated.  Photogrammetric scaled photo-renderings with enhanced surface texture as CAD blueprint substitutes and high resolution photo inspection tool allowing pan and zoom capability is demonstrated to show how greater control can be established for projects, reduce bidder uncertainty, and rely less on artistic interpretation and more on original artist/architect intent in a restoration.   These tools ultimately allow for the evaluation and documentation of the conditions not possible until current development in computing and the internet, leading to a more robust conservation effort, and better longitudinal record of weathering, deterioration, and repair.
R. Alden Marshall & Associates, in association with Manassas Consulting, are leading the way in drone aerial HD video and laser documentation that will work in conjunction with the photogrammetric imagery so that surveys of Architecture Monuments and Architectural Art that were previously inaccessible without great expense can now be surveyed and documented at a more reasonable cost.

As it is broadly understood, recording serves as a basis for the diagnosis, treatment and preservation of historic places and contributes to record our built cultural heritage for posterity. This work is not a stand-alone practice but a part of the overall conservation process of cultural heritage at imminent risk of irreversible damage. Recording of heritage places should be directly related to the needs, skills and the technology that are available to the end users that are responsible for the management and care of these sites.  They should be selected in a way that the future managers of these sites can also access and use the data collected. This paper explains an innovative heritage recording approach applied by the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) and Carleton Immersive Media Studio (CIMS) in the documentation of historic decorated surfaces at the Caïd Residence, located at Tighermt (Kasbah) Taourirt in Ouarzazate, Morocco; as part of a collaborative project between the GCI and the Centre de Conservation et Réhabilitation du Patrimoine Architectural des Zones Atlasiques et Sub-Atlasiques (CERKAS) to rehabilitate the entire architectural ensemble. The selected recording techniques were used for the rapid mapping of conditions of the decorated surfaces at the Caïd Residence using international standards. The resulting work is being used by GCI staff, consultants and CERKAS team to conduct emergency stabilization and protection measures for these important decorated surfaces.

The Maya site of Copan is Honduras’s only cultural heritage site protected by UNESCO. Its Acropolis exemplifies some of the most magnificent constructions of the Classic Maya civilization, consisting of several joined courtyards and temples, and featuring the Hieroglyphic Stairway, the longest hieroglyphic text in the New World. Four kilometers of excavation tunnels beneath the Acropolis have confirmed that the construction of this monument took place over 400 years, encompassing the reigns of 16 named Maya kings. The architecture in the tunnels contains original sculptured, plastered, and painted surfaces that represent the dynastic monuments of the earliest rulers of Copan.   The vast majority of the tunnels remain unfilled, despite the fact that their investigation has been concluded. Some have been made available for tourism, and the Honduran Institute of Anthropology seeks to open more, but many are no longer in use and threaten the integrity of the Acropolis should they collapse. In 1997, Hurricane Mitch brought record-breaking rains through the mountainous regions of Honduras, swelling the Copan River nearby and causing water levels to rise up to 73 centimeters in the lowest tunnel levels. The uppermost, final phase East Court, the raised courtyard on the eastern side of the Acropolis, became a watershed with its recently installed waterproof membrane. The concentrated runoff from this membrane caused a four-meter-wide crack to open along the eastern cut of the Acropolis. Following Mitch, minor tunnel collapses occurred in areas associated with runoff patterns from the East Court as well.   Copan’s current Site Management plan advises against tunnel backfill. It does not include plans for disaster preparation or outline explicit conservation policies. The site also lacks a comprehensive three-dimensional map of the entire tunnel system. As the Honduran Institute of Anthropology queues up more tunnels to be opened to tourists, it becomes necessary to consider the pending risks as erratic weather patterns continue. Heavy rains and flooding along the alluvial fan of the Copan River Valley could cause further collapse and shifting throughout the Acropolis. The site is also located near an active seismic fault.   This fall, a small team will construct a digital three-dimensional model of the tunnel system in order to triage the areas that are the most at risk of collapse, to quantify the areas still in need of stabilization, and to determine the effectiveness of the waterproof membrane below the East Court.  This paper will investigate solutions such as backfill and stabilization methods to prepare for future storms or earthquakes, and methods such as air extraction devices and alternative barrier systems as potential mitigations for tourism. It will discuss the importance of monitoring to establish environmental control parameters for cave-like systems, and the difficulties of using data loggers in high-humidity environments. Finally, studying the conditions present in areas currently open to tourists will inform whether a decision to continue opening new tunnels to tourists is, in fact, wise—or whether it is just one more disaster to brace against.

The Department of Buildings of the City of New York mandates that Construction Protection Plans be prepared and filed to protect historic buildings from damage caused by construction on nearby buildings. The directive sets a threshold for vibrations, but, in buildings subject to the requirement, fragile objects and assemblies such as stained glass windows require special attention. At Congregation Shearith Israel on Central Park West in New York City, a separate construction protection plan was prepared for the original Tiffany windows. BCA documented the windows’ conditions and called for minor repair and precautionary work. Three heavily damaged windows were removed from the site for restoration during construction operations. In lieu of physical interventions to the remaining windows, BCA devised a separate vibration monitoring system mounted directly on the windows to monitor the effects of construction.   The monitoring program developed for the project by ANA incorporates a series of triaxial geophones mounted on the vertical stabilization bars at mid height or on saddle bars where no vertical bars exist. The geophones were configured to trigger if the measured peak particle velocity exceeded a preset threshold (well below the levels set for typical building assemblies), and send a series of alarm emails if the displacement recorded during a trigger event exceeded the displacement thresholds. The monitoring program has thus far been highly successful, acting as a reasonable alternative to the standard approach of invasive bracing, or even removal, while leaving the windows fully functional. Periodic checking of the window conditions against preconstruction documentation determined that no damage had occurred.   The paper will describe the considerations resulting in the accepted approach. The designer of the monitoring equipment will discuss the design and installation and the specific challenges of working with the historic windows in an active house of worship.

The association RESTAURATORI SENZA FRONTIERE - ITALIA (RESTORERS WITHOUT BORDERS - ITALY) is a very young Association, founded in 2013 by a group of very experienced professionals in conservation, acting since decades in the field of cultural heritage, even in emergency circumstances. Many of them have been working in many countries also before the constitution of RSF and are currently continuing to operate for that scope: the emergency mobilization of cultural heritage professionals, in order to protect artistic and cultural heritage, nationally in Italy, and internationally, in times of crisis. 

Our associated conservators have worked to mitigate the damages in the most serious natural disasters in Italy, in Bosnia, in Mostar immediately after the war, and finally in Angola. RSF have developed intervention systems, methodologies and materials designed specifically for emergency conditions. Our work after the devastating earthquake in L'Aquila, Italy, in 2009, will be discussed as an example of the types of systems and methodologies that can be implemented. The interventions adopted in L'Aquila can be divided into two types. The first one concerned the recovery of movable works of art, which required special attention because the items were leaving for the first time their place of origin. The authorities at L'Aquila arranged the transfer of approximately 8,000 works of art. The second type of intervention was related to the safety of buildings. This operation, which required the entering of restorers inside the damaged buildings, was often highly dangerous for the rescue units. For this reason special equipment was built and methodologies were created and put in place for the protection of the operators. The buildings were chosen according to their historical importance or because of the need to secure areas that were needed to be used for the transit of the rescue units. 1,800 surveys were performed on the architectural heritage of L'Aquila. The interventions in the area of L'Aquila lasted about a year. Despite the experience gained in Abruzzo as in previous occasions of extraordinary emergency, we are aware that we still have limited knowledge in the management of disasters. This type of educational training, unfortunately, is completely missing in the formative world of restoration. Here we would like to illustrate our proposal for the creation of an international task force, which will work to develop a unique protocol, to intervene in emergencies on artistic heritage sadly subject to acts of terrorism, as the recent history has often shown us.

 

Fires were common occurrences in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Open flames from candles, cooking fires, oil-lamps, gas-lamps, coal stoves, cigars and cigarettes, arson, collections of combustible materials, and faulty electrical wiring all led to conflagration.  While large fires lead to the total loss of many structures, evidence of smaller fires were often just covered in new wallboard, pressed metal, or simply painted over.    Paint archaeology, the comparison of paint stratigraphies on various elements of a historic structure, is an important tool to gain a greater understanding of a historic space including alterations, additions, and changes in appearance over time.  Examination of paint samples can reveal evidence of fires in a building’s history.  Heat and flame damage to the decorative finishes can be seen in cross-sectional analysis as scorched, bubbled, or melted paint, and glazes with a caramelized appearance.  While these are obvious visual manifestations of physical changes in the material, are there changes in color or composition of either the pigment or the binder, which are undetected in these targeted finishes?    Previous research on fire-damaged paint has focused solely on the conservation of artistic paintings on canvas.  As the actual painted surface of these artistic works is significant and requires salvage, this research concentrated on methods aimed at restoring the surface of the painting, including repairing blistered paint and surface cleaning.  Architectural finishes, however, are often treated differently.  Frequently, the goal of cross-sectional analysis for architectural finishes is primarily color-matching to facilitate a reasonably faithful recreation of a historic space.   However, does intense the heat and flame make accurate color-matching impossible?  Research on the effects of fire on architectural painted finishes has been overlooked.  This presentation will discuss on-going research to determine if the original appearance of damaged paint in cross-section be deduced.  Paint samples and stratigraphies of known composition will be subjected to open flame and high heat at known temperatures commonly found in fires, and then analyzed in cross-section to determine what changes occurred.  Treated and untreated samples will be examined under simulated daylight and ultra-violet light to record color change and any physical alterations to the paint layers.  Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) will be performed on select layers to determine if any compositional changes occurred to the binders. Finally, pigments in select layers will be examined under polarized light to document any potential changes.  Once the changes in the paints have been identified, the challenge becomes, is it possible to determine the original composition and appearance of the historic material?  If so, can the changes be reversed?  Or, if the changes are consistent, can the color be adjusted by the conservator based on knowledge and experience?

A few years ago, a dramatic event occurred in a listed 17th-century Parisian “hôtel particulier”, a grand mansion townhouse, well-known for the quality and authenticity of its sculpted and painted internal decoration. While the building was undergoing extensive renovation work, a fire started in the attic during the night.  This paper focuses on the ethical and technical decision-making process in the aftermath of the fire for a few, very significant, 17th-century painted ceilings. These ceilings, painted in oil on plaster, were severely affected by the fire, the smoke and the water used to put it out. This led to the almost complete collapse of one of the ceilings, while the others were affected but remained in place. Immediately, a collaborative mechanism was put in place between all the stakeholders for discussing the technical and ethical issues regarding the collapse ceiling as they arise. These included the building owner, the architect, the conservators, as well as curators working for the French Ministry of Culture. The conservation team, which had just spent the previous year working on these ceilings, was immediately at hand and intervened within hours. The Laboratoire de recherche des monuments historiques (LRMH), the state conservation science laboratory for historical monuments, was asked to provide scientific and technical support to the conservators. The collapsed painted ceiling was a gigantic puzzle, with some irremediably lost pieces, but the knowledge of the conservators who had just finished its conservation as well as excellent documentation existed. The fire high temperatures had changed some of the original colors and had also an effect on the conservation materials which had just been applied to the painting. Emergency actions were immediately taken: collection of the fragments, installation of a wooden structure to support the soaked part of the ceiling still in place, removal of the wood and canvas wall panels, removal of liquid water, monitoring of the relative humidity and of the potential microorganism development, etc. Once all emergency measures had been taken, selected samples were taken for material characterization and the alterations observed in laboratory. Different replicate samples reproducing the painting layers were made and subjected to high temperatures to better understand the alteration mechanisms. Cleaning tests were carried out by the conservators and evaluated in the laboratory to establish treatments protocols. Once this technical research carried out, the key issue of the future of this painted ceiling, now in fragments, needed to be tackled, and a decision to be reached by the owner advised by the architect. Technically, the painted vault could be reassembled, albeit with lacunae, but should it be replaced in situ? in a museum ? And how the lacunae should be treated? Should the painted fragments be left in a museum drawer? In that case, how the new ceiling should be treated?

In 2001 the Verizon Building, located in lower Manhattan just north of the former World Trade Center site, was significantly damaged by the terror attack of 9/11. The building sustained damage from smoke, soot, drastic fluctuations in temperature, and moisture. Further damage from soot and grit was caused following 9/11 by the proximity of the building to the enormous Ground Zero construction site.  In October 2012 the building once again found itself in an unfortunate location as the flood waters of Super Storm Sandy filled the basements and lobbies of the buildings of lower Manhattan. Water reached four feet high in the main lobby of the Verizon Building, fully submerging 3 of 5 of the buildings subbasements. The Verizon Building, originally the Barclay-Vesey Building of the New York Telephone Company, was designed by Ralph Walker of McKenzie, Voorhees, and Gmelin and built from 1923-1927.  The building is a New York City Landmark (1999), listed on the National Register of Historic Places (2009), and the lobby interior was designated a landmark by the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission (1991). The lobby ceiling has a wonderful early 20th Century series of 12 murals depicting the progression of communication from early Egyptians with megaphones and Aztec runners to the telephone. The decorative painting was performed by Edgar Williams and the firm of Mack, Jenney, & Tyler. The 12 murals were originally painted free-hand and are considered to be fine art.   The Verizon building underwent an extensive 3-year interior/exterior renovation following the 9/11 attack. Prior to 9/11, the murals had been extensively overpainted—if not completely repainted—in several campaigns, the last of which was executed in the late 1980s or early 1990s. The extent of overpaint visible on the surface was often difficult to clearly define given the deteriorated condition of the mural, adding another layer of difficulty to the conservation work. Additionally, following 9/11, the entire HVAC system for the building, including ducts and vents, had to be cleaned prior to the conservation work to ensure that grit did not continue to blow on the murals. Each extensive conservation project had to be performed while the site was occupied. Following Super Storm Sandy the conditions at the site that required specific treatments included: an unevenly saturated plaster substrate, migration of salts from plaster, complications from previous campaigns of overpaint, varnishes, and dissimilar media as well as blind cleavage between layers and paint instability.  EverGreene has conserved the lobby and its murals twice, once after the damage of 9/11 and again after the damage of Super Storm Sandy. Each time, a full condition assessment was conducted, laboratory tests and analyses were performed, and treatments were carried out ranging from drying out the plaster substrate, to consolidation, and the reinstatement of gilding and lost decorative painting.  The historic murals in the lobby of the Verizon Building have now undergone two extensive conservation projects and the building presents an interesting study on the significant damage caused to a historic structure by two unpredictable disasters.

Rapidly collecting and processing survey data on the ground is a challenge in any disaster context, regardless of its aim. With response efforts rightfully focused on humanitarian efforts to assist survivors and attend to casualties, it can be particularly difficult to collect data about built heritage, since it is often considered a secondary concern. This was certainly the case in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, after the January 2010 earthquake. While UNESCO, World Monuments Fund, and others assisted in assessing the damage to historic buildings, efforts were challenged by the loss of heritage documentation and professionals in the earthquake, the diminished capacity of local institutions, the lack of accurate maps and cadastral data for Port-au-Prince, and the sheer extent of the structural damage and affected population in and around the city. Efforts to rapidly collect conditions information for historic resources did not prompt a level of local preservation action that was as immediate, pervasive and sustained as hoped.  Five years after the earthquake, recovery continues. Now more than ever, the lack of basic information regarding the relationship between historic resources and the surrounding city impedes local efforts to match limited funding with worthy conservation projects. With this in mind, a quarter of Port-au-Prince that is characterized by more than 200 turn-of-the-century Gingerbread houses is serving as an experimental model for a graduate studio at Columbia University that involves students from its masters programs in historic preservation, urban planning, and real estate development. The students are using open source software developed by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative to test rapid survey methodologies and tools, building the most comprehensive urban conditions survey to date for this wide swath of the city.  While designed to function in the challenging environment of post-disaster contexts, the application is not specific to heritage or architecture, but is highly adaptable and customizable. A critical aspect to this effort is the open source nature of the software and its capacity to collect data offline (without a data connection), making it ideal for disaster contexts and readily accessible by users on the ground. Through testing in the United States and during fieldwork in Haiti, this research will provide an evaluation of the challenges and opportunities the use of such technologies present in post-disaster heritage surveys.

The growing availability of high-resolution commercial satellite imagery provides unprecedented capabilities for monitoring around the world, shedding light on events in remote locations. The ability to monitor remotely is of particular need when conflict creates non-permissive environments that result in long-term inaccessibility on the ground. Multiple actors often overlap in space and time and conflicting accounts, often based on incomplete or inaccurate information, can proliferate. When conducted with a rigorous study design, proactive monitoring of cultural heritage sites, utilizing time-series historical analysis, can bring much needed clarity to these situations by providing independent scientific assessments of past events or events in progress.   This presentation will discuss the methods and means being used to systematically monitor cultural heritage sites in Syria using high-resolution satellite imagery. The research identifies and quantifies damage to cultural heritage sites and has developed a method to determine risk to sites based upon a wide variety of geospatial factors, ranging from local military presence to site accessibility. The difficulties encountered while conducting large-scale satellite imagery analysis will be discussed, such as identification of corroborating information, data storage and organization, workflows, and coordinating multi-analyst research.

From hurricanes to floods to earthquakes, the Lowcountry of South Carolina’s historic built environment is under constant threat from natural disasters. Situated on the banks of the Cooper River, Pompion Hill Chapel, constructed in 1763, has withstood centuries of assaults from the natural world, aided in part by a sequence of conservation interventions and reconstruction periods. This study highlights the most recent disaster preparedness effort undertaken by the Warren Lasch Conservation Center (WLCC) at the Clemson University Restoration Institute in North Charleston, South Carolina, through a digital documentation and conditions assessment process intended to develop a system of routine documentation to monitor the effects of the environmental and geological actions.   When erosion began taking parcels of the Chapel land into the river, rip-rap was installed as a mitigation. The system slowed attrition, but shifted the surrounded soil’s moisture equilibrium. The installed rip-rap allowed moisture to escape from the clay heavy soil at a faster rate. As the clay hardened, the differential settlement of the soil caused the structure to crack. An intervention in the late 20th century addressed the settlement and cracking issues by creating a mechanized system to keep the clay heavy soil saturated at limits that would lessen the effects of soil movement. At the same time, a new roofing system was installed to support the original timber beams that had begun to sag under the weight of the slate shingles. While traditional hand-measured drawings exist for the site, these documents are limited and do not fully document the changes and alterations of Pompion Hill Chapel.   In order to help mitigate and monitor future and past interventions, conservators and architectural historians from WLCC worked to create a comprehensive conditions record of the structure, cemetery, and surrounding landscape. It was determined that a campaign that combined laser scanning and comprehensive field and archival research would provide the owners (who privately own the structure) with a working document that balanced high accuracy, reasonable cost, and would create a set of workable documents. As this project enters its subsequent phases, the 3D documentation (including the associated metadata) will be used to create a long-term monitoring program using future campaigns of 3D imaging. Conservators will return at specific intervals to highlight areas of concern to determine deflection, settlement, and the impact of the changing environment on the structure. This documentation not only provides an accurate as-is model necessary in the creation of a successful disaster management plan but also allows for subsequent assessment to track the impact environmental action has on the structure and allows for intervention before further (and more costly) damage occurs.

Located near Tucson, Arizona, the Mission San José de Tumacácori is a Spanish Colonial mission and the primary landmark of significance within the Tumacácori National Historical Park. Begun around 1800 and acquired by the National Park Service as a half-completed ruin in 1916, successive campaigns of repair have stabilized but also obscured much of the original surfaces of its once brilliantly painted church façade. With the support of the National Park Service, Penn’s Architectural Conservation Laboratory is currently examining the original façade through thesis work that encompasses archival research, comparative studies, in-situ investigation, laboratory analysis (optical microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, SEM-EDS, instrumental analysis, and gravimetric analysis), and conditions assessment. 

Through the development of North American missions, the Jesuits were decidedly influential in shaping the expansion of New Spain during the colonial drive of the Spanish empire. However after the Jesuit expulsion of 1767, the missions were inherited by the Franciscans, and in 1848 soon entered a period of overall decline until National Park Service superintendent Frank Pinkley initiated preservation in 1918. Pinkley’s interventions thus began a tradition of preservation at Tumacácori that would later guide much of the philosophy and history of architectural conservation in the Southwest. 

Indeed, Tumacácori’s façade can be read as a document in itself that communicates the development of American preservation philosophy for almost 100 years. Originally covered in polychromatic painted lime plaster, significant decorative finishes can be found in protected areas and approximately 155 square feet of historic plaster currently remains on the exterior. Under Pinkley’s stewardship, conservation methodologies were experimental and would eventually give rise to the use of traditional building materials and methods as a form of repair. In contrast, between the 1940s and 1970s, synthetic resins and non-traditional treatments of grouts, water repellents, and consolidants were heavily employed.  By studying the application of these methods in succession, one can gain a perspective of nearly a century’s worth of preservation thinking and insight into the development of architectural conservation and historic preservation in the United States. 

Therefore this analytical work will inform the foundation for a pilot conservation program to conserve the fragile exterior finishes and develop new interpretive content on the design, construction and evolution of the exterior. Furthermore, the project will be highlighted in the National Park Service’s centennial in 2016 by examining the conservation history of Tumacácori’s celebrated church as an illustration of past and present preservation methodologies and site management. Indeed, the façade of the Mission San Jose de Tumacácori represents an exemplary case in which architecture, preservation, and conservation technology converge to reveal the complex history of the church and its present condition – ultimately representing the confluence of Native American, Spanish, Mexican, and Euro-American culture, religion, settlement, and politics. 

The Zion Chapel of Ease Cemetery is located on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, which was once the amonst battleground of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. This site was directly involved in the exchanges between the English and, later, the Union because the site was located in the center of social happenings on the Island during the time. The Zion Chapel of Ease (c. 1786) once existing on the site but was desecrated by freed men following the Civil War. All that remains on the original site are the gravestones and one large Greek Revival mausoleum from the church cemetery. The predominate Antebellum Hilton Head families were buried in the cemetery as a means of communication of their status in the community. The Baynard Mausoleum (c. 1845) is the oldest extant structure on Hilton Head Island and is in need of major repair. The sandstone slabs, which make up the exterior, are targets of moisture and show signs of efflorescence. The limestone roof slabs have slid down due to wooden interior roof beams deteriorating. This process has left the interior exposed to the area's subtropical humidity and moisture accumulation. Even age and valor cannot fully protect this site and the rich cultural heritage tied to the place. The Baynard Mausoleum and substantial family plot, which includes the both the Kirk and Davant families, has been vandalized by both man and natural elements continuously for over nearly 200 years. The site sits at the corner of a major passage through the island without protection of a fence or security of any kind. As if nature wasn't enough of an enemy for the Zion Chapel of Ease Cemetery, vandals have created devastation by dismantling the cast iron fencing around the family plot and mausoleum, dislocating gravestones from their original positions, and pillaging the cast iron coffins from the Baynard Mausoleum. Restoration and conservation work on the site has been slim due to funding and lack of knowledge on the historical significance of the site. Hilton Head Island has evolved to become a resort town primarily, ranging in population throughout the year but rising in residents during the summer months. Concentrations of people desperately care about safeguarding and conserving the site to honor the notable architecture, funerary artwork, and history of the site for future recognition of its cultural heritage for later generations. With the efforts of its current owner, the Hilton Head Heritage Library, the cemetery is currently undergoing the nomination process for the National Register of Historic Places. The research of this abstract includes executional protection of the gravestones on the site, the future conservation repair of the Baynard Mausoleum, and the restoration of the cast iron fences on the site. The intention is noting the importance of the site to South Carolina and regional history and developing a conservation plan for the pristine examples of funerary artwork and architecture from the mid-19th century.

This paper focuses on the evaluation of the durability of traditional and modern hydrophobic and ultraviolet (UV) resistant treatments for historic log structures such as those found at the Bar BC Dude Ranch in Grand Teton National Park, WY. These treatments are being evaluated on a variety of criteria including performance in accelerated and natural weathering testing, ecological sustainability, and impact on aesthetic and heritage character. The testing was performed at The Architectural Conservation Laboratory (ACL) at the University of Pennsylvania in cooperation with the National Park Service and the Western Center for Historic Preservation (WCHP), and the University of Wyoming. Natural weathering is currently being conducted on site in Grand Teton National Park, having been set up in early August for an initial year-long testing period, in order to verify lab results and develop a treatment protocol for local log structures that will preserve original fabric while maintaining intended aesthetics of the buildings.

Like many log structures in the American West, the Northwestern National Park Region’s historic structures are exposed to a large amount of UV radiation due to high elevation. In addition to degradation mechanisms delineated from contact with water, the physical fabric of wood is damaged by UV light through degradation of lignin, essentially the glue that holds the cellulose fibers together. Small depth of penetration restricts damage to surface area. However, when combined with shrinkage and swelling of water sorption or abrasion from weathering, surface material delaminates, exposing untreated surfaces for further delignification. This process is very slow but causes a steady loss of original fabric on historic log structures. Accelerated weathering was conducted in Spring of 2015 using a QUV Weatherometer at the ACL which simulates weathering by subjecting samples to cycles of UVB ultraviolet light, heat, condensation, and water spray. While artificial weathering occurs in more intense, concentrated cycles than those in nature, results can be an indicator of longer-term performance of the treatments and the substrate. Five modern and two historically-used treatments were tested on new samples of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta latifola), a common building material in the area. Samples were evaluated using a range of methods including weight change, surface degradation, color changes, changes in water repellency, and FTIR in an effort to determine performance during testing.  A natural weathering rack was designed and constructed on site in the summer of 2015 in order to verify or deny results found in lab testing. Both weathered and new samples of lodgepole pine logs were treated with those treatments that performed well in accelerated weathering and were fixed in place on the bracket after being evaluated for starting weight, color, surface appearance, and water repellency. The weathering period will continue for a year, a full cycle of seasons, before extensive evaluation, but color measurements and photographs are being taken at intervals during the process.The combined results of the lab and field testing programs can inform the Park’s conservation and maintenance program for the many historic log structures in their care.

What can early paint trade catalogues tell us about the beginnings of the commercial paint industry?  Trade catalogues were originally produced advertising materials, but are now becoming a non-traditional tool for period architectural paint research.  In order to garner the interest of the American consumer, paint manufacturers produced catalogues to promote and showcase their products. To do this these catalogues often used scenes depicting designs using their products, testimonials, or a collection of samples mounted inside.  Many paint trade catalogues contained actual samples of the manufacturer’s products, likely similar to those being sold to consumers.  These catalogues were tested to understand the use of pigments as the paint industry developed in the late 19th and early twentieth century, leading to interesting and previously unknown findings about the paint industry during this period.    The study of commercial architectural paints is in its infancy, as most studies are focused on fine artists’ paints and hand-mixed architectural paints.  The research described in this paper begins to fill the hole in architectural paint research by using paint catalogues produced between 1870 and 1914 to test and identify the pigments used, looking to see if and how the use of pigments changed as the paint industry developed.    For this research, over 50 period paint catalogues, containing nearly 1,500 samples and spanning almost 20 companies, were tested.  This examination involved the technical analysis of the pigmentation present in the samples using a variety of methods, including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray florescence (XRF), and polarized light microscopy (PLM).  This testing was done not only to identify the pigments used, but also as an analysis of the testing methods for this particular type of investigation.  The different strengths, advantages, and disadvantages of each test was noted, as different tests achieved different quality and types of results, with some tests being much more effective at gathering certain types of data than others.  The analysis of these samples revealed unexpected and fascinating results that would not have been achieved without a sampling of this size, showing sweeping similarities across the paint industry that had gone hitherto unnoticed as the paint industry developed into the large commercial enterprise that exists today.