- Master of Science in Historic Preservation
- Sectors of Specialization
- Program Requirements
- Admissions / Registration
- Resources and Opportunities
- Studio Sequence
- Previous Studios
- Progressive Housing (2008)
- Gowanus Canal (2008)
- The Proposed Pelham Parkway Historic District (2007)
- Lincoln Square: Preserving the Modern Architecture of Slum Clearance, Urban Renewal, and their Architectural Aftermath (2007)
- Penn Station Redux: Preservation of the Farley Post Office (2007)
- Corporate Responsibility and the Preservation of Post-Industrial Landscapes (2007)
- 14th Street and Union Square (2006)
- Downtown Manhattan (2005)
- Harlem River (2004)
- Midtown South (2003)
- Previous Theses
- Certificate in Conservation of Historic Buildings and Archeological Sites
News and Announcements
Dean Mark Wigley of the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation is pleased to announce that effective July 1, Andrew S. Dolkart will serve as the Director of the Historic Preservation Program
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Project Quicklinks
Downtown Manhattan Preservation Plan
During the three years after the attacks of September 11, 2001, Lower Manhattan has been the focus of planning and construction efforts. The impetus for choosing Downtown East for this year's historic preservation studio was to study how the WTC development--on and off site--was going to affect this neighboring area. Downtown East is home to architecture ranging from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries, from load-bearing masonry counting houses to engineering feats such as the Brooklyn Bridge, and from steel frame construction to curtain-wall technology. Because of the possible impacts on these significant structures, the interest in the development of the study area is timely. Faced with a growing residential community and major infrastructural projects like the Fulton Transit Center, Downtown East's historic architecture is more vulnerable than ever before.
This preservation plan is a result of two semesters' work. Starting in Fall 2004, the first-year students of Columbia University's Historic Preservation Program began to identify the salient historic characteristics of Downtown East by documenting the historic fabric and researching its history. The goal of the second semester was to identify the issues and problems that Downtown East faces, to assess their impact on the significant historic resources in the area, to propose a compelling goal for preservation, and finally, to provide solutions in the form of a plan that builds on the existing community and political resources.