Studio II: How To Save This Building?

The purpose of this studio is to familiarize students with a multi-disciplinary approach to the preservation of a physical area: this year's study area is 14th Street River to River.

The issues that confront preservationists tend to be complex and involve a number of interlocking and related professions, even for small sites: to name a few, archaeologists, architects, community activists, conservators, engineers, folklorists, scientist, historians, lawyers, planners, all contribute information and wisdom. Studio II provides the opportunity for students to acquire the skills necessary to (1) identify the issues and problems faced in a particular area and formulate the key questions relating to a site, (2) propose a compelling goal for a preservation effort and finally (3) craft a solution--whether it is a single action or, more likely, a panoply of measures, within a multi faceted multi-disciplinary setting which builds on community and political resources.

The question at hand is "WHAT are the physical assets in this area--built or associative--that need to be preserved" and if indeed there are such assets, "WHY do they need to be preserved" and finally "HOW should they be preserved".

The final product of our effort will be a PRESERVATION PLAN for 14th Street River to River using history, design, conservation and planning as the principal tools of investigation, formulation as well as implementation and integrating these disciplines into a compelling, holistic, document.

Project Organization

Phase 1: Baseline Documentation

The goal of this phase is to complete the field data collection for the study area - 14th Street River to River in order to be ready to assess WHAT should be preserved and WHY in Phase II. The end products of Phase I will include completed survey forms for all the buildings, photographs of significant buildings, spaces, landscapes and landscape features, as well as photomontages of significant street frontages. Class will input data in computer.

Phase I begins with a study of the preservation plans available in the Studio bookshelves: The readings will be divided and each group will review the plans assigned by Faculty. The groups will report to the faculty and studio as a whole. Preservation plans tend to be very area specific and therefore very different: there are however (1) some broad issues and methodological approaches that tend to recur and (2) plans that could begin to serve as models for ours. You are asked to report on this information so that it may inform the formulation and crafting of the preservation plan for 14th Street River to River.

Phase I concludes with a visual presentation of the baseline documentation and the beginning of issues identification.

Phase 2: What and Why - Identification of Assets and Issues

The goal of this phase is to evaluate what is worthy of preservation and why, and to establish a clear set of preservation goals for the area. A building, a set of buildings, an urban space, a landscape, an interior space, or other features might deserve to be preserved for their cultural, historical or aesthetic value; during this phase the "Project Team" will identify the assets, build a rational for their value. An important task for this phase is to identify the issues and problems, and the values and conflicts that need to be dealt with if the area's assets are to be successfully preserved.

Phase 3: The Plan

The goal of Phase 3 is to design and craft solutions to the problems and issues identified in Phase 2 in order to protect the historic resources identified in Phase 1 through a plan. In this phase multi-disciplinary solutions are the key. The final product is to complete the development of THE PLAN and to produce the final "document." The format of the final Preservation Plan is open: it can be a combination of print, film, photo, exhibition media--depending on the audience it is primarily directed to and on the goals of the plan. Ultimately, you should keep in mind the fact that the more "reproducible" the format, the more people the information is likely to reach. Impact and longevity should, in the best if all possible worlds, be achieved.

Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation Columbia University 1172 Amsterdam Avenue New York, New York 10027