The UW National Parks Service Research Station Annual Reports, 2015
Beginning in the summer of 2015, research was conducted on protective wood coatings and accelerat... more Beginning in the summer of 2015, research was conducted on protective wood coatings and accelerated weathering testing methods for architectural log and timber. A rack for supplementary natural weathering testing of hydrophobic and ultraviolet protective surface treatments for logs was also erected as a subsequent phase at Grand Teton National Park. This laboratory and field research is part of an ongoing project to develop an appropriate treatment for historic log structures in the region that will preserve their original fabric while maintaining the intended historic appearance of the buildings, i.e., unpainted. The weathering rack will be in place for upwards of five years to verify the lab-based results from Phase I and to determine the long-term durability of the chosen treatments on already aged materials in situ. This report addresses the methods and materials for preparation of the weathering rack and samples as well as the methods being used to monitor their progress and in...
On the secluded flats of the Snake River in full view of the majestic Teton Range, an upstart Phi... more On the secluded flats of the Snake River in full view of the majestic Teton Range, an upstart Philadelphian and Princeton graduate, Maxwell Struthers Burt, introduced countless Americans to the raw beauty of the Mountain West. According to his own biography, Burt had always been attracted to the American West and acted on that dream in 1906 after an abrupt departure from Princeton. In so doing he would significantly influence public advocacy for protecting and preserving the scenery, rivers, valleys, and wildlife of that country through the establishment of Grand Teton National Park and, more broadly, the creation of the National Park Service in 1916. A leading proponent of dude ranching in America, Burt founded Jackson Hole’s first dude ranch, the JY in 1908, followed by the Bar BC Dude Ranch four years later, in the summer of 1912. Together with his partner Horace Carncross, and later his wife, Katharine Newlin, Burt would transform the Bar BC into the most successful and influent...
Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites, 2015
In the conservation of built heritage, earthen ruins rank as one of, if not the most, intractable... more In the conservation of built heritage, earthen ruins rank as one of, if not the most, intractable of problems to be confronted. Lacking the very architectural devices originally in place to combat and control weathering, earthen ruins face rapid deterioration without constant remedial and preventive conservation. Often it is the enormous mass of many ancient earthen ruins that explain their persistence; however, even these will collapse over time from differential erosion, or eventually stabilize as formless lumps. The impossible demands of simultaneously preserving architectural form and fabric (materiality) challenge the archaeologist and conservation professional who attempt to manage both for temporary and permanent display.
From an issue reviewing the collaboration between the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School ... more From an issue reviewing the collaboration between the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Fine Arts' Graduate Program in Historic Preservation and the National Park Service. The Program chairman considers the training and research scope of its curriculum and associated Architectural Conservation Laboratory as well as the national parks as field laboratories for conserving cultural resources. His discussion provides background for abstracts of brief reports on technical studies and treatments undertaken in six parks in the southwestern United States.
An integrated program of digital surveying and mapping can provide a powerful database for the an... more An integrated program of digital surveying and mapping can provide a powerful database for the analysis, conservation, and management of historic burial grounds and cemeteries. There are few places which we visit with more interest than old burial grounds, so frequent in our early settlements, and in which the dust of our ancestors is laid. We observe in their appearance a charming simplicity, that attracts the attention of all visitors, enlists their sympathies with the dead, and excites a tender veneration for their memory.\
Geographic Information Systems continue to be used in new and different ways by a wide range of p... more Geographic Information Systems continue to be used in new and different ways by a wide range of professions to help provide better interpretation of relationships of mappable data. Drayton Hall provided a unique opportunity to apply GIS to architectural conservation.
Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes, 2005
Abstract Conservation as a concept and process has as its fundamental objective the protection of... more Abstract Conservation as a concept and process has as its fundamental objective the protection of cultural heritage from loss and depletion. At different times and in different places this has been expressed through the three basic constructs or modalities of form, fabric and content — the latter being the intangible meanings, beliefs and practices associated with the material correlates of form and fabric. Implicit in all three constructs is the notion of maintaining contact with the past through the identification, transmission and protection of that which is considered culturally valuable in the present. As time is not reversible and history cannot be undone — only rewritten — preservation becomes a true historical event, a human action that is part of the process by which any creative work is transmitted to the future. And as change is a measure of time, both time and change are critical components influencing the reception of any work in the present.
Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, 1995
... CLEANING, IRON STAIN REMOVAL, AND SURFACE REPAIR OF ARCHITECTURAL MARBLE AND CRYSTALLINE LIME... more ... CLEANING, IRON STAIN REMOVAL, AND SURFACE REPAIR OF ARCHITECTURAL MARBLE AND CRYSTALLINE LIMESTONE 61 been noted by the authors. These observations suggest the reaction involves the formation of ferric-ammonium citrate, which is very soluble ...
A limestone column at Mission San Jose, San Antonio, Texas (USA) exhibited the friability, microc... more A limestone column at Mission San Jose, San Antonio, Texas (USA) exhibited the friability, microcracking and flaking that is typical of saltcontaminated stone. Mixtures of acrylic resins and alkyl alkoxysilanes are frequently used to treat these problems. The deterioration was localized, however, and it was not advisable to introduce the potentially adverse effects of the acrylic in the mixture to relatively sound stone. The adhesion of subsequent infills would also be adversely affected by the water-repellency of the silane. Sequential applications of acrylic and silane would be more practical, flexible, and potentially more effective. The interaction of these materials, and their effectiveness when used in sequential order, has been little studied. An experimental programme was designed to quantify differences in the physico-mechanical properties of models that were caused by the application of acrylic and silane in sequence, rather than in mixture. Test results indicated that the method of application did not cause great differences in most properties of the treated models, but that mixtures were somewhat more effective. Based upon these results, and the treatment requirements of the column, the limestone was treated with a sequential application of an acrylic resin and an alkyl alkoxysilane.
Abstract Loss and compensation have been central issues in the conservation of art and architectu... more Abstract Loss and compensation have been central issues in the conservation of art and architecture at least since the sixteenth century as described by Vasari.1 In modern conservation practice, the term ‘compensation’ is now used to include all aspects of intervention designed to address visual and structural reintegration resulting from material loss.2 They are inextricably tied to conservation's primary objective, the protection of cultural resources from damage and depletion. Their consideration reveals much about past and present notions of cultural heritage including its meaning and significance across time, and the interventions that have been employed for its preservation and presentation. Discussions of material loss and its remedy, compensation, ultimately confront the larger questions concerning all artistic and historic works: authenticity, artistic intent, and value. For the student and experienced professional alike, issues of material loss and degradation and the oft-stated requirement of structural and visual reintegration can be among the most difficult problems encountered in conservation regardless of whether the work is a painting, sculpture, tapestry, or building. In considering such fundamental issues as loss and compensation, we bring conservation as a discipline, increasingly defined and separated by its specializations, back together to consider its essential and unifying issues and tenets.3
Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites, 1995
ABSTRACT Plasters constitute an important component of many ruined architectural and archaeologic... more ABSTRACT Plasters constitute an important component of many ruined architectural and archaeological sites. Methods for their in situ conservation have lagged far behind the field treatment of other materials due to their ephemeral nature and the lack of programmatic laboratory and field research. A preservation strategy involving documentation, stabilization, interpretation and maintenance offers a methodological approach adaptable to most contexts. A pilot conservation programme is described for the stabilization and interpretation of the lime plasters within the nineteenth-century adobe ruins of Fort Union National Monument in New Mexico. Methods of documentation, emergency stabilization, injection hydraulic lime grouting and mortar repairs are described.
The UW National Parks Service Research Station Annual Reports, 2015
Beginning in the summer of 2015, research was conducted on protective wood coatings and accelerat... more Beginning in the summer of 2015, research was conducted on protective wood coatings and accelerated weathering testing methods for architectural log and timber. A rack for supplementary natural weathering testing of hydrophobic and ultraviolet protective surface treatments for logs was also erected as a subsequent phase at Grand Teton National Park. This laboratory and field research is part of an ongoing project to develop an appropriate treatment for historic log structures in the region that will preserve their original fabric while maintaining the intended historic appearance of the buildings, i.e., unpainted. The weathering rack will be in place for upwards of five years to verify the lab-based results from Phase I and to determine the long-term durability of the chosen treatments on already aged materials in situ. This report addresses the methods and materials for preparation of the weathering rack and samples as well as the methods being used to monitor their progress and in...
On the secluded flats of the Snake River in full view of the majestic Teton Range, an upstart Phi... more On the secluded flats of the Snake River in full view of the majestic Teton Range, an upstart Philadelphian and Princeton graduate, Maxwell Struthers Burt, introduced countless Americans to the raw beauty of the Mountain West. According to his own biography, Burt had always been attracted to the American West and acted on that dream in 1906 after an abrupt departure from Princeton. In so doing he would significantly influence public advocacy for protecting and preserving the scenery, rivers, valleys, and wildlife of that country through the establishment of Grand Teton National Park and, more broadly, the creation of the National Park Service in 1916. A leading proponent of dude ranching in America, Burt founded Jackson Hole’s first dude ranch, the JY in 1908, followed by the Bar BC Dude Ranch four years later, in the summer of 1912. Together with his partner Horace Carncross, and later his wife, Katharine Newlin, Burt would transform the Bar BC into the most successful and influent...
Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites, 2015
In the conservation of built heritage, earthen ruins rank as one of, if not the most, intractable... more In the conservation of built heritage, earthen ruins rank as one of, if not the most, intractable of problems to be confronted. Lacking the very architectural devices originally in place to combat and control weathering, earthen ruins face rapid deterioration without constant remedial and preventive conservation. Often it is the enormous mass of many ancient earthen ruins that explain their persistence; however, even these will collapse over time from differential erosion, or eventually stabilize as formless lumps. The impossible demands of simultaneously preserving architectural form and fabric (materiality) challenge the archaeologist and conservation professional who attempt to manage both for temporary and permanent display.
From an issue reviewing the collaboration between the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School ... more From an issue reviewing the collaboration between the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Fine Arts' Graduate Program in Historic Preservation and the National Park Service. The Program chairman considers the training and research scope of its curriculum and associated Architectural Conservation Laboratory as well as the national parks as field laboratories for conserving cultural resources. His discussion provides background for abstracts of brief reports on technical studies and treatments undertaken in six parks in the southwestern United States.
An integrated program of digital surveying and mapping can provide a powerful database for the an... more An integrated program of digital surveying and mapping can provide a powerful database for the analysis, conservation, and management of historic burial grounds and cemeteries. There are few places which we visit with more interest than old burial grounds, so frequent in our early settlements, and in which the dust of our ancestors is laid. We observe in their appearance a charming simplicity, that attracts the attention of all visitors, enlists their sympathies with the dead, and excites a tender veneration for their memory.\
Geographic Information Systems continue to be used in new and different ways by a wide range of p... more Geographic Information Systems continue to be used in new and different ways by a wide range of professions to help provide better interpretation of relationships of mappable data. Drayton Hall provided a unique opportunity to apply GIS to architectural conservation.
Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes, 2005
Abstract Conservation as a concept and process has as its fundamental objective the protection of... more Abstract Conservation as a concept and process has as its fundamental objective the protection of cultural heritage from loss and depletion. At different times and in different places this has been expressed through the three basic constructs or modalities of form, fabric and content — the latter being the intangible meanings, beliefs and practices associated with the material correlates of form and fabric. Implicit in all three constructs is the notion of maintaining contact with the past through the identification, transmission and protection of that which is considered culturally valuable in the present. As time is not reversible and history cannot be undone — only rewritten — preservation becomes a true historical event, a human action that is part of the process by which any creative work is transmitted to the future. And as change is a measure of time, both time and change are critical components influencing the reception of any work in the present.
Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, 1995
... CLEANING, IRON STAIN REMOVAL, AND SURFACE REPAIR OF ARCHITECTURAL MARBLE AND CRYSTALLINE LIME... more ... CLEANING, IRON STAIN REMOVAL, AND SURFACE REPAIR OF ARCHITECTURAL MARBLE AND CRYSTALLINE LIMESTONE 61 been noted by the authors. These observations suggest the reaction involves the formation of ferric-ammonium citrate, which is very soluble ...
A limestone column at Mission San Jose, San Antonio, Texas (USA) exhibited the friability, microc... more A limestone column at Mission San Jose, San Antonio, Texas (USA) exhibited the friability, microcracking and flaking that is typical of saltcontaminated stone. Mixtures of acrylic resins and alkyl alkoxysilanes are frequently used to treat these problems. The deterioration was localized, however, and it was not advisable to introduce the potentially adverse effects of the acrylic in the mixture to relatively sound stone. The adhesion of subsequent infills would also be adversely affected by the water-repellency of the silane. Sequential applications of acrylic and silane would be more practical, flexible, and potentially more effective. The interaction of these materials, and their effectiveness when used in sequential order, has been little studied. An experimental programme was designed to quantify differences in the physico-mechanical properties of models that were caused by the application of acrylic and silane in sequence, rather than in mixture. Test results indicated that the method of application did not cause great differences in most properties of the treated models, but that mixtures were somewhat more effective. Based upon these results, and the treatment requirements of the column, the limestone was treated with a sequential application of an acrylic resin and an alkyl alkoxysilane.
Abstract Loss and compensation have been central issues in the conservation of art and architectu... more Abstract Loss and compensation have been central issues in the conservation of art and architecture at least since the sixteenth century as described by Vasari.1 In modern conservation practice, the term ‘compensation’ is now used to include all aspects of intervention designed to address visual and structural reintegration resulting from material loss.2 They are inextricably tied to conservation's primary objective, the protection of cultural resources from damage and depletion. Their consideration reveals much about past and present notions of cultural heritage including its meaning and significance across time, and the interventions that have been employed for its preservation and presentation. Discussions of material loss and its remedy, compensation, ultimately confront the larger questions concerning all artistic and historic works: authenticity, artistic intent, and value. For the student and experienced professional alike, issues of material loss and degradation and the oft-stated requirement of structural and visual reintegration can be among the most difficult problems encountered in conservation regardless of whether the work is a painting, sculpture, tapestry, or building. In considering such fundamental issues as loss and compensation, we bring conservation as a discipline, increasingly defined and separated by its specializations, back together to consider its essential and unifying issues and tenets.3
Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites, 1995
ABSTRACT Plasters constitute an important component of many ruined architectural and archaeologic... more ABSTRACT Plasters constitute an important component of many ruined architectural and archaeological sites. Methods for their in situ conservation have lagged far behind the field treatment of other materials due to their ephemeral nature and the lack of programmatic laboratory and field research. A preservation strategy involving documentation, stabilization, interpretation and maintenance offers a methodological approach adaptable to most contexts. A pilot conservation programme is described for the stabilization and interpretation of the lime plasters within the nineteenth-century adobe ruins of Fort Union National Monument in New Mexico. Methods of documentation, emergency stabilization, injection hydraulic lime grouting and mortar repairs are described.
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