Architectural conservator, Lucas Harmon, presented a guest lecture on methods and materials used for repointing historic masonry in a spring 2012 Architectural Conservation I class at UVM. The lecture included a hands-on demonstration of specialized procedures for slacking traditional quicklime and for using it to make custom-mixed lime-and-sand mortars. After graduating from the University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program in 2011, Luke Harmon has been working with the National Park Service and with firms that specialize in the conservation of historic buildings.
University Green Area Heritage Study
First semester UVM graduate students in the HP 206: Researching Historic Structures and Sites course, have published a new web site called the University Green Area Heritage Study that includes the findings of their research on the history of buildings and sites located in the University Green area of Burlington, Vermont. The historical research, photography, writing, and web page development for this class project was completed during the fall 2011 semester.
2011 UVM HPP Community Preservation Projects
During the fall 2011 semester, historic preservation graduate students in the HP 302: Community Preservation Projects course taught by Prof. Robert McCullough completed the following projects:
• Matthew Corbett prepared a community development survey of Main Street in Madawaska, Maine for the Main Street Maine program;
• Connie Kent and Kate Ritter conducted a neighborhood survey of "The Addition" section of the city of Burlington, Vermont;
• Tonya Loveday and Rebecca Reese produced a pamphlet designed to help historic building owners prepare for floods and other natural disasters working in conjunction with the Preservation Trust of Vermont;
• Meredith Maus produced a historic structures report for the Duval Residence, an important mid-twentieth century modern building in Essex, Vermont;
• Danielle Meiners developed a survey for the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation of architectural commissions done by Dan Kiley, the late well-known landscape architect and architect who resided in Charlotte, Vermont;
• Eric Nystrom produced an analysis of a barn survey of Salisbury, Vermont in association with the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation. He also used GIS to map the locations of Vermont's historic metal truss bridges and produced a web site with information on these bridges for the Vermont Agency of Transportation;
• Elizabeth Warburton surveyed and photographed (see above) motels and roadside architecture in the Lake Placid, New York area, and produced a driving tour and lecture presentation working in conjunction with the Lake Placid Historical Society and AARCH, the Adirondack Architectural Heritage organization.
Restored Veranda Welcomes UVM Historic Preservation Graduate Students and Alumni
Marking the start of the fall 2011 semester, University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program graduate students, alumni, and faculty gathered for a welcoming reception on the recently restored west veranda of Wheeler House, home of the Historic Preservation Program and History Department.
Built in 1842, the historic building is being conserved under the direction of the UVM Physical Plant Department and SAS Architects of Burlington. In addition to restoring the west veranda, new subsurface perimeter drains have been installed and the exterior is being repainted.
Future projects include installing a new at-grade entrance to the lower level instructional spaces and adding an inside lift to improve accessibility.
Vermont State House Preservation Field Trip
UVM Historic Preservation Program graduate students enrolled in the HP 307, Architectural Conservation II course taught by Prof. Thomas Visser toured an architectural conservation project on the Vermont State House in Montpelier, Vermont in September 2011.
The plaster conservation and repainting work on the ceiling of the front portico was being done under the direction of preservation contractor, James Duggan (UVM HPP '08) through his firm, Preservation Unlimited.
The Vermont State House, which was designed in the Greek Revival style by architect Ammi B. Young between 1833 and 1838, burned in 1857, but was rebuilt retaining the original granite front portico. The coffered plaster ceiling of the portico and its spatter-painted decorative faux finishes being conserved had been installed in the 1850s.
Curator of State Buildings, David Schutz, and Assistant Curator of State Buildings, Tracy Martin (UVM HPP '09) also discussed plans for future conservation work on the State House dome with the students.
UVM and National Park Service to Research New Approaches for Energy Improvements for Historic Buildings
The University of Vermont and the National Park Service have entered into an innovative cooperative agreement to conduct research into the energy and environmental performance of interventions to historic building materials and systems.
Under this agreement, the UVM Historic Preservation Program and the UVM School of Engineering will work in collaboration with the NPS National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT) to explore new approaches for retrofitting existing buildings to improve their energy efficiency while respecting significant heritage features. Special emphasis is being placed on developing new approaches for improving energy performance and reducing operating costs of typical older dwellings.
Planning for this initiative has been assisted by the office of U. S. Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, Housing Vermont, and the National Park Service.
UVM Students Assist Preservation Trust of Vermont With Historic Site Clean-up
UVM Historic Preservation Program students, faculty, and friends assisted the Preservation Trust of Vermont with cleaning up the circa 1820s Molloy-Delano House as a public service volunteer effort to help save this historic federal style house. Its recessed arcaded front piazza and vertical plank wall construction are distinctive architectural features.
Although the building located at Butler's Corner on Route 15 in Essex, Vermont has been neglected and is threatened with demolition, the Preservation Trust of Vermont has secured an option in an attempt to save this local landmark and is offering it for sale through its new Historic Places Revolving Fund.
UVM Historic Preservation Graduate Students conduct Barn Census of Chittenden County
During the fall 2010 semester, graduate students enrolled in the Researching Historic Structures and Sites course at University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program documented over 900 barns Chittenden County, Vermont with the assistance of local volunteers as part of the Vermont Barn Census, a statewide project of the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, the University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program, Historic Windsor's Preservation Education Institute, Save Vermont Barns, Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, and the Preservation Trust of Vermont.
Funding support for this project was provided in part by a Preserve America grant through the National Park Service to the State of Vermont Division for Historic Preservation. This project builds on research conducted by UVM graduate students in 2009 that included surveys of 13 Vermont towns, including three in Chittenden County. It is hoped that additional information on the history and features of these barns will be submitted by volunteers through the Vermont Barn Census project. To connect to the web site on the census of barns in the Chittenden County communities produced by the HP 206 class, click here.
The results of this research are being incorporated into the Vermont Barn Census by Joshua Phillips (UVM HPP '04), who was hired in the summer of 2011 by the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation to serve as the director of the Vermont Barn Census.
UVM hosts Modernist Architecture Comes of Age symposium
A day-long national symposium exploring the preservation of historic modernist buildings and how to rehabilitate them to be sustainable and functional in the 21st century was presented at the University of Vermont on June 25, 2010. Organized by the University of Vermont Campus Planning Services, the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, and the University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program, the event featured keynote speaker: Christine Madrid French, Director, Modernism + Recent Past Program, National Trust for Historic Preservation. Other invited speakers include: Professor Glenn Andres, History of Art and Architecture Department, Middlebury College; Barbara A. Campagna, FAIA, LEED AP;
Graham Gund Architect of the National Trust, Stewardship of Historic Sites, National Trust for Historic Preservation; Mike Jackson, FAIA,
Chief Architect, Preservation Services, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency; James A. Jacobs, Ph.D., Historian, National Historic Landmarks Program, National Park Service; David N. Fixler, FAIA, LEED AP, Principal, Design and Preservation, Einhorn, Yaffee Prescott, Architecture & Engineering P.C.; Theodore H.M. Prudon, PhD, FAIA, Prudon & Partners LLP; Author of the book, Preservation of Modern Architecture.
UVM HP alumni news
Anna Mod '96 has a new book, Building Modern Houston, published by Arcadia Publishing. Anna works in Houston, Texas as a historic preservation specialist with SWCA Environmental Consultants. She serves on the board of The Heritage Society and is a cofounder of Houston Mod, a nonprofit organization that focuses on modern architecture and design.
Caitlin Corkins '08 has been promoted by Historic New England to the position of Stewardship Manager. In this position with the Preservation Easement Program she will provide consulting assistance to property owners and conduct annual visits to the easement-protected properties.
Caitlin Meives '07 has been hired as a preservation planner by the Landmark Society of Western New York, one of the oldest and most respected heritage preservation non-profit organizations in the United States. Caitlin's prior experience included serving as the survey coordinator at the Kansas State Historic Preservation Office.
Kerry Davis '01 has launched Preservation Solutions, a limited liability corporation registered in the state of Kansas. This woman-owned business provides professional preservation services in cultural resource identification, evaluation and documentation,
National Register of Historic Places nominations, federal rehabilitation tax credit applications,
municipal preservation development,
management of historic properties and
Section 106 compliance and documentation,
historical research, building histories, and heritage tourism development.
Architectural conservator, Lucas Harmon, presented a guest lecture on methods and materials used for repointing historic masonry in a spring 2012 Architectural Conservation I class at UVM. The lecture included a hands-on demonstration of specialized procedures for slacking traditional quicklime and for using it to make custom-mixed lime-and-sand mortars. After graduating from the University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program in 2011, Luke Harmon has been working with the National Park Service and with firms that specialize in the conservation of historic buildings.
First semester UVM graduate students in the HP 206: Researching Historic Structures and Sites course, have published a new 
Marking the start of the fall 2011 semester, University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program graduate students, alumni, and faculty gathered for a welcoming reception on the recently restored west veranda of Wheeler House, home of the Historic Preservation Program and History Department. 
A day-long national symposium exploring the preservation of historic modernist buildings and how to rehabilitate them to be sustainable and functional in the 21st century was presented at the University of Vermont on June 25, 2010. Organized by the University of Vermont Campus Planning Services, the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, and the University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program, the event featured keynote speaker: Christine Madrid French, Director, Modernism + Recent Past Program, National Trust for Historic Preservation. Other invited speakers include: Professor Glenn Andres, History of Art and Architecture Department, Middlebury College; Barbara A. Campagna, FAIA, LEED AP;
Graham Gund Architect of the National Trust, Stewardship of Historic Sites, National Trust for Historic Preservation; Mike Jackson, FAIA,
Chief Architect, Preservation Services, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency; James A. Jacobs, Ph.D., Historian, National Historic Landmarks Program, National Park Service; David N. Fixler, FAIA, LEED AP, Principal, Design and Preservation, Einhorn, Yaffee Prescott, Architecture & Engineering P.C.; Theodore H.M. Prudon, PhD, FAIA, Prudon & Partners LLP; Author of the book, Preservation of Modern Architecture.