Historic Preservation: Honoring the Past While Designing for the Future

3 units

This course will examine the historic preservation movement by looking at its history, successes and failures throughout the United States and by discussing specific examples in the St. Louis area over the past few decades. The course will examine, define and make intelligible the various types of laws, regulations, codes, and policies used in the United States that affect new construction and the rehabilitation of older structures. As more and more structures, landscapes, districts and townscapes begin to fall under one or more types of historic preservation codes, it is helpful for an architect to have a basic knowledge of these regulations. Each class session will discuss a specific timeframe, chronologically examining the structures and landscapes that defined individual eras in the history of the city. Specific examples of historic preservation efforts for each era will be examined in depth. Subject-matter experts in the preservation field as well as contractors and architects will make appearances during the semester to discuss their successes and failures and to have a dialog with the class.