Historic building materials can convey a sense of strength and timelessness, though many interesting historic structures are associated with the nature of their decay. This course will develop your knowledge of the historical contexts of building materials and your ability to analyze their properties and assess conservation techniques. While this course will build participants understanding of typical building material properties such as wood and stone, special consideration will be given to native, local materials. You will be asked to consider the historical sensibility of building material choice and how to best address material conservation in light of pure preservation versus material renewal, and traditional techniques versus modern intervention.

This course will develop your ability to:
" Identify various historic building materials and their properties
" Understand the nature and diagnose the extent of decay in various building materials
" Determine an appropriate material conservation plan
" Understand material conservation techniques
" Assess conservation needs and develop a range of conservation options in the contexts of both preservation and renewal