26th Annual Preservation Symposium
Future-Proof: Evolving Heritage Conservation
Date: February 21-22, 2025
Location: ARCB 101, Geren Auditorium
Rationale
The 26th Annual Historic Preservation Symposium, “Future-Proof: Evolving Heritage Conservation,” is not just a gathering, but a call to action. It presents a timely and forward-thinking dialogue on the pressing challenges and opportunities within the field of heritage conservation. As we navigate a rapidly changing world marked by environmental shifts, evolving societal demands, and emerging technologies, the need for resilient, adaptable, and sustainable conservation practices has never been more critical.
This symposium will address the future of heritage conservation by exploring interdisciplinary approaches that respond to both traditional and contemporary issues. The keynote and guest speaker presentations, featuring renowned experts in the field, will underscore the importance of resilience in heritage, highlighting how cultural assets must evolve to withstand climate change, socio-political transformations, and shifting community dynamics. Topics such as adaptive reuse are central to the discussion. Presentations will offer innovative perspectives on how architects, designers, and preservationists collaborate to reimagine existing buildings and spaces to meet modern sustainability goals while retaining their historical and cultural significance.
The symposium will emphasize the role of education and community engagement in preserving heritage. By fostering a deeper understanding of the values associated with modern design and heritage conservation, professionals and educators can better equip communities to advocate for preserving their cultural heritage. In this context, resilience is not merely about physical durability but about creating lasting relevance within a changing society.
The symposium will not only feature regional and national perspectives on heritage conservation but also international ones. As heritage transcends borders, so do the symposium offerings by connecting the USA to Europe and beyond, exchanging ideas on how different cultures approach the challenges of preserving their past in the face of modernization and societal transformation. The recurring focus on reuse, relevance, and resilience provides a comprehensive framework to consider how heritage conservation can adapt to future demands without losing its essence, no matter where in the world it is practiced.
Registration
Note: Registration is now closed.
There are four categories for participants to choose from when registering:
Professional $150.00 – AIA CEU’s/LU’s available
Faculty $75.00 – AIA CEU’s/LU’s available
Student $15.00
General Public $25.00
Registration for the 26th Historic Preservation symposium is now closed. If you have any questions, please contact the Center Director, Dr. Fabrizio Aimar (fabrizio.aimar@tamu.edu) or Ms. Jennifer Robertson (jrobertson@arch.tamu.edu).
Schedule of Events
Day 1 – Friday, February 21
Venue: ARCB 101, Geren Auditorium + ARCA 212, Adams Presentation Room
5 – 5:30 p.m. | Registrants check-in
5:30 – 5:35 p.m. | Patrick Suermann, College of Architecture Dean, Professor, Texas A&M University, USA – Welcome and Introduction. Heritage preservation in the framework of the College of Architecture: challenges and goals
5:35 – 5:40 p.m. | Chanam Lee, College of Architecture Associate Dean for Research, Professor, Texas A&M University, USA – Welcome and Introduction. Heritage preservation in the research framework of the College of Architecture: challenges and goals
5:40 – 5:45 p.m. | Gregory A. Luhan, Department Head of Architecture, Professor, Texas A&M University, USA – Welcome and Introduction. Heritage preservation in the framework of the Department of Architecture: challenges and goals
5:45 – 5:55 p.m. | Fabrizio Aimar, Asst. Professor, Director of the Center for Heritage Conservation, Texas A&M University, USA – Welcome and Introduction.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Venue: ARCB 101, Geren Auditorium
6 – 6:50 p.m. | ANN DILCHER, AIA, LEED AP, APT RP – Quinn Evans, USA – A Future Forward Preservation Approach: Preparing Existing Buildings for the Future through Reuse, Relevance, and Resilience.
6:50 – 7 p.m. | Q&A
7 – 7:05 p.m. | Fabrizio Aimar, Asst. Professor, Director of the Center for Heritage Conservation, Texas A&M University, USA – Closing Remarks and Adjourn
7:05 – 8:30 p.m. | Reception and networking
Photos exhibition: «Futureproof». Curated by David G. Woodcock and Marcel Erminy
Introduction by David G. Woodcock and Marcel Erminy
Venue: ARCA 212, Adams Presentation Room
Day 2 – Saturday, February 22
Venue: ARCB 101, Geren Auditorium + Exhibition Hall
8 – 9 a.m. | Registrants check-in and breakfast
9 – 9:05 a.m. | Tara Goddard, Associate Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning, Texas A&M University, USA – Interdisciplinary activities and collaborations across Departments/Centers in the College of Architecture.
SESSION 1: Built Heritage Preservation between sustainability and resilience.
Venue: ARCB 101, Geren Auditorium
9:05 – 9:35 a.m. | Bradford Patterson, Deputy Executive Director for Preservation Programs and Chief Deputy Historic Preservation Officer, Texas Historical Commission – Where does Texas go from here? Results and Implementation of Our Resilient Heritage the Texas Statewide Historic Preservation Plan.
9:35 – 9:50 a.m. | Q&A
9:50 – 10:20 a.m. | Carl Elefante, FAIA, FAPT, Adj. Professor, The Catholic University of America; Paul H. Kea Distinguished Professor, the University of Maryland, USA – If the Past Teaches, What Does the Future Learn?
10:20 – 10:35 a.m. | Q&A
10:35 – 10:45 a.m. | Coffee Break and networking
10:45 – 11:15 a.m. | Alessio Re, Secretary General, Santagata Foundation for the Economics of the Culture, Italy – Conservation and beyond: cultural heritage as a capital – ONLINE
11:15 – 11:30 a.m. | Q&A
11:30 – 12:15 p.m. | Architexas (Alexis McKinney), Treanor (K. Vance Kelley), Merriman (Jennifer Picquet-Reyes), Quinn Evans (Ann Dilcher) representatives – Round table: Sustainability and Heritage preservation in the professional field. moderator: Stephen H. Lucy
12:15 – 1:00 p.m. | Affinity Lunch Break – thematic tables
Venue: ARCB 102, Geren Exhibition Hall
1:00 – 1:30 p.m. | Students Poster Session
Venue: ARCB 102, Geren Exhibition Hall
1:30 – 2:15 p.m. | APT Texas Annual Meeting
Venue: ARCB 101, Geren Auditorium
SESSION 2: Heritage Resilience in Practice: Innovations in Preservation, Architecture, and Policy.
Venue: ARCB 101, Geren Auditorium
2:15 – 2:45 p.m. | Anna Mod, Docomomo US – Texas Chapter – Docomomo in Texas: Education, Collaboration, and Celebration
2:45 – 3:00 p.m. | Q&A
3:00 – 3:30 p.m. | Illya Azaroff, FAIA – AIA National President Elect 2025-26, founding principal +LAB architect PLLC, Professor at the New York City College of Technology (CUNY) – Responding to Long-Term Change Through Positive Adaptation: Leveraging Cultural Assets as a Foundation for the Future
3:30 – 3:45 p.m. | Q&A
3:45 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. | John E. Dumsick, P.E., FAPT, APT RP, FMP, TInSTR, Senior Civil Engineer/ Historical Preservation Specialist, Office of Cultural Heritage, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations – Resilience Through Diplomacy
4:15 – 4:30 p.m. | Q&A
4:30 – 4:45 p.m. | Fabrizio Aimar, Asst. Professor, Director of the Center for Heritage Conservation, Texas A&M University, USA – Closing Remarks (launching the 27h CHC Annual Preservation Symposium)
Student Research and Project Poster Session
The Center for Heritage Conservation encourages attending students to submit posters on new and emerging preservation projects and research. The student poster session will be displayed throughout the symposium, with time provided on Saturday during lunch to discuss their research with symposium participants and attendees. Posters need to be 24″x36″ (portrait orientation) and should be printed ahead of time and brought to the symposium for display. Thumbtacks will be provided.
Following the student poster session and before the afternoon sessions, participants and attendees are invited to attend the Texas Chapter of the Association for Presentation Technology International (APT Texas) for their Annual Meeting. Please note you do not need to be an APTI member to attend the APT Texas Meeting.
CHC Symposium Code of Conduct
The CHC has a zero tolerance for any form of discrimination or harassment by participants, and we reserve the right to excuse participants from the event should unacceptable behavior take place.
Examples of unacceptable behavior include but are not limited to:
Harassment of any form, such as inappropriate or intimidating behavior and language; unwelcome jokes or comments; unwanted attention; offensive images; photography without permission; and threatening any attendee, speaker, volunteer, CHC faculty and staff member, or other meeting guest.
Discrimination of any form, such as inappropriate actions or statements related to race, physical appearance, age, gender, sexual orientation, ability status, political affiliation, religion, nationality, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, educational background, and/or any other characteristic protected by law.
Verbal abuse of any attendee, speaker, volunteer, exhibitor, CHC faculty and staff member service, or other meeting guest.
Disruption of presentations at sessions.
If you experience profiling or harassment or hear of any incidents of unacceptable behavior, the CHC asks that you inform either Director Fabrizio Aimar (fabrizio.aimar@tamu.edu) or other CHC Faculty and Staff so that we can take the appropriate action.
This code is adapted from the Society of Architectural Historians and Vernacular Architecture Forum Codes of Conference Conduct.