Symposium on the Restoration of Cast and Wrought Iron, March 19 & 20, 2011
Symposium on the Restoration of Cast and Wrought Iron
Saturday, March 19, and Sunday, March 20, 2011
Wood Auditorium, Avery Hall, Columbia University New York, New York
Wrought and cast iron have long been among the most versatile building materials available to designers, craftsmen, and builders. Able to provide structural utility and decorative embellishment, iron can mimic delicate filigree or the solidity of a stone column. In the United States, especially during the late nineteenth and earlier twentieth centuries, hand-crafted wrought-iron and mass-produced cast-iron features were common in municipal buildings, churches, warehouses, factories, and commercial storefronts. Though extremely durable, cast and wrought iron, like all historic materials, require sensitive maintenance, repair, rehabilitation and, on occasion, replacement.
This symposium will give participants an understanding of the properties of historic cast and wrought iron and appropriate treatments for these materials in architectural applications. New York City, home to many surviving examples of cast- and wrought-iron architecture and the country’s largest cast-iron historic district, is an ideal venue for this symposium. Symposium sessions will be conducted at Avery Hall on the campus of Columbia University.
On Saturday, March 19, leading conservators, preservationists, and fabricators will present sessions on topics including the basics of repair of historic cast and wrought iron; modes of failure; repair versus replacement decisions; survey and documentation methods; casting and coating; cleaning and abatement; and labor and logistics issues encountered in the field. The symposium will conclude with an evening reception at Low Memorial Library (www.columbia.edu/about_columbia/tour/01.html). A guided walking tour of the SOHO-Cast Iron Historic District, will take place on Sunday morning. An updated list of presentations and events is available at www.hpef.us/symposium/program.
The symposium is co-sponsored by the Historic Preservation Education Foundation; the AIA Historic Resources Committee; the Association for Preservation Technology International Northeast Chapter (APTNE); and Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Historic Preservation. Participants will be eligible for 8 Learning Units (HSW) meeting the requirements of the AIA Continuing Education System.
Registration for the Symposium is $120 US; $90 US for full-time students; and free to faculty and current full-time students of Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. Registration includes Symposium materials; a continental breakfast, lunch, refreshment breaks, and the evening reception; and the Sunday walking tour.
Conference schedule, registration, and other information is available at www.hpef.us.