Full Schedule for TBCS: Oak Park
Materials and Methods Oak Park: Windows, Wright, & More
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
8 - 9:00 am Registration, Continental Breakfast
9 - 9:15 am Introductions
9:15 - 10:30 am TBC281 The Art and Science of Preservation: Part 1
Instructors: Stephen J. Kelly, FAIA, SE, FAPT; Stephen J. Kelly, Inc.; Oak Park, Illinois and Dan M. Worth, AIA, FAPT; BVH Architects; Omaha, Nebraska
2.5 AIA Health/Safety/Welfare Learning Units
How can you make sure that you are making the best decisions when you are planning a preservation, restoration or rehabilitation project? Successful historic preservation projects come from understanding root causes of building problems, choosing appropriate treatments and creatively fitting your building program with the physical resource. Like an artist who can inspire others with a vision of what could be or a skilled doctor who carefully diagnoses ailments before prescribing remedies, we should treat our unique examples of built heritage in the same loving fashion. Case studies will be presented including large and small projects of various building types and building materials. This course has been designed for building professionals and building owners. Audience participation and discussion will be encouraged.
Our speakers have collaborated closely with each other on numerous preservation projects which include National Register Properties such as the Nebraska State Capitol and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion, participants will be able to:
- Identify visual and non-destructive techniques for the analysis of historic buildings/sites based on world-wide case studies.
- Develop strategies to analyze diverse research sources and contrasting historical data and material evidence about historic buildings/sites and their materials.
- Improve collaboration on future projects with multi-disciplinary teams to insure effective interventions for historic properties that balance conservation principles and cultural values.
- Explain best practices to integrate and develop conservation planning and management for traditional and historic project design and implementation.
10:30 - 11 am Networking Break
11 am - 12:15 pm The Art and Science of Preservation Part 2
12:15 - 1:10 pm Lunch
1:10 - 2:45 pm TBC282 Historic Oak Park Neighborhood Walking Tour*
Tour Guides: Trained Interpreters from the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust, Chicago, IL
1 AIA Learning Unit
Oak Park is home to the world's largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings. Discover the development of Wright's style between 1889 and 1909 and trace the evolution of American residential architecture as trained interpreters guide you through the Frank Lloyd Wright Historic District surrounding the Home and Studio. Exterior visits include:
1. Courtyard
2. Frank Lloyd Wright Studio
3. Frank Lloyd Wright Home
4. Arthur B. Heurtley House
5. The Charles A. Purcell House
6. Laura Gale House
7. Peter A. Beachy House
8. Frank Thomas House
9. Hills-Decaro House
10. Nathan G. Moore House
Learning Objectives
Participants will learn to:
- Explain the architectural character of Prairie style architecture.
- Discuss the ways Frank Lloyd Wright changed American architectural practice from the late 19 century through the mid-20 century.
- Cite exterior building craft and construction details of Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings.
- Reflect on the importance of local historic districts with cohesive architectural character.
2:45 - 3:15 pm Networking Break
3:15 - 4:15 pm TBLHT1 Restoring American Heritage Tilework
Instructor: Keith Bieneman, Heritage Tile, Oak Park, Illinois
1 AIA Health/Safety/Welfare Learning Unit
Historic ceramic tiles are a common flooring material and wall covering in many different kinds of small and large public structures throughout the United States. Whether plain or decoratively patterned, traditional ceramic tiles are important in defining the character of historic buildings.
Learning Objectives
Participants will learn to:
- Recognize how “subway tile” refers to a sophisticated and standardized system of pre-war tile work that defined bathroom and kitchen design for a 40-year period in American construction.
- List the key factors in tile’s evolution over a 40-year time span in American construction.
- Apply historic preservation standards to tile restoration work.
- Use computer aided design software for both historic preservation and new construction projects involving tile.
4:15 - 4:30 pm Networking Break
4:30 - 5:30 pm TBC285 Architectural Ornament Inside and Out: The Details of Well-Being by Design
Instructor: Matthew McNicholas, AIA, LEED AP
1 AIA Health/Safety/Welfare Learning Unit
Whether designed for home, work, worship or civic engagement, thoughtful architectural detail can improve the well-being of humans, as well as the reverse. This session will include examples of interior and exterior architectural details created to serve the cognitive, and consequently physiological, well-being of users and passersby. From overall organization to minute details, the instructor will show examples and cite scientific studies to reinforce the value of using human interpretations of Nature in architectural ornament.
Four Learning Objectives
- Participants will know or do the following:
- Understand the composition of good Ornament and how it positively affects the physiology of humans.
- Recognize the importance of Nature-derived Ornament to architecture designed for well-being.
- Discern the levels of fractal detail integral to the design of good Ornament.
- Advocate for architectural details that contribute to the welfare of humans when speaking with clients, review boards, architects, and lay people.
5:30 - 6:30 pm Happy Hour Networking Reception
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
8 - 9:00 am Registration, Continental Breakfast
9 - 9:15 am Introductions
9:15 - 10:15 am TBC201 Historic Window Rehabilitation: When to Repair and How to Replace
1 AIA Health/Safety/Welfare Learning Unit
Instructor: Charles, “Chick” McBrien, Regional Manager, Architectural; CSI, CDT; Marvin Windows and Doors, Warroad, MN
This presentation looks at window repair and replacement for historic renovation projects. Research, planning, window assessment, standards, and historic tax credits are reviewed. A broad range of window rehabilitation solutions are shown through case studies of historic projects.
Learning Objectives
Participants will learn to:
- Research and plan for successful historic rehabilitation projects.
- Improve compliance with Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
- Recommend with greater confidence when to repair or replace existing historic windows or install new windows when historic windows are missing.
10:15 - 10:45 am Networking Break
10:45 - 11:45 am TBC285 Rehabilitation and Durability: Getting Exterior Details Right
Instructor: John Sandor, Architectural Historian, US National Park Service, Washington, DC
1 AIA Health/Safety/Welfare Learning Unit
The building’s exterior is its primary defense against the elements. Careful detailing of repairs can extend the life of historic materials, but careless detailing can often reduce the life expectancy of important historic fabric. This session will explain methods to get repair details done correctly.
Learning Objectives
Participants will learn to:
- Identify and analyze the failures of traditional, primarily wooden, assemblies of both surviving historic material and those reproduced by modern materials and construction.
- Develop strategies to manage the primary source of deterioration: water.
- Recognize the differences in performance and behavior of materials: original, traditional and substitute.
- Distinguish between restoration and rehabilitation to ensure that the appropriate materials are employed in the most effective way.
11:45 am - 12:30 pm Lunch
12:30 - 1:30 pm TBC286 Investigative Technology on a Traditional Roof
Instructors: Susan Turner, FAIA and Historic Preservation Leader and Robin Whitehurst, AIA and Principal; Bailey Edward, Chicago, IL
1 AIA Health/Safety/Welfare Learning Unit
Built in 1907 by architects McKim, Meade and White, with a 1911 addition designed by William Carbys Zimmerman, the slate roof on the English Building at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s (UIUC) campus was at the end of its useful life. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is known for its decorative cupola, copper clad domes, colonnade, decorative masonry and other ornamental aspects.
This presentation will describe the process of the design into working drawings of the roof replacement, focusing on techniques which can be used to improve other projects. It will describe the investigation needed to develop a scope of work that could meet the University’s tight budget. Laser scanning of the entire building will be highlighted to show its usefulness in identifying structural issues and enhancing the accuracy of details and cost take-offs. The application of infrared thermography, destructive testing, and borescope investigations will be explained to demonstrate how non-destructive testing can reduce change orders.
The application of the WUFI model will be explained. This informed the placement of insulation in the existing conditions of the roof. Through these techniques, structural issues were identified, and corrective measures developed. The design approach for the replacement of the roofs, and repair of the deteriorated masonry, will be discussed. Energy efficiency, addressed through a variety of insulation approaches, will also be explained. The research completed to locate matching slate with the original color, size and texture, along with the specification will be outlined. And finally, while no owner wants a new roof, it will be demonstrated that the University improved the safety of the public and increased operating energy efficiency for the occupants.
Learning Objectives
Participants will learn to:
- Apply WUFI energy model to existing construction to understand methods to improve insulation.
- Use a dew point calculation in locating the vapor barrier plane and how that is affected by location and thickness of insulation.
- Apply laser-scanning as a tool for improved detailing, scoping, and costing.
- Employ lessons learned on this project to most other slate roof projects.
1:30 - 2:45 pm TBC287 The Restoration of Unity Temple
1 AIA Health/Safety/Welfare Learning Unit
Instructor: Robert Score, AIA, Harboe Architects, Chicago, IL
Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1908 Unity Temple in Oak Park, IL is considered a masterpiece of modern architecture. The 8,000-sq.ft. structure is significant not only for its design but also because it is one of the first poured-in-place concrete buildings. Until this point, poured-in-place concrete had been used primarily for commercial buildings.
Time and deferred maintenance had taken its toll on Unity Temple. In 2000, the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois (now Landmarks Illinois) put Unity Temple on the Illinois' list of Ten Most Endangered Buildings. In 2009 a piece of the ceiling fell near the pulpit. Now, the historic temple is looking and operating better than ever, thanks to a four-year, $25-million restoration; this session will present information on the diagnostics and analysis to arrive at treatments for both the exterior and interior projects including the concrete exterior, plaster and paint finishes, interior woodwork and stained glass, lighting improvements, and a new geothermal system for heating and cooling. The construction project took two years to complete.
Learning Objectives
Participants will learn to:
- Explain the process to match and repair the exterior shotcrete from the 1970s and original concrete.
- Describe the process to analyze finishes and make treatment recommendations for repair, replacement and cleaning when a building is an important historic landmark.
- Apply lessons learned from the process to conceal new wiring, heating and cooling and other systems within a significant historic building.
- Strategize for planning and implementing large scale restoration projects on historic buildings that may take months or years to complete.
2:45 - 3:05 pm Networking Break
3:20 - 5:15 pm TBC288 Restoration of Unity Temple Tour**
1 AIA Health/Safety/Welfare Learning Unit
Tour Guides: Trained Interpreters from the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust and Robert Score, AIA Harboe Architects, Chicago, IL
The Unity Temple (1905-08) represents a defining moment in Frank Lloyd Wright’s early career. Designed in Wright’s Oak Park Studio for his own Unitarian congregation, it is one of the first public buildings in America to feature exposed concrete and is Wright’s greatest public building of his Prairie era. The harmony of the building’s geometric architecture and decorative elements exemplifies Wright’s theory of organic design. Unity Temple announced a new era of innovation in modern architecture.
A National Historic Landmark since 1970, Unity Temple is once again open to the public after completion of a comprehensive restoration. The architects who oversaw the $25 million rehabilitation will supplement the interior tour by responding to participants in an informal Q&A session.
Learning Objectives
Participants will learn to:
- Explain the architectural significance of this National Landmark historic structure.
- Evaluate the restoration work by comparing original materials with the repairs.
- Consider the process of improving the energy efficiency of a Landmark with new lighting, geothermal heating and cooling and new wiring.
- Gain familiarity with Frank Lloyd Wright’s design intent for the structure, lighting, finishes, craft details for Unity Temple and compare it to other buildings by Wright.
*(Groups of 20, staggered starts; 60 minutes; accessible sidewalks; about 1.5 miles round trip). Please wear comfortable shoes and pack an umbrella and raincoat. You are welcome to sketch if you stay on the sidewalk.
**(Groups of 30 with staggered 10-minute starts/5-minute walk from conference site/accessible) Please wear comfortable shoes and pack an umbrella and raincoat. Optional: sketching will be allowed in the upper galleries of the sanctuary until 5 pm, so bring your sketch book.