Schedule
The Traditional Building Conference Series, now in its twenty-fifth year, has interesting, informative and inspirational education and architectural tours planned for 2026. Three of America's most historic locations will be our living laboratories for learning about architectural history, traditional design and craftsmanship. Earn up to 10 AIA Continuing Education Units in each event, most HSWs. Meet industry experts and network with your professional peers in intimate settings with excellent food!
Charleston, SC • November 3-4, 2026
The Grand at 81 Mary, Charleston, SC
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Charleston has five centuries of architectural history which makes it an excellent living laboratory for traditional building education and inspiration. The city's food, fashion, music, waterfront fun and temperate climate beckon us on November 3 and 4th this fall!
Network with your professional peers and expert speakers and earn up to 10 AIA CEUs, mostly HSW, in seminars and architecture tours.
Tuesday, November 3
8:00-8:45 AM
Breakfast, Sponsor Exhibits, Networking
8:45-9:00 AM
Welcome and Introductions
9:00-10:00 AM
Charleston's History and Architectural Heritage
Speaker: Nic Butler, Ph.D., Historian, Charleston Public Library
Nic Butler, Ph.D., is the historian for the Charleston County Public Library. A native of Greenville County, Dr. Butler has worked for more than twenty-five years as a public historian specializing in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. As creator and host of the podcast series Charleston Time Machine, Dr. Butler draws attention to a wide variety of under-explored aspects of local history and neglected documentary resources.
This course has been submitted to the AIA for credit review.
Learning Objectives:
- Cite pivotal moments in Charleston’s history.
- Identify key buildings, streetscapes, neighborhoods, and waterways that are crucial to a clear understanding of the city’s development.
- Identify building features that address local environmental conditions.
- Understand how local demographics and labor practices shaped the building trades in Charleston over the past three centuries.
The built environment of urban Charleston is a living laboratory for the study of history and civic planning. After more than 350 years of occupation, punctuated by natural disasters and warfare, the present streetscape includes numerous examples of historic architectural forms, construction methods, and aesthetic styles. Join Charleston’s veteran time traveler for an overview of the city’s history, focusing on the key events, customs, materials, and alterations that have shaped the urban landscape over the centuries.
10:00 -10:20 AM
Networking Break
10:20-11:25 AM
Relatable and Humane: New Traditional Development on a Grand Scale
Speaker: Christian Sottile, FAIA, Founder, Sottile and Sottile, Savannah, GA
Christian Sottile, FAIA, is the founding principal of Sottile & Sottile, a Savannah-based firm working primarily in Nationally Registered Historic Districts. The firm’s work includes urban design and civic architecture, emphasizing historic research, urban analysis, and community-wide engagement. Read full bio.
1 AIA Health/Safety/Welfare Learning Unit
Learning Objectives :
- Adapt the design charrette process for new construction to encourage local participation for any public project.
- Consider the emotional and physical impact of large-scale buildings in historic settings when designing infill so that it works well with other buildings and serves people who live, work, and recreate in the neighborhood.
- Use design techniques such as massing, fenestration, patterns for all four elevations to reduce the scale of large buildings so that they work well within their neighborhood context for function, walkability, and compatibility.
- Seek ways to use architectural designs for new buildings to continue a heritage of beauty and comfort found in traditional buildings that resonate with the people who use the buildings or travel near them.
The challenges of large-scale infill when redeveloping within an entire city block are myriad. This educational session will focus on the efforts to design a new infill project that meets the following criteria:
- The solution must be humane.
- The solution must be of Charleston.
- The solution must relate well to all frontages.
- The solution must beautify the skyline.
- The solution must reward the street experience.
The design team conducted a charrette in conjunction with the Historic Charleston Foundation and the Preservation Society of Charleston to get local insights into the project to ensure that it would work within the historic neighborhood. A traditionally inspired approach has been developed to create a larger new building that enhances the scale of the pedestrian experience within the neighborhood. The building will be ornamented by more than five-hundred unique architectural elements designed and crafted by students, the next generation of craftspeople, from the American College of Building Arts in Charleston. Thus, ensuring that the building resonates well with the humans that use it and walk by it, and that it features the human touch throughout its design and construction.
11:25 AM -12:15 PM
Modern Manufacturing Doors and Windows
Speaker: Russ Oliveri, President, Oliveri Windows and Doors
Rosario 'Russ' Oliveri is President of Oliveri Millworks, a leader in the South Florida market for architectural hurricane impact fenestration. A former general contractor armed with credible impact testing data, Russ advises general contractors and architects about specifying and installing historically accurate, custom windows and doors which meet stringent coastal area building codes.
.5 AIA HSW Learning Unit
Learning Objectives:
- Explain how traditional methods and advanced manufacturing technologies, including CNC machining and automated production systems, improve consistent quality, cost, lead times, performance, and durability of architectural door and window systems.
- Analyze materials selection and fabrication processes, including milling, assembly and glazing and their impact on structural integrity, weather resistance, and occupant safety.
- Describe finishing systems and paint line technologies, including surface preparation, coating application, and curing methods, and how they contribute to long-term durability, environmental resistance, and lifecycle performance.
- Evaluate quality control procedures and production workflows, including precision tolerances, inspection methods, and process sequencing, to ensure consistency, efficiency, and adherence to architectural specifications.
This course provides and in-depth look at modern manufacturing of architectural doors and windows, highlighting the integration of traditional craftsmanship with advanced production technologies. Through real-world examples, including photos and video from active manufacturing environments, participants will gain insight into CNC machining, material processing, glazing techniques, and finishing systems. The course emphasizes how these processes influence product performance durability, and compliance, particularly with high-performance and hurricane-prone environments. Attendees will leave with an understanding of how manufacturing decisions impact design intent, constructability, and long-term building performance.
12:15 – 1:00 PM
Style and Finish: Overview of Custom Architectural Builder's Hardware
Speaker: Gregory Bettenhausen, MBA, President, Wilmette Hardware
As President of Al Bar Wilmette Platers, Inc., Greg leads a premier specialty metal finishing and plating company serving the Chicago area. Since 1937, the company has provided exceptional plating and finishing services to architects, designers, builders, and discerning clients seeking the highest level of quality and craftsmanship. Read full bio.
.5 AIA Elective Learning Unit
Learning Objectives:
- Examine examples of architectural hardware, distinguishing among multiple types and finishes.
- Identify approach for selecting historically accurate architectural hardware that integrates cohesively with surrounding design elements.
This session is an overview of custom architectural hardware with an emphasis on hardware style and finishes. Discussion will also focus on choosing historically accurate hardware that blends with other design elements.
1:00 -2:00 PM
Lunch
2:00-5:30 PM
Tours- Select one-see departure times.
• Recent Rehabilitation at Drayton Hall
2 AIA Health/Safety/Welfare Learning Units
Departs at 1:30 PM, Walking and Bus. Wear comfortable shoes and wear clothes for the weather. Returns by 5:30 PM.
Tour Leader: Patricia Lowe Smith, Vice President for Preservation, Archaeology, and Collections, Drayton Hall Preservation Trust
Trish Lowe Smith is Vice President of Preservation, Archaeology, and Collections for Drayton Hall Preservation Trust where she has worked since 2010 leading efforts in architectural research and conservation, exhibit design and fabrication, and collections care. Read full bio.
The tour length is approximately 2 hours plus travel time for a total of 3 hours. Note: Additional charge of $99 for this tour only.
Learning Objectives:
- Explain the history of Drayton Hall and the significance of its buildings and landscape.
- Explore the conservation decision-making process and the resulting strategy to apply it to other projects, bearing in mind the visitor experience at this historic site.
- Cite safety needs of staff and visitors that prompted the decision for structural stabilization and conservation.
- Reflect on the engineering analysis and scientific processes that inform conservation projects today to ensure safe, effective work.
Drayton Hall is a National Historic Landmark that is the first and best example of Palladian architecture in North America. It belonged to a prominent South Carolina family that played significant roles in the American Revolution, the American Civil War, and the history and development of Charleston. The house retains an extraordinary amount of material original to its 1740s construction, and benefits from a rare preservation approach that seeks to retain as much original material as possible. Drayton Hall is often described as a laboratory for the practice of historic preservation, and for decades, preservation professionals have explored and advanced the field within its walls.
Recent engineering analysis combined with public forums informed an innovative conservation strategy for the Great Hall and its plaster ceiling. Structural members that have rarely been seen are open for investigation and stabilization. The severely compromised plaster ceiling will be plastered again; its low-relief plaster decoration was removed and numbered to permit its reinstallation. The project is ongoing, and we are not sure where in the work schedule the project will be when we visit, but it will present a rare opportunity to explore the house with new insights gained from this investigation and conservation project. If time permits, a visit to Drayton Hall’s onsite conservation laboratory will be included.
• The Aiken-Rhett House and its Neighborhood
Tour Guides: Staff from the Historic Charleston Foundation and Walk & Talk Charleston
2 AIA Elective Learning Units
Departs at 2 pm and returns by 5 pm. The tour is 2 hours in length plus travel time and is a walking tour. Wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe key features of a 19th century townhouse with dependency buildings.
- Compare the “as found” preservation philosophy to other approaches for historic site management- restoration, rehabilitation, and reconstruction.
- Discuss the impact of the modern preservation movement on the neighborhoods surrounding the Aiken-Rhett House.
- Examine the cycles of development, decline, and renewal in this neighborhood.
This tour will begin with a visit to the Historic Charleston Foundation’s (HCF) Aiken-Rhett House.
HCF purchased the Aiken-Rhett House, c. 1820, from The Charleston Museum in 1995 to ensure it remains a house museum accessible to the public. The site serves as the nation’s most intact example of a 19th century urban townhouse complex with dependency buildings, including slave quarters, stables, and privies. The buildings are conserved as they existed in 1858 during the residency of Gov. and Mrs. William Aiken.
The Historic Charleston Foundation assumed ownership of the property and adopted a preserved “as-found” preservation approach, meaning the structure and contents are left in an “as-found” state, including furniture, architecture and finishes that have not been altered since the mid-19th century. The only restored room in the house, the Art Gallery, showcases paintings and sculptures the Aiken family acquired on their European Grand Tour.
While many dependency buildings in Charleston have been demolished or adapted, the Aiken-Rhett House’s kitchen, laundry and quarters – with their original paint, floors and fixtures – survive virtually untouched since the 1850s, allowing visitors the unique chance to better comprehend the every-day realities of the enslaved Africans who lived on-site, maintained the household and catered to the needs of the Aiken family and their guests.
The walking tour will highlight significant architectural design, historic sites, and examples of the preservation movement’s success in the neighborhoods of Mazyck-Wraggborough, Ansonborough, and the East Side. For example, the Joseph Manigault House and the Ansonborough Rehabilitation Project will be exterior stops along the tour.
• The Nathaniel Russell House and South of Broad and the French Quarter
Tour Guides: staff from the Historic Charleston Foundation and Walk and Talk Charleston.
2 AIA Elective Learning Units
The tour is 2 hours in length and is a walking and bus tour. Wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather. The tour will depart at 2 pm and return at approximately 5 pm.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe the restored interior and exterior of one of Charleston’s finest homes.
- Explain the ongoing restoration of this important early 19th century property.
- Reflect on the enduring tradition of fine craftsmanship in Charleston.
- Experience the calm of the side streets, a result of good design, despite being in a vibrant city.
Nathaniel Russell arrived in Charleston from Bristol, Rhode Island in 1765 and, thanks to extensive contacts in his home colony, established himself as a successful merchant and trader of captive Africans. His 1789 marriage to Sarah Hopton Russell produced two daughters, Alicia and Sarah, and in 1808 the Russell family moved to their new townhome at 51 Meeting Street. Accompanying them were as many as eighteen enslaved people who toiled in the work yard, gardens, stable, kitchen, and laundry. Russell spared little expense in the construction of his home, regarded as one of Charleston’s finest in its era with geometrically shaped rooms, elaborate plasterwork ornamentation, and formal gardens. The defining architectural feature of the home is a three-story, cantilevered, flying staircase whose “…sweep is broad, treads are deep, and the rise perfectly proportioned and easy of ascent,” according to Nathaniel Russell’s great-granddaughter Alicia Hopton Middleton.
A National Historic Landmark, the house has been restored as nearly as possible to its 1808 appearance through the application of forensic analysis and cutting-edge conservation technology. Because restoration is an ongoing process, visitors have the opportunity to see and learn about the meticulous care, craft, and consideration that informs every detail. Historic Charleston Foundation’s most recent preservation initiative involves the kitchen house, an ancillary structure that includes a kitchen, laundry, and living quarters for the enslaved. By uncovering the material history contained in that structure, the Foundation hopes to further illuminate the lives of the men, women, and children who lived and worked there.
The neighborhoods of South of Broad and the French Quarter are rich with historic buildings including the Battery, the celebrated Rainbow Row and St. Michael’s Church. The streets are walkable, tree-lined and the buildings have been restored to their 18th and 19th centuries grandeur.
Wednesday, November 4
8:00-8:45 AM
Continental Breakfast, Networking and Sponsor Exhibits
8:45 -9:00
Welcome and Introductions
9:00-10:00 AM
Decarbonizing the Built Environment on the Path to Our Urban Future
Speaker: Carl Elefante FAIA, FAPT, Principal Emeritus, Quinn Evans
Known worldwide for coining the phrase: “the greenest building is…one that is already built,” Carl Elefante is Principal Emeritus with Quinn Evans, recipient of the 2024 AIA National Firm Award. In 2018, Carl served as President of AIA, the culmination of leadership positions in architecture, historic preservation, and sustainable design organizations. Read full bio.
1 AIA Health/Safety/Welfare Learning Unit; CS-021400 1 Hour - Energy (MA CSL)
Learning Objectives:
- Strategize to keep and repurpose existing buildings to meet energy and climate targets and simultaneously yield collateral social, economic, and environmental benefits.
- Consider the limitations of many accepted practices and what is needed to overcome them to meet energy and climate targets and yield collateral social, economic, and environmental benefits.
- Apply the forgotten premises of climate-adapted design to meet energy and climate targets and yield collateral social, economic, and environmental benefits.
- Design for a very long service-life for buildings to meet energy and climate targets and yield collateral social, economic, and environmental benefits.
For those who shape the built environment, the forces impacting the 21st century present a relevance revolution. The importance of what, where, and how we build has never been more consequential. The actions of today’s building-sector professionals will chart the course of humanity’s urban future. What will it be? “If the Past Teaches, What Does the Future Learn?” From a career rescuing building from demolition and repurposing them, Carl Elefante shares his experiences prioritizing stewardship and applying the lessons of built heritage for strong and abundant communities.
Curtailing climate change requires retooling everything about the design, construction, and operation of buildings to eliminate carbon pollution. It demands both a greater focus on building performance and construction technology and also deeper understanding of the impact of buildings and cities on human health, safety, wellbeing, and productive capacity. Going for Zero both explains the demands of climate action on architectural solutions and the broader impacts of climate action in addressing intransigent social, economic, and environmental concerns. These topics are addressed from a unique perspective.
The subject matter is most relevant to architects and other building-sector professionals. The presentation offers a range of material from global trends to detailed technical information and is presented without jargon.
10:00-10:20 AM
Networking Break
10:20-11:25 AM
Strategies for Preservation, New Additions, and Infill in Historic Settings
Speaker: Brian R. Turner, President and CEO, The Preservation Society of Charleston
As President & CEO, Turner serves as the principal leader, advocate, and fund-raiser for the Preservation Society, with overall responsibility for all of its activities, including advocacy and education, advancement, communications, retail, finance, and general operations. Read full bio.
1 AIA Health/Safety/Welfare Learning Unit
Learning Objectives:
- Review a selection of laws that regulate height, massing, scale, zoning, preservation, and water management.
- Recognize the health and welfare qualities of historic districts- pedestrian friendliness, walkability, human scale, and mixed uses that create feelings of and actual safety.
- Cite examples of Charleston’s planning process to increase public participation in design and decision-making to generate acceptable strategies.
- Include designs for flood mitigation and storm water management in project designs for infill, preservation, and additions in historic settings.
This session will explore zoning and design strategies to protect historic places while advancing other social, environmental, and economic goals. Balancing preservation and growth are important objectives that we can achieve through a study of comparative experiences in places that retain a sense of place while accommodating growing populations.
Charleston, South Carolina offers particularized lessons that can be instructive to other communities. As the first city in the nation to adopt a historic district, the city’s success with preservation has attracted significant investment. Yet as demand rises, affordability and livability have become central issues. This session will examine ways preservationists have embraced additions and infill projects as valuable tools to enable more people to live, work and recreate in a city defined by its history.
11:25 AM-12:15 PM
Historic Plaster Conservation Services
Speaker: David Riccio, PA AIC, APT RP; President and Principal, John Canning and Co., LTD
David Riccio, PA AIC, APT RP
President and Principal, John Canning & Co., LTD
David Riccio is a principal of John Canning & Co. and has been a visionary leader for the entire Canning team for over 25 years. David has worked on some of the company’s most ambitious restoration and conservation projects across the US. Read full bio.
.5 AIA Health/Safety/Welfare Learning Unit
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the process of evaluating plaster conditions.
- Understand the plaster consolidation of plaster on wood lath and metal, as well as stabilization & reinforcement of fibrous plaster panels & coffers, including the steps involved, material selection, and required tools.
This course will be provided through a visual presentation. The presentation will provide an overview of the steps and processes involved in assessing plaster conditions. It will review the requirements for preparation, original materials and replacement selection, and the history behind the use of these various products. Participants gain a deeper understanding of the historic plaster finishes and restoration, consolidation, stabilization, and conservation options that are typically required for plaster projects.
12:15-1:00 PM
Vacuum Insulating Glass for Retrofits and Restoration
Speaker: Giovana Fernandes, Sales Associate, Architectural Glass, Pilkington North America, Inc., NSG
Giovanna Fernandes is an architect and sales associate at Pilkington North America representing the Central Region. She advocates for advanced glass technologies like Vacuum Insulating Glazing to boost energy efficiency while preserving historic architecture, aligning with NSG/Pilkington’s mission as a global leader in innovative glazing solutions.
.5 AIA Health/Safety/Welfare Learning Unit
Learning Objectives:
- Differentiate construction characteristics of Vacuum Insulating Glass (VIG) technology when compared to conventional monolithic glass or insulating glass unit (IGU) construction.
- Evaluate key product considerations, including thermal performance, compatibility with existing frames, and effect on glazing aesthetics, when determining suitability of VIG for retrofit and restoration applications.
- Examine real‑world design decisions and outcomes on cost and occupant comfort through project case study.
As the demand for high‑performance building upgrades grows, architects are increasingly turning to retrofit and restoration solutions that deliver modern energy efficiency without compromising existing structures. This course explores how Vacuum Insulating Glass (VIG) can be used in retrofit and restoration projects to improve building performance while working within existing conditions. The session covers the basics of VIG technology, key product considerations, and factors that influence its suitability. A project case study is included to illustrate design decisions and performance outcomes.
1:00 - 2:00 PM
Lunch, sponsor exhibits, and networking.
2:00-5:00 PM
Tours -choose one. All depart at 2 PM and return by 5 PM
• Touring the American College of the Building Arts
Speakers: Christina Rae Butler, M.A., Provost/ Professor of Historic Preservation/ Chair of General Education, American College of the Building Arts, and others TBD
Christine Rae Butler, Dean, Professor of Historic Preservation, and the Education Chair at the American College of the Building Arts in Charleston, South Carolina. Read full bio.
Walking and bus. Please wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather.
1.5 AIA Elective Learning Units (90 minutes)
Preservation of historic buildings and traditionally inspired new constructions are dependent upon a skilled workforce. Since 2004, The American College of the Building Arts (ACBA) has trained artisans in timber framing, carpentry, classical architecture and design, woodworking, stone carving, plaster, decorative arts, and blacksmithing to build the U.S. workforce. This tour of ACBA’s campus within a National Register listed historic building will include observing work in progress, a discussion of the curriculum and a review of the design classrooms and workshops/studios to facilitate learning.
Learning Objectives:
- Explain the mission and educational strategy of the American College of the Building Arts
- Describe the design of the workshops and classrooms created to foster learning specialty trades in a safe environment.
- Appreciate the rigor of learning specific craft processes to prepare students for work on jobsites.
- Consider ways to integrate traditional building craft into architectural projects for historic and traditional new buildings.
• The Aiken-Rhett House and its Neighborhood
Presented by staff from the Historic Charleston Foundation and Walk and Talk Charleston. The tour is 2 hours in length and is a walking tour. Wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather.
2 AIA Elective Learning Units
• The Nathaniel Russell House and South of Broad
Presented by staff from the Historic Charleston Foundation and Walk and Talk Charleston. The tour is 2 hours in length and is a walking and trolley tour. Wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather.
2 AIA Elective Learning Units
Earn AIA Learning Units:
The Traditional Building Conference Series is a registered provider of AIA continuing education credits. Credits for ASID, NARI, AIBD, and some NAHB certifications are available.
Previous Conference Schedules:
See the schedule from our June 2026 conference in Cape May, NJ
See the schedule from our March 2026 conference in Salem, MA
See the schedule from our October, 2025 conference in Sleepy Hollow, NY
See the schedule from our June, 2025 conference in Williamsburg, VA
Press Releases:
Coral Gables, 2021
2020 Virtual Conference
Winston-Salem 2019
Winterthur 2019
Oak Park 2018
Brooklyn 2017
Salem 2017
Charleston 2017
Washington, D.C. 2016
Pittsburgh 2016
New Haven 2016
Frequent & Past Attendees Include:
Consiglia Construction
Historical Concepts
Peter Pennoyer Architects
Shawmut Construction
David M. Schwarz Architects
Fairfax and Sammons Architects
Glave and Holmes Architects
Shope Reno Architects
Barnes Vanze Architects
Robert A.M. Stern Architects
Harrison Design
Schooly Caldwell Architects
The Architect of the U.S. Capitol
The National Park Service
City of Denver
General Services Administration
U.S. Department of State
Duke University
Princeton University
MIT
University of Virginia
South Carolina Historic Preservation Office
New York City Landmarks
Schafer Buccellato Architects
Quinn Evans Architects
Morales Construction
Bulley & Andrews
Winchester Builders