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Chris Lutjen Awarded Grant to Attend APT Conference

Searching for opportunities to expand his knowledge in historic preservation, Chris Lutjen, LEED AP BD+C, Garavaglia Architecture, Inc’s Job Captain, was awarded a Grant for Early Professionals in Preservation. The grant provided monetary assistance for emerging professionals to attend the Association of Preservation Technology (APT) Conference. He was one of five international recipients. As a condition of the grant, Chris was required to identify and plan a volunteer service project in his local community. His chosen community organization was the Victorian Preservation Center of Oakland; a non-profit organization that manage and preserve the National Register listed Cohen Bray House in Oakland, CA. This home is one of the best examples of the Victorian era’s high-style Aesthetic fashionable in the mid-1880s. Chris attended this year’s conference held in Victoria, BC in October 2011. The conference was held at the Historic Victoria Conference Center, Crystal Garden Building and the Empress Hotel located in the Inner Harbor.

Chris tells us he found many interesting tracks including seismic upgrades, materials treatment, and codes. One of the more interesting presentations he found was the review of the recently revised “Illustrated Guidelines on Sustainability for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings” presented by Jo Ellen Hensley, one of the coauthors.

To follow up on his grant stipulations, Chris will be providing assistance for the stabilization and accessibility upgrades of the Cohen-Bray House this fall. This service project is intended to make the Cohen Bray House more accessible to the local community, especially children, elderly, and visiting scholars. Chris will conduct multiple site visits, review existing documentation, and assist in pro

ject planning for the house museum. This project serves dual purposes for Chris as he can also use it to help complete the requirements for the intern development program, furthering him towards obtaining an architectural license. A post-project report, including the project highlights and accomplishments, will be published in APT’s online newsletter, the Communiqué.

Advocating for a historic resource now can pave the way to successful projects

It could be said that there is probably no better friend to historic preservation than a recession. With slowed development pressures, advocates are in a great position to start planning now for future historic preservation projects.

Do you know of an untapped or underused historic resource in your community? Perhaps an unoccupied building that has fallen into disrepair, or an older or historic district that is in desperate need of revitalization? Now is the perfect time to begin advocating for your community, to initiate proactive planning, and to direct funding for future projects.

Garavaglia Architecture, Inc., provides a variety of services that are tailored to help launch your planning process including:

Strategic Planning
Feasibility Studies
Commercial District Revitalization
Grant research and support
Fundraising support
Use Studies for Fundraising
Stewardship Training
Visioning and Board Training

Please feel free to contact us to find out more about our services or to discuss how we can help.

Case Study: In rural Amador County, a National Register listed juvenile reform facility had been abandoned since the 1960s. To save this unique resource, a group of local individuals initiated key steps to save the site. Their efforts included:

Forming a non-profit foundation
Numerous successful fundraising & promotional activities
Securing grants including one from the National Trust for Historic Preservation for a rehabilitation study
The Foundation’s preservation efforts were recognized with a 2008 California Preservation Foundation President’s Award.

Garavaglia Architecture, Inc. was retained to assist the Foundation and to date we have provided services that include:

Rehabilitation planning, potential use consultations, core Historic Structures Report, National Register nomination update planning, identification of additional rehabilitation funding, and community visioning workshops
Guidance on maintenance and stabilization to sustain funding opportunities
Assistance and direction to the Foundation including board training and visioning services

CAP and MAP Grant Deadlines are Rapidly Approaching!

Are you a museum managing historic collections? Or perhaps you are a museum in a historic building? Garavaglia Architecture, Inc., wanted to let you know that there are a variety of opportunities available to non-profit organizations that you may not be aware of, but hurry, some of these have deadlines fast approaching:

The Conservation Assessment Program (CAP) is a program administered by Heritage Preservation, the National Institute for Conservation and provides a general conservation assessment of your museum’s collection, environmental conditions, and site. Conservation priorities are identified by professionals who spend up to two days on-site with a follow-up report providing assessment and recommendations. The report can help your museum develop strategies for improved collections care and provide a tool for long-range planning and fund-raising.

The 2012 Application is now available! Click here to access the application.

CAP offers a maximum of two assessors per institution. Most museums are provided a conservator to assess the museum’s collections. If you have a historic structure (a building more than 50 years old), you may also qualify for a historic structure assessment. If your institution has living collections (zoos, aquariums, nature centers, botanical gardens, and arboreta), you can be provided a zoologist, botanist, or horticulturalist to assess your living collections.

The Conservation Assessment Program is supported through a cooperative agreement with the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Garavaglia Architecture, Inc. has CAP assessors on staff and would be happy to tell you more about this program. Hurry, the deadline is 01-December-2012.

Museum Assessment Program (MAP), American Association of Museums

Since 1981, the Museum Assessment Program (MAP) has helped museums maintain and improve operations through a confidential, consultative process. They provide guidance in meeting priorities and goals and understanding how your museum compares to standards and best practices.

Participating in MAP can help:

prioritize goals so you can allocate resources wisely,
document your needs so that you can make a stronger case to funders,
provide recommendations on ways to become an even stronger institution.

In less than a year, your museum can complete a self-study, have a site visit by a peer reviewer and begin implementing recommendations. For those applying for the December 1st deadline, you will receive additional benefits, including an online community, MAP bookshelf and access to the AAM Information Center and Museum Essentials webinar series.

Map Assessment types include:

Organizational Assessment (OMAP)

Collections Stewardship Assessment (CSMAP)

Community Engagement Assessment (CEMAP)

Leadership Assessment (LMAP)

MAP application is now available.
The deadline is Dec. 1, 2011