UMass Amherst and Hancock Shaker Village have announced key faculty appointments and curriculum for the new Master of Science in Design with a concentration in historic preservation program that will offer an opportunity for advanced study in traditional building materials, preservation theory, and building systems. Starting in fall 2010, the two-year program will explore 18th, 19th and 20th century architecture, building technology, and conservation methods using Hancock Shaker Village, a National Historic Landmark in the Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts, as a primary study site.
The Shaker’s deep-seated commitment to sustainability in building, living, and farming will be investigated and tested for its applicability to modern life. Students will expand their skills in architectural design, historic preservation, construction, restoration, and town planning, as well as their understanding of historic site management while working closely with museum staff, instructors, craftsmen, and preservationists.
Faculty appointments include Program Director Dr. Steven Bedford, an architectural historian at Louis Berger Group and formerly a senior planner at Fitzgerald Halliday, who will teach the history of American buildings . Dr. Max Page, associate professor of architecture and history at UMass Amherst, will teach preservation policy. Preservation carpenter and woodworker Robert Adam, founder of the preservation carpentry program at the North Bennet Street School in Boston and craftsman and historian Don Carpentier, owner of Eastfield Village, will teach traditional trades and craftsmanship. Donald Friedman, a principal of Old Structures Engineering, one of the leading consultancies in structural engineering for historic and old buildings, will teach the history of construction systems, methods, and materials. Michael Devonshire, principal and director of conservation at Jan Hird Pokorny Associates of New York and a preservation architecture professor at Columbia University, will teach building conservation.
Prospective students are invited to attend an open house reception with faculty members on Sunday, January 10 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Hancock Shaker Village (1843 W. Housatonic St., Pittsfield, MA). Please RSVP to Steven Bedford, program director, at 413.443.0188 ext. 239 or sbedford@hancockshakervillage.org.
The priority registration deadline for the UMass Amherst Hancock Shaker Village program is February 1, 2010. For more information, visit www.umass.edu/preservation.
The Master of Science in Design curriculum will progress as follows:
Fall First Year
American Building-17th-19th Centuries (includes preservation theory)
Building Conservation I
Preservation Policy
Spring First Year
Researching Historic Structures
Traditional Trades and Craftsmanship
Building Conservation II
Fall Second Year
Material Culture/Green Building Techniques and Historic Preservation
Structural and Mechanical Systems
Architectural Materials Testing I
Spring Second Year
Cultural Resource Management
Architectural Materials Testing II
Preservation Design Studio
The program is geared toward working professionals who wish to maintain employment while pursuing an advanced degree. Courses are offered on a schedule that allows students to commute to western Massachusetts for two days of concentrated classes on alternating weeks during the spring and fall semesters. Classes may be held in Amherst or Pittsfield depending on instructional objectives of various stages of the program. Credits may be transferred to other degree programs with permission and may qualify for AIA continuing education credits.
Evidence of design capacity or knowledge of the building trades is required for admission. While a core group of students will be selected for full matriculation, there will be spaces available for students electing to take individual courses. Credits may be transferable to alternate advanced degree programs as well as AIA Mandatory Continuing Education.
About Hancock Shaker Village
Hancock Shaker Village is one of the most visited cultural venues in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. Visited by nearly 70,000 people annually, the Village brings the Shaker story to life, and preserves it for future generations. It is a center for reflection on the values of principled living that the Shakers embraced – equality, community, sustainability, and responsible land stewardship – that still resonate today. For more information, call 800.817.1137 or see www.hancockshakervillage.org.
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