The historic architect practicing in the American context learns the Secretary of the Interior’s canon: the Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, associated Guidelines, and Preservation Briefs. The American conservator follows the AIC’s Code of Ethics and Guidance for Practice.
Conservation ethics imply a high standard of practice; the historic architect has no official criteria in that regard. However, architects do benefit from the Department of the Interior’s continuing effort to explain and update their Standards. The National Park Service’s Technical Preservation Services has specific guidelines for solving programmatic issues such as accessibility, as well as updated publications on how to repair historic masonry and design compatible additions to historic buildings.
This paper will first of all outline those aspects of the AIC’s ethics that are not implicit in practice criteria for historic architects. Secondly, the paper will outline the types of Standards that exist for historic architecture, describe how they come to bear in a regulatory context, and present several examples of the application of those Standards to projects, systems, materials, and finishes in assessing conditions and specifying treatments for historic properties.
These different approaches, ethics and standards, apply for conservators and architects who work side by side on the same buildings and materials. Joint study of these different approaches can improve practice in both professions and lead to better treatment of cultural property.
