Certificate Programs

Historic Preservation

The study of historic preservation offers the opportunity to preserve the past while shaping the future. Whether you are looking to make a career change, or simply to become a more informed preservation advocate, a range of courses at the Boston Architectural College provide the opportunity to explore this dynamic field. Courses may be taken individually, or applied to the Historic Preservation Certificate Program.

Historic Preservation Certificate
The practice of historic preservation requires a balance between academic sophistication and technical skill that responds to the current preservation movement on the national, state, and local fronts. Using Boston's rich, historic built environment as a laboratory, the curriculum covers both the technical and cultural aspects confronting today's preservationists. You will learn about the philosophical and ethical roots of preservation with opportunities to gain practical knowledge about the preservation, restoration, and rehabilitation of historic structures and sites.

The BAC’s Historic Preservation Certificate is approved by the National Council for Preservation Education.

Six Required Classes

  • Preservation Philosophy and Practice
  • Preservation Documentation and Research
  • At least two Preservation electives
  • At least one History elective

Required:

Preservation Philosophy and Practice
Course Number: TM231
3.0 Credits
Prerequisites: Recommended as the first course in the Historic Preservation Certificate program.

This course will explore the history of the preservation movement worldwide, with a special focus on the philosophy and practice of historic preservation in the United States. Using New England and the Boston area as a local laboratory, we will explore and critique the social, historical, and cultural roots and contemporary meanings of historic preservation as it has been, is, and could be practiced.

Preservation, Documentation and Research
Course Number: TM305
3.0 Credits
Prerequisites: Preservation Philosophy and Practice is recommended but not required.

This course offers students a direct field experience in historic building survey and analysis using Back Bay as the class study area. The course will develop building research skills through dating and studying architectural styles in Boston’s Back Bay. Each student will select a building on upper Newbury Street and prepare a sample building survey form with photographs and written significance for the National Register of Historic Places. In-class writing labs and discussions will support the required midterm field survey exam and the final historic building survey form.

Examples of Preservation Electives:

The Traditional House Studio: Architectural Interiors
Course Number: SAC550
3.0 Credits
Prerequisites: Interior Decoration Introductory Studio (Formerly Basics of Interior Design) for DA certificate students or Orthogonal Drawing.

This studio will explore the fundamentals of designing new traditional residential interiors via a semester-long studio project. The time-tested principles of traditional classical interior design will be reviewed, along with the methodology of exploring design alternatives and various traditional residential styles. The selection of finishes and the development and production of intermediate and final design schemes will also be addressed.

Preservation Law, Planning and Finance
Course Number: TM232
3.0 Credits
Prerequisites: None

This course will explore the history, philosophy, and legal foundations upon which the historic preservation movement in the United States stands, focusing special attention on those areas where treasured American values clash. Students will look at the preservation planning and regulatory review process, learn about investment tax credits and the Secretary of the Interior Standards, and work with local historic district study reports and design guidelines. Students will be challenged with conservation, financing, feasibility, land use, affordability, and sympathetic infill issues. Case studies will be utilized as learning tools for the preservation of neighborhoods, churches, commercial structures, and buildings of the modern movement.

Traditional Materials and Construction
Course Number: TM573
3.0 Credits
Prerequisites: 19th Century American Buildings: types, architecture, and elements or equivalent experience

This course is a survey of historic building systems key to the preservation of New England structures from the Colonial Era through the middle of the twentieth century, including wood framing, masonry and grout, terra cotta, plaster, cladding, and paint. Legal guidelines for the preservation of historic buildings and materials will be discussed. The course will include visiting experts in architectural conservation and visits to ongoing restoration projects and conservation workshops.

Examples of History and Theory Electives:

American City: Form & Image
Course Number: HT163/7163
1.5 Credits
Prerequisites: None

This course in urban planning and architecture examines four American cities-Boston, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles-tracing the history of city structure with symbolic images through maps, photos, film, and videos. Development of elite neighborhoods in the Back Bay, East side, Gold Coast, and Beverly Hills will be contrasted with industrial districts of the South End, South Bronx, South Side, and South Central along with the rise of modern skyscrapers and the growth of beltway-edge cities. Students will learn how to understand American city forms and urban symbols through walking tours, weekly assignments, a midterm and a take-home final exam.

History of Interior Design and Furniture
Course Number: HT325/7325
3.0 Credits
Prerequisites: None

The history of interior design and furniture encompasses numerous styles, movements, and individual artistic contributions. It also reflects the influence of cultural, political, and social developments. A basic understanding of this history is important for the professional interior designer who may often look to the past seeking inspiration. This class will entail the study of a progression of historical interiors, styles, movements and furniture. Each will be examined for their inherent qualities and contributions in order to more fully understand the role of history in contemporary practice. Site visits to regional collections may be arranged to meet the class schedule.

History of Boston Parks
Course Number: HT100/7100
3.0 Credits
Prerequisites: None

The history of public parks in Boston reflects the growth and change in the city and its residents. This field course examines the development of Boston parks from Colonial commons to present-day public spaces. Students will study the parks themselves; five classes will be field lectures. In addition, the class will visit a local archive. Five field trips will be scheduled during class time throughout the semester, dates TBD. In case of inclement weather, the field trips will be held at 4 PM on Friday of the same week. The course will cover the role of park designers and others who have influenced the evolution of parks and public landscape design in the city.

Nineteenth-Century American Buildings: Types, Architecture, and Elements
Course Number: HT280/7280
3.0 Credits
Prerequisites: None

Because of the great variety of architectural styles, building types, and building technologies that emerged in the nineteenth century, it is the richest period in American building history. This course focuses on representative building types, architectural styles, novel buildings materials (e.g., architectural terra cotta), and high-tech construction technologies (e.g., structural iron, concrete) that came into being in this period. Students will develop observational and interpretive skills and build their vocabularies of architectural and structural terms that are needed for communicating about historic buildings. Please note: This course is a pre-requisite for Traditional Materials and Construction, planned in Spring 2008.

Perceiving the Patterns of the Past through New England’s Historic Interiors
Course Number: HT282/7282
3.0 Credits
Prerequisites: ID students need approval of ID Program Director.

Each period of New England’s history has produced distinctive interiors that provide a window into domestic life: the social culture, aesthetic ambitions, and technology of its time. Develop your powers of observation and analytical skills to identify characteristic interior elements from three centuries of New England residential architecture. Discard your pre-conceptions of the historic past, and gain a renewed perspective on the ways that proportion of space, patterns of floor plan, and decorative design reflected how people lived in New England. Learn how to make correct choices about the preservation and adaptation of these interiors which often embody a building’s historic significance. Readings and historical research will supplement lectures, and site visits will occur during regular class time. Rough sketching will provide a way to sharpen and record observation; previous training in drawing is not required.

For more information, contact us at ce@the-bac.edu or use the Request Information link.  For course availability for the current semester, use the CE Course Schedule link.