Seattle is a seaport city and the largest in the Pacific Northwest region. With a growth rate of 21% between 2010 and 2020, it makes it one of the nation's fastest-growing large cities. Native Americans inhabited the Seattle area for at least 4,000 years before the first permanent European settlers. Arthur A. Denny and his group of travelers, subsequently known as the Denny Party, arrived from Illinois via Portland, Oregon, on the schooner Exact at Alki Point on November 13, 1851. The settlement was moved to the eastern shore of Elliott Bay and named "Seattle" in 1852 in honor of Chief Si'ahl of the local Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. Today, Seattle's diverse population includes Native, Scandinavian, European American, Asian American, and African American people, as well as a thriving LGBT community that ranks sixth in the United States by population.

The "Emerald City" is defined by the Puget Sound to the west and the various lakes the city is built around, including Lake Union, Lake Washington, and Greenlake. Water, green foliage, and mountains define almost every few in Seattle. Its beauty and location have drawn big businesses like Boeing, Amazon, Microsoft, and Starbucks to the city. Its skyline is peppered with historic towers next to modern landmarks by Frank Geary and Rem Koolhas, all within walking distance. Come and learn how this rampant growth and influx of money has both helped and challenged the preservation industry in the Pacific Northwest. In 2023, we invite you to join us in Seattle as we explore the future of technology, environment, and cultural heritage as it relates to preservation!

Deadlines
General abstracts submissions - February 27, 2023
Student abstracts/scholarship applications - February 27, 2023
Notification of acceptance of abstracts and Student Scholars will be made in June 2023.

Additional Information
General Abstract Submission Guidelines
Student Scholar Abstract Guidelines
Paper Session Speaker Agreement

---

The three tracks that will explore this year’s theme are:
Proposals for this program track should consider how they cross-pollinate with other themes and subthemes sprinkled throughout the conference.

Program Track 1:Technology in Historic Preservation
Technology (T.E.C.H) in historic preservation, will showcase innovative use of new, emerging, or existing technologies in historic preservation. Technology serves several critical roles in historic preservation, providing ways to document properties, design adaptations, and/or remedy structural or other material issues, just to name a few. Before point cloud scanning, there was hand measuring and documenting with ink on mylar; before center coring and base isolation, there were shear walls and moment frames; before solar shingles, there were cedar shakes. All of these represent advancements in technology that affect historic building features or preservation practices.

Example topics include, but are not limited to:

1. Advancements that improve the lifespan of existing or replacement materials
2. Developments in building technology and remedial repairs
3. Innovative uses of non-destructive material testing
4. Integration of green technologies/materials into historic buildings
5. Use of high-tech equipment to address the affordable housing issues plaguing not only Seattle but also other parts of the world
6. Equitable access to technology to leverage preservation goals in minority or underserved communities
7. Blending modern, hightech and traditional low-tech methods to inform diagnosis/assessment or design
8. Virtual reality and simulations used during project design
9. Use of technology to document difficult to access sites and/or conditions
10. Changes in material manufacturing, including considerations of integrating modern materials in rehabilitation of historic structures
11. Techniques and advancement in the preservation of modern materials

Program Track 2: Environment (Resilience and Natural Disasters)
How do we enable historical places to adapt to the dynamic forces in our environment (T.E.C.H.)? Our preservation approaches are evolving in the face of environmental hazards. Stronger storms, rising sea levels, inland flooding, increased wildfire danger, landslides, and earthquakes highlight the importance of adopting proactive measures to ensure long-term protection. With a focus on the technical preservation of heritage, this track is focused on resilience, including recovery from and preventative measures related to nature disasters and climate change. It is not intended to cover the natural hazards themselves, except where sufficient contextual information is needed to understand the preservation approach. Understanding both traditional and unconventional preservation solutions may proactively prepare for and respond to natural disasters as well as reduce the impact of carbon and climate change.

Example topics include, but are not limited to:

1. Actionable preservation solutions to counter the effects of climate change and associated extreme weather
2. Technologies mitigating environmental impacts on our historic communities
3. Reuse of existing buildings to conserve natural resources, capitalize on embodied carbon, reduce landfill waste, and enhance a sense of place
4. Applicability of traditional technologies and building techniques to inform resilient design
5. Improving energy use and efficiency strategies for historic buildings
6. The intersection of preservation with net zero, AIA 2030, LEED, Well Building, and similar design initiatives targeting more environmentally responsible buildings
7. Lessons in disaster recovery such as preparedness, response, loss, and rebirth
8. Historical exploitation of regional or local materials; their evolving use, and impacts on the environment
9. Preservation and preventative measures in coastal communities
10. Using preservation technology to engender environmental justice and equity to protect the heritage of environmentally and socio-economically vulnerable communities (proposals with community-led examples of environmental equity through historic preservation are especially encouraged)
11. Preservation in the face of natural disaster such as earthquakes, flooding and volcanoes.

Program Track 3: Cultural Heritage
Technical issues involved in saving our shared cultural heritage (T.E.C.H.) can both inspire and inform ways to conserve and curate our built environment for future generations. Cultural heritage is local and global, ancient and modern, visible and hidden, celebrated and threatened. Protecting cultural heritage takes many forms and presents challenges that are both unique to specific projects and universal. Throughout history, heritage has become endangered – through conflict, gentrification, and programs that typically do not represent our vibrant and mixed communities. How are our stories protected as a bookmark of the past while leaving space for tales not yet told? Presentations that address the issues of Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are strongly encouraged.

Example topics include, but are not limited to:

1. Preserving vernacular and non-landmarked properties, such as “single-wall buildings” in Hawaii or else the “Federation Bungalow Style in Australia.
2. Mitigation of threats to historic properties and communities (i.e. conflict, demolition, etc.)
3. New life for heritage affected by military base realignment and closure (BRAC) facilities and maintenance of existing in-use military facilities
4. Successful (or failed) practice treatments for cultural heritage structures and buildings damaged/affected by threats
5. Impact of code regulations and/or design guidelines on historic properties
6. Technological analysis of the evolution of building and material technology within a culture or where cultures intermingled
7. Research techniques aided by current technology to reveal lost understandings of place, material knowledge, or technology
8. How cultural views of natural resource utilization impact built heritage
9. Documentation and/or preservation of cultural landscapes in light of development pressure
10. Technical solutions related to interpretation and heritage tourism
11. Preserving industrial heritage sites
12. Specific themes could include the preservation of cultural heritage at risk from conflict, war, civil unrest, and how to address monuments that represent colonial heritage.