WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING AT WILLOWBANK
By Willowbank Published on: Monday January 09, 2012
THE SCHOOL
I. Diploma Program
I.1 Student activities:
Diploma Program students are increasingly active in the operations and outreach programs of Willowbank. They are involved in the social media aspects of Willowbank’s marketing and communications activity; they work on conservation and maintenance projects on the estate; they have prepared and participated in dinners in the Bright Parlour for various Willowbank functions; and they have volunteered with various community-based programs. They built a large-scale model of the Willowbank estate house as part of a float for the local Christmas parade, and used it to collect donations for a recycling charity.
Among the third-year students, Diego has been in Colombia, his native country, involved in a series of workshops and discussions related to architectural conservation. Kirsten has a paid internship as a heritage planner with the City of Hamilton. Shiloh has a fall internship with the Ontario Heritage Trust in Toronto and will have a paid winter internship with the National Capital Commission in Ottawa. Scott is working on window performance with a North American group of advocates for retaining historic windows. Walter is working as a restoration carpenter on historic windows and doors at the Auchmar Estate, Whitehern Historic House Museum, and some other Hamilton area sites. Alan is working on an assessment and preliminary management plan for the Fryfogel property in Shakespeare, Ontario.
Second-year students are developing management plan frameworks for two very significant sites – the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton and the McMichael Canadian Art Gallery site in Kleinburg. They are using a cultural landscape model for their work, part of an initiative by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture to use this approach for selected sites under their new Standards and Guidelines for Provincial Heritage Properties.
Second-year students were also involved in the repointing of the south wall of the main estate house at Willowbank, under the direction of John Laundry and Carol Jackson, the supervising masons for the rebuilding. They are also involved in repairing plaster and re-installing walls sections, paneling and trim in the Bright parlour, under the direction of Paul Jacobson.
First-year students worked with landscape architect Wendy Shearer on the assessment and recommendations for the Laura Secord Elementary School property in Queenston. This designated heritage property is being considered for purchase by Willowbank as part of its campus expansion. Students have also been carrying out additional work on a timber-frame mason’s shed, which may be erected on the new property.
In late September, an event was held to honour this year’s student bursary recipients, including the David Murray and Elizabeth Surtees Award for the student with highest academic standing in first year, and the Per Neumeyer Award for a second-year student showing promise in building conservation. Students later planned and hosted a dinner honouring David and Elizabeth as well as members and friends of the Neumeyer family. First year student Julianna, a gifted song-writer and performer, provided a wonderful touch of live music.
Our students and alumni act as an increasingly vital source of information and marketing as their numbers grow, and as their positions in the heritage field become more significant. Several attended the 2011 Ontario Heritage conference, and in recent months they have been at a Carleton University heritage workshop, the INTBAU conference in Chicago, a historic window symposium in Kentucky, cultural heritage sessions in Colombia, and a Frank Lloyd Wright symposium at Taliesin East. A current student was invited in August to a major contemporary design centre in Minnesota, all expenses paid, because of her summer work involving a large adaptive reuse project.
I.2 External activities and outreach:
Willowbank in general, and the Diploma Program in particular, have been the focus of considerable outside interest this fall.
Heritage Canada conference
During the Heritage Canada conference in Victoria in mid-October, the Willowbank program was discussed both during the Annual Heritage Educators’ Roundtable, and at a presentation during one of the conference session. Special thanks are due to Willowbank Board member Chris Wiebe for the conference invitations and the coordination of the Roundtable.
U.S. National Trust conference
During the US National Trust conference in late October, there were numerous visits to Willowbank and discussions with staff and students. The visitors included 35 people involved in an all-day Historic Building Assessment workshop using Willowbank as their case study; 20 people on an all-day tour of Niagara area historic estates and properties under development; 15 prize-winning students in American historic preservation programs who spent the afternoon with Willowbank students; and 20 guests at a dinner in honour of Gustavo Araoz, President of ICOMOS. Willowbank’s cultural landscape approach was presented at one of the conference sessions in Buffalo, by Julian Smith, faculty associates Lisa Prosper and Victoria Angel, and guest Arish Dastur from the World Bank in Washington.
There were additional discussions of training in the preservation field at a joint dinner meeting of the Canadian Heritage Educators’ Roundtable and the U.S. National Council on Preservation Education. Julian also spoke at the joint meeting of the Canadian and U.S. ICOMOS national committees. Special thanks for the US National Trust conference success goes to Willowbank Board member Clinton Brown, instrumental in making connections between Willowbank and U.S. partners, and Willowbank Foundation U.S. Board member Bob Skerker, co-chair of the conference and sponsor of the Gustavo Araoz dinner.
One of the follow-ups to the US National Trust conference was a December article on Willowbank in the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Historic Resources Committee newsletter.
Lunenburg visit
The Willowbank program was the focus of a two-day event in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, in early November. Shelley and Julian were invited to Nova Scotia and hosted at a private dinner by the Mayor of Lunenburg, Laurence Mawhinney; the local Senator, the Honourable Wilfred Moore; the Principal of Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) in Lunenburg, Craig Collins; and the President of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), David Smith. Brian Arnott, a cultural program advisor, was the event coordinator. The purpose was to discuss the possibility of forming a program in Lunenburg based in part on the Willowbank model, building on existing resources in the area. Julian and Shelley were given a tour of the NCSS heritage carpentry facilities, local boatbuilding facilities, artist-in-residence studios, and other local landmarks. In the evening, they made a public presentation about Willowbank to more than 100 people from Lunenburg, Halifax and the surrounding area. The event was held in the historic Lunenburg Academy, a possible home for such a school. There is strong interest in actively continuing these discussions.
ACO Conference
While Shelley and Julian were in Lunenburg, Willowbank third-year student Scott Tripp attended the annual Architectural Conservancy of Ontario AGM and dinner in Toronto. He accepted, on Julian’s behalf, the ACO’s Eric Arthur Award for Lifetime Achievement, given to Julian for his 35 years of activity in the heritage conservation field as a scholar, educator, architect and humanist.
ICOMOS
Shelley and Julian met with Lyse Blanchet, Vice-President of the ICOMOS International Committee on Education and Training, to discuss the latest draft of new international guidelines for education and training in the heritage conservation field. Shelley was asked by Lyse and by the Chair of the Committee, Carlo Cesari of Italy, to attend the CIF meetings in Paris as part of the ICOMOS General Assembly at UNESCO headquarters.
II. THE CENTRE FOR CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
The Centre for Cultural Landscape is the newest part of the Willowbank family. While the School is primarlly focused inward, servicing our Diploma Program students, the Centre is focused outward, hosting events, short courses, lecture series and workshops. It also acts as a centre for research, advocacy and consulting, related to Willowbank’s work in pioneering a new type of education for a new paradigm of heritage conservation theory and practice.
II.1 Italy Field School
This June program was very successful, with enthusiastic involvement by the participants and a strong international architects’ encounter session. The participants first documented the stone detailing of the abandoned medieval village of Ghesc, recently acquired by our Canova partners, and did some initial archaeological excavations. They built a stone terrace with stone steps and arched gateway as the first reclaimed public space in village, and discussed and presented alternative models for long-term development.
The 2012 Willowbank Canova field school program will continue with a significant archaeology component, as the first of a series of partially-collapsed village homes is unearthed and examined before rebuilding commences.
II.2 Summer Documentation Program
The 2011 summer documentation program was funded by the Niagara Foundation, a new and promising partnership. The students recorded three significant properties in Niagara-on-the-Lake, including the early-19th Century Eagleson-Buyers House, the turn-of-the Century Peake Inn, one of the most intact Chautauqua cottages, and a mid-19th Century house on Byron Street. The drawings were displayed at a well-attended event in the Market Room at the old Courthouse on Queen Street, courtesy of the Queenston Quarry.
The Niagara Foundation’s new book, based in part on Peter John Stokes’ Early Architecture of the Town and Township of Niagara, is now in production. Second-year student Kristina Rogers was involved in the research and documentation. Cosmo Condina, faculty associate, is the photographer for the new edition.
II.3 Short Courses
The masonry conservation course in July was very successful, with 14 participants. It was felt by both instructors and participants that Willowbank provided an ideal setting for the classroom, workshop, and meal activities. There were field trips to Niagara Falls and Queenston.
We are adding two additional short courses in 2012 – a course on metals conservation in June, led by Craig Sims and Ed Bowkett, and a course on Historic Building Assessment, led by John Silburn and Julian Smith, in August.
II.4 Partnership and Consulting Activities
Lisa Prosper and Julian Smith were invited to make a presentation to World Bank staff in Washington, about Willowbank’s cultural landscape approach to development. This is in part a result of Julian’s involvement in drafting UNESCO’s new Recommendation on Historic Urban Landscapes, a major initiative that is helping redefine the relationship between UNESCO and the World Bank.
The Centre was involved in organizing and presenting a course on cultural heritage landscapes for the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture on September 22 and 23. Julian Smith and faculty associate Wendy Shearer were the primary speakers, and four Willowbank students participated in the preparations and delivery of the course.
The Centre for Cultural Landscape has a contract with the National Capital Commission to carry out an experimental ‘heritage mapping’ of Rideau Hall, the Governor-General’s Residence in Ottawa. Two second-year students are working with Julian Smith to undertake this challenging work, which will provide a reference for any future changes.
The Centre has a contract to work on an innovative framework for a master plan for the East Block restoration and rehabilitation on Parliament Hill. Willowbank students will be working with Julian Smith and faculty associate Jacqueline Hucker on this project.
III. THE ESTATE
III.1 Main House
Now that we have completed most of the south and west wall rebuilding projects, we are developing an approach for related projects within the house, beginning with initial restoration of the Bright parlour. Students this fall have been actively involved in both the repointing of the south wall and the reinstallation of finishes in the Bright parlour. We are developing a summer employment opportunity for students related to exterior restoration of the east stairs.
We are now proceeding with a code analysis of the existing house to detail minimum requirements for full Assembly occupancy on all three floors.
III.2 Grounds
We have identified a new entrance sign and a proper parking lot as priorities, to provide a more appropriate marking of the site and to protect our existing landscape. A large block of local Queenston limestone will be used to create an entrance marker at our driveway off the Niagara Parkway.
Students have worked with the local volunteer fire department to create the structure for a winter skating rink on the west lawn.
III.3 Events
One of our students had a beautiful wedding reception at Willowbank in August, and a Board member had a wedding rehearsal dinner in the Bright parlour. There is enormous potential for these types of events, given the beauty and historical richness of the estate and the wonderful sense of privacy. We are not yet ready to open the site for general rentals until some additional upgrading has been completed, but this is a priority.
Toronto Event – Ofra Harnoy and Anton Kuerti
One very special event marked the beginning of a more focused outreach by Willowbank to the Greater Toronto area. Despite its increasing national and international reputation, Willowbank is a young program which remains largely unknown in the Toronto area.
Two internationally renowned Canadian musicians, cellist Ofra Harnoy, and pianist Anton Kuerti, gave a benefit concert for Willowbank in September. The event was hosted by Willowbank Board member Amanda Young and took place at the Rosedale home of Margaret and Robert MacLellan. This landmark event was Ofra Harnoy’s first return to performance after a more than ten year absence from the stage, and also marked the first time these two had performed together. It was an unforgettable evening of exquisite music and then conversation over dinner. In introducing the music, Anton Kuerti made the remark that the reason he supported Willowbank was that he loved taking historic artifacts, in his case musical scores from the past, and bringing them alive for a modern audience. He felt Willowbank was dedicated to the same pursuit, and he was right – there could hardly have been a more apt description of Willowbank’s mission.
The event introduced new friends to the Willowbank circle. The Toronto outreach program will continue in 2012 with the emphasis on creating a large Friends of Willowbank presence in the area.
At the same time, outreach to the Buffalo urban area is proceeding. Willowbank Foundation U.S.A. Board member Bob Skerker is developing a series of invitations to introduce Willowbank to a number of people in the cultural, academic and heritage communities in Buffalo.