Lineup of guest speakers announced for City’s Historic Preservation community symposium

The City’s Office of Historic Preservation and the University of Texas at San Antonio have announced the lineup of guest speakers for the upcoming community symposium entitled “Window on Preservation.” The event, which is part of the City’s Historic Preservation Month celebration, will feature renowned preservation experts, Walter Sedovic, AIA, LEED, and Rudy Christian.

The symposium, which begins at 6:30 p.m. on May 14 at the AIA Center for Architecture at the Pearl Brewery, 200 East Grayson, will provide citizens with valuable information about the value of historic preservation, sustainability, and preservation trades. This event is free and open to the public. All citizens interested in preservation are welcome to attend the symposium.

Walter Sedovic is principal and chief executive officer of Walter Sedovic Architects, founded in 1986 and dedicated to historic preservation and sustainable design. His work and firm are at the forefront of infusing preservation projects with green building approaches.

Sedovic received his professional degree at the University of Kansas and was selected as the U.S. representative for the Architectural Conservation program at the International Centre for Conservation in Rome, Italy (ICCROM). He holds multiple licenses and is NCARB-certified to practice in all 50 states. A LEED-accredited professional, Sedovic, who has been selected as guest editor for the APTI Bulletin Special Issue on Sustainability and Preservation scheduled for 2009, has lectured and published widely on the subject of sustainability and its symbiotic relationship with historic preservation.

Rudy R. Christian is a founding member and past president of the Timber Framers Guild, founding member and past president of Friends of Ohio Barns, founding member and Executive Director of the Preservation Trades Network and is a founding member of the Traditional Timberframe Research and Advisory Group and the International Trades Education Initiative.

As President of Christian & Son, Inc., his work includes the reconstruction of the historic “Big Barn” at Malabar Farm State Park near Mansfield, Ohio, and the relocation of the 19th century Crawford Horse Barn in Newark, Ohio. These projects featured “hand raisings” which were open to the public and attracted a total of 130,000 interested spectators.

Christian studied structural engineering at both the General Motors Institute in Flint, MI, and Akron University in Ohio. He has also studied historic compound roof layout and computer modeling at the Gewerbe Akademie in Rotweil, Germany.

This event will be followed by a hands-on training in historic window restoration for homeowners and contractors on May 15 and16. For more information or to register for the weekend workshop, contact Molly Matthews in the Office of Historic Preservation, at (210) 207-1460 or by email at OHP@sanantonio.gov.