Register Now for the Preservation Rendezvous 2009! Frankfort, Kentucky - June 28th - July 4th This summer an event will take place in Frankfort Kentucky, the State Capitol, which will be something brand new for PTN members in more ways than one. First, it will be an outdoor event with on-site camping that will be very low cost and meant to be something to bring the whole family to. Second, we will be partnering with the Timber Framers Guild to put on the event so PTN members and TFG members will have a chance to get to know one another while enjoying the festivities. Our sponsors for this event are the Kentucky Heritage Council, the Frankfort Tourism Commission and the City of Frankfort. Use the buttons below to register or learn more. Call for Demonstrators: If your're interested in sharing your skills and knowledge as a "hands on" demonstrator in a community and family oriented IPTW style rendezvous event July 2-4th at Frankfort's River View Park submit a demonstration proposal. Student Scholarships Available for Preservation Rendezvous 2009! Student members of PTN or TFG are eligible for $100 scholarships to the Preservation Rendezvous or the Preservation Workshops in Frankfort. When you check the box for PTN Student Member or TFG Student Member on the registration page (http://www.iptw.org/rendezvous-09-register.htm) $100 will automatically be deducted from your registration. You will be asked to help with housekeeping, or demonstrator assistance or you can write an article about you experience in Kentucky to be published online on PTN Live, but don’t worry, we’ll make sure you have plenty of time to enjoy the festivities. See you in Frankfort! 2009 Preservation Studies Summer Field School: “Cities of the Dead: Above-Ground Cemetery Preservation, Conservation, Documentation Methodology and History” July 13 - July 31, 2009 - New Orleans, Louisiana The 2009 Preservation Studies Summer Field School will be offered by the Tulane School of Architecture Preservation Studies Program and Preservation Trades Network in partnership with the 1772 Foundation, National Center for Preservation Training and Technology, World Monuments Fund and Save Our Cemeteries. In Applied Conservation Field Work PRST-647, students will learn via field work historically appropriate treatments for 19th century above-ground tombs. The Taylor Tomb in the Secret Garden of Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 will serve as one case study. Students will work under the tutelage of master craftsmen to learn about lime-based building technology in plaster, mortar, limewash and masonry applications. (2 Credits) Field Studies in Historic Preservation PRST-646 will be a seminar taught by professors in the Tulane School of Architecture Preservation Studies Program. Topics include architectural history, preservation technology, landscape architecture, funerary iconography and history of New Orleans Cemeteries. Students will learn how to navigate through local archives to collect research for individual papers and group projects. (3 Credits) <read more>

Save the Date for IPTW-ITES 2009 August 25-29, 2009, Leadville, Colorado The 13th annual International Preservation Trades Workshop will be held by the Preservation Trades Network in partnership with the Colorado Mountain College Historic Preservation program. The 3rd International Trades Education Symposium will be held in conjunction with IPTW 2009. These combined events will take place in the spectacular natural setting of the Rocky Mountains. They will provide unique opportunities for tradespeople, educators, architects, preservationists, students and others from the US and abroad to network while sharing experiences, learning new skills and finding common ground in their experiences relating to trades education and “hands on” conservation of the built environment. Workshops, "hands on" demonstrations of preservation techniques and symposium sessions will take place in historic Leadville, Colorado and at the Hayden Ranch National Register Historic site, an intact example of a high country ranch and agricultural operations c.1872-1947. Colorado Mountain College purchased the ranch for use as a learning laboratory, interpretive site, and classroom space for students in the preservation trades program, and it promises to be a remarkable venue for IPTW-ITES events.  Plan now to join us next August in historic Leadville! <read more>

It's Official - Results of the PTN Board of Directors Elections

The International Preservation Trades Workshop (IPTW) is the only annual event in North America which brings the foremost practitioners of the traditional trades together in a single venue dedicated to sharing the skills and knowledge of all of the traditional trades through interactive "hands on" demonstrations and educational sessions. Since 1997, masons, timber framers, carpenters, painters, plasterers, roofers, metal workers and practitioners of other traditional trades have come together with tools in hand to share their knowledge and demonstrate their skills at the annual "gathering of the trades". The IPTW is an interdisciplinary event designed to attract participants of many backgrounds, ages and skill levels including tradespeople, contractors, architects, engineers, conservators, educators, preservationists, students and interested members of the public.

IPTW 2008 was the first in New England, and was held in partnership with the Vermont Granite Museum and Stone Arts School, and the Preservation Education Institute and Historic Windsor. More than forty demonstrators shared their skills in the immense historic timber framed granite shed of the former Jones Brothers Granite Company. <read more>

One of the highlights of IPTW 2008 was the presentation of the Askins Achievement Award to David Gibney of Smithsburg, Maryland on July 19th during the International Preservation Trades Workshop in Barre, Vermont. J. Michael Logan, Supervisor of Heritage Conservation with the Howard County Recreation and Parks Department, introduced David citing his outstanding craftsmanship, dedication to teaching and sharing his skills, and his distinguished record of public service for Habitat for Humanity, PTN, and the people of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. David served as an instructor in the 2008 Traditional Building/Historic Preservation Field School in New Orleans sponsored by the World Monuments Fund, Preservation Trades Network, and University of Florida, where his skills and enthusiasm earned him the nickname "Super Dave" among the Field School students. He was also instrumental in the work on the Greater Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church and repair projects in Holy Cross completed during IPTW 2006.

The Askins Achievement Award is given in recognition of outstanding contributions and accomplishments in the promotion, education, and application of preservation trade skills. The Askins Achievement Award recognizes contributions over and above the noteworthy. The award criteria includes contributions to the preservation trades for: the continuance of traditional building skills, advocacy of training in preservation trades, practicing a building trade at master level of skill and knowledge, and extraordinary effort given to advancing the awareness of traditional building trade skills and knowledge. <read more>

2008 Traditional Building/Historic Preservation Field School: "Traditional Trades and GREEN Preservation - Sustaining Culture, Place and Heritage" June 9 - August 1, 2008, Holy Cross Neighborhood, Lower 9th Ward, New Orleans, Louisiana

During the summer 2008, the Preservation Trades Network and University of Florida in partnership with the World Monuments Fund, American College of the Building Arts and Holy Cross Neighbrohood Association offered an interdisciplinary, project-based learning experience as part of the recovery of the historic Holy Cross neighborhood of the Lower 9th Ward, in New Orleans. The eight-week field school wass designed to bring trades students and apprentices, and graduate students in historic preservation, architecture and engineering together to study and practice historic preservation and traditional trades as an integral part of green design and sustainable construction. The field school was built around a pilot project to preserve and repair historic homes in an area severely impacted by Hurricane Katrina. <read more>