The unusual process turns architectural conservation into a living exhibition.
Architectural preservation is meticulous and complicated work. Teams of expert historians, builders, and designers assemble to carefully figure out how to retain the building’s most important elements, how to repair damage, and how to keep the structure around for as long as possible. Unlike significant works of art that are protected inside museums, safeguarded beneath vitrines and in climate-controlled environments, architecture is outside in the elements. Materials deteriorate. People subject buildings to wear and tear.