Documenting the Recent Past Workshop

Wednesday, March 19, 2025 – 8:30am – 5:15pm

Boston, Massachusetts

The National Park Service’s Heritage Documentation Programs (HABS/HAER/HALS) and the Historic Preservation Education Foundation will host a daylong workshop on documenting recent past sites on March 19, 2025 in Boston. The session is a pre-event add-on for the Preserving the Recent Past 4 conference at the Boston Architectural College (BAC). Using BAC’s 1966 Brutalist building as a case study, the program will include hands-on laser scanning, field sketching, and hand measuring sessions, presentations on historical reports and photography, and a round table discussion of the future of documentation. The emphasis throughout will be on the unique challenges of gathering and processing data for sites from the 1960s to 1990s. Instructors will include HDP staff and professionals with extensive documentation experience. The workshop will appeal to students and professionals who have some familiarity with documentation and HABS/HAER/HALS programs, those with a background in preservation, and those who commission documentation for mitigation and other purposes.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Architectural and Engineering Documentation and current HABS/HAER/HALS guidelines.

2. Develop appropriate strategies and goals that address the challenges and opportunities of documenting buildings and sites that are less than fifty years old.

3. Become familiar with various recording approaches including laser scanning, field sketching, and hand measuring as well as the steps involved in processing data and compiling documentation packages for submission to NPS Heritage Documentation Programs.

Cost: $175 including boxed lunch and refreshments. AIA Continuing Education Credits will be available.

A complete schedule will be forthcoming. For inquiries, contact: chad_randl@nps.gov