Another "What is this (imaginary) job title?" question
July 19, 2023 4:55 AM Subscribe
Again for a fictional situation: for the renovation of a private (family owned) very large, very historically significant property, the owner wants to hire a special person who will oversee and manage the project from an archeological and preservation and curatorial point of view onsite, probably for many months, if not actually years. This person has a very particular set of skills!
The point of the renovation is not to do an authentic full restoration, but the owner does want to save, evaluate, research, preserve, investigate, and in some cases display artifacts related to the work in an ongoing manner. The person in charge of this effort will be identifying, saving, studying, cataloging, and cross-referencing important items, structures, artifacts, etc., working with architects and construction crews throughout the project with ultimate authority to decide how the work will progress depending on their evaluations. (for example, a temporary halt might need to be called if a cache of *something* is discovered ... let's say a buried rubbish tip that contains a lot of glassware in the form of bottles and jars, like old soft drink bottles, medicinal bottles, and so on; work stops there until the salvageable items can be recorded in situ, and then safely recovered /removed).
So, for example, important architectural details will be preserved, even if they are going to be eliminated in the renovation (stuff like crown molding, wainscoting, windows, doors, flooring, fireplace treatments, as well as outer details like chimney pots, gutter treatments, and so on), plus furniture, art, jewelry, books, housewares, and ALSO all sorts of more ephemeral items: photos, clothing, textiles of all types, toys, magazines and other printed material, letters, legal documents, blueprints, any written material (letters, diaries, journals, lists, recipes), plus mechanical items, tools — anything and everything.
So this person ultimately decides what is saved, what is tossed, what is donated, what is sold, what is preserved and displayed on site, what is preserved and displayed elsewhere (ie a traveling exhibit, local museum or historic society, national museum). They will research, analyze, and catalog these items, as well as assemble and curate their display in some cases, as well as arrange permanent storage solutions. Since it involves a lot of combing through items they will need to organize appropriate warehousing and other spaces to do a lot of this work, and for the whole project, hire or contract people or crews as needed to assist, as well as handle or oversee all documentation and legal paperwork involved (for provenance, insurance, whatever).
They could also produce academic material related to their findings. (They have the ultimate overview of everything, so by observation, study, analysis, and cross-referencing, they might, for example, discover / document an unusual or unique system or solution used by the estate at some point, or similar — or connect an historic event with something that took place on the property. Part of their skill is in recognizing such things to explore further.
There is no "project deadline" on this work, and they might continue working on the project for many years, long after the actual renovation work is finished. (it could even just turn into their entire career, especially if, let's say, the owner decides to establish a local museum for the property, this person would be the museum director, if they wanted to continue with it.)
That's a lot! And obviously this person needs to be very, very competent, thorough, self-directed and extremely passionate about the project. What is their weirdo job title in relation to this position? (like, there aren't usually such overarching and fluid positions like this, so it probably needs to be a reasonable made-up title? Or maybe they have one title for phase one, the physical renovation, that turns into something different afterwards.)
The point of the renovation is not to do an authentic full restoration, but the owner does want to save, evaluate, research, preserve, investigate, and in some cases display artifacts related to the work in an ongoing manner. The person in charge of this effort will be identifying, saving, studying, cataloging, and cross-referencing important items, structures, artifacts, etc., working with architects and construction crews throughout the project with ultimate authority to decide how the work will progress depending on their evaluations. (for example, a temporary halt might need to be called if a cache of *something* is discovered ... let's say a buried rubbish tip that contains a lot of glassware in the form of bottles and jars, like old soft drink bottles, medicinal bottles, and so on; work stops there until the salvageable items can be recorded in situ, and then safely recovered /removed).
So, for example, important architectural details will be preserved, even if they are going to be eliminated in the renovation (stuff like crown molding, wainscoting, windows, doors, flooring, fireplace treatments, as well as outer details like chimney pots, gutter treatments, and so on), plus furniture, art, jewelry, books, housewares, and ALSO all sorts of more ephemeral items: photos, clothing, textiles of all types, toys, magazines and other printed material, letters, legal documents, blueprints, any written material (letters, diaries, journals, lists, recipes), plus mechanical items, tools — anything and everything.
So this person ultimately decides what is saved, what is tossed, what is donated, what is sold, what is preserved and displayed on site, what is preserved and displayed elsewhere (ie a traveling exhibit, local museum or historic society, national museum). They will research, analyze, and catalog these items, as well as assemble and curate their display in some cases, as well as arrange permanent storage solutions. Since it involves a lot of combing through items they will need to organize appropriate warehousing and other spaces to do a lot of this work, and for the whole project, hire or contract people or crews as needed to assist, as well as handle or oversee all documentation and legal paperwork involved (for provenance, insurance, whatever).
They could also produce academic material related to their findings. (They have the ultimate overview of everything, so by observation, study, analysis, and cross-referencing, they might, for example, discover / document an unusual or unique system or solution used by the estate at some point, or similar — or connect an historic event with something that took place on the property. Part of their skill is in recognizing such things to explore further.
There is no "project deadline" on this work, and they might continue working on the project for many years, long after the actual renovation work is finished. (it could even just turn into their entire career, especially if, let's say, the owner decides to establish a local museum for the property, this person would be the museum director, if they wanted to continue with it.)
That's a lot! And obviously this person needs to be very, very competent, thorough, self-directed and extremely passionate about the project. What is their weirdo job title in relation to this position? (like, there aren't usually such overarching and fluid positions like this, so it probably needs to be a reasonable made-up title? Or maybe they have one title for phase one, the physical renovation, that turns into something different afterwards.)
In Australia which has a hugely developed statutory heritage regime, but few such places as you’re describing, such a person would likely not exist; but if they did, would be called a heritage officer, manager of a heritage department, conservation manager (if museum-oriented), or be a heritage expert reporting to a property manager.
Realistically such work is undertaken by consortiums of building and construction companies who’d outsource, as required, to specialist heritage firms. The actual person would likely have no title at all but just be a jobbing advisor-researcher-writer-planner.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 5:23 AM on July 19, 2023 [4 favorites]
Realistically such work is undertaken by consortiums of building and construction companies who’d outsource, as required, to specialist heritage firms. The actual person would likely have no title at all but just be a jobbing advisor-researcher-writer-planner.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 5:23 AM on July 19, 2023 [4 favorites]
Sounds like an archivist.
posted by guessthis at 5:30 AM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by guessthis at 5:30 AM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
Pompeii of course has a Director General but each part of it also has a (Director and) Archaeology Officer as well as a separate Architecture Officer. Perhaps a combined title like that?
posted by vacapinta at 5:37 AM on July 19, 2023
posted by vacapinta at 5:37 AM on July 19, 2023
I would say staff archaeologist. An archaeologist could have the excavation, curatorial, and architectural history skills in one package. In the real world you'd probably hire a cultural resource management firm to do this work as contractors, but I imagine some young person with a master's degree would jump at full-time archaeology work with minimal travel.
posted by toastedcheese at 5:50 AM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by toastedcheese at 5:50 AM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
It might be nice, romantically, to include Steward in this person's title. Cd call them Willow Laidlaw.
posted by BobTheScientist at 6:06 AM on July 19, 2023
posted by BobTheScientist at 6:06 AM on July 19, 2023
Curator possibly. I was thinking of conservator but that seems to be mainly restoring things (as well as conserving them).
posted by antiwiggle at 6:10 AM on July 19, 2023
posted by antiwiggle at 6:10 AM on July 19, 2023
Best answer: Historic Preservation Coordinator. This person has probably trained as a preservation architect or a architectural historian, or maybe some kind of decorative arts historian, and they work with architects, archaeologists, civil, mechanical and structural engineers, dendrochronology experts, material conservators, and materials testing or environmental firms. (I stole most of that from a page from a firm offering historical preservation consulting - maybe your fictional family poached them away from a firm like that.)
posted by mskyle at 6:22 AM on July 19, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by mskyle at 6:22 AM on July 19, 2023 [7 favorites]
Best answer: Working in a roughly adjacent field, I'd title a role like this some flavor of preservationist - Historic Preservationist, Architectural Preservationist, or possibly Cultural Heritage Preservationist. If it did transition to an institutional museum role after the original renovation project was completed, I agree that Curator would be an appropriate title for the research/exhibition/publishing aspects of the position.
posted by rabbitbookworm at 6:48 AM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by rabbitbookworm at 6:48 AM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
This is my field, although I am on the consultant side, not ownership.
I agree with Fiasco de Gama that realistically such a person would be a unicorn…any one of those fields (historic architecture, archeology, archives, curator) would require a specialized degree.
The closest analogy that I can think of is a colleague who is the “Director of Historic Preservation” for the Edsel and Eleanor Ford Estate in Michigan. She has an MS in Historic Preservation as well as an associate’s degree in building restoration and preservation technology, but she would still contract out for specialized expertise. She’s more in a position of oversight and providing direction. During a recent pool restoration project she researched and then coordinated the disciplines but had to bring in specialists to design the work. As just one example, the project required replicating the historic diving board which entailed tracking down the original designer, the entity that holds the patent, and then finding someone who could replicate it. If there had been some kind of archeological discovery during the construction process, she would know enough to recognize it and be able to call in an archeologist, but she would not do any of the actual survey or conservation of objects.
I take your point that this is not an authentic restoration, but any professional qualified to do this kind of work would still be following one of the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, especially for a large, significant historic site. Even in a project defined as Rehabilitation, architectural features like trim, doors, windows, etc. could be character-defining and thus kept. They would almost certainly have a guidance document prepared and be following it closely. In the US this is typically called a Historic Structure Report that is prepared by a team of historians, architects, engineers, and other specialists to establish what is "historic," the current condition, and what treatments to apply. In other countries a similar document is called a Conservation Management Plan, although they are not identical. Narratively, this could be a great source of tension as there are often disagreements among owners, consultants, reviewers, and tradespeople as to the correct course of action. Other details to work out would be if there are any constraints on the homeowner – for example, is the property in a local historic district that requires design review by a historic district committee? Are they using historic tax credits to fund the work? This also requires extensive review by the National Park Service.
Short answer – I would most expect someone in this type of position in the US to be called Director of Historic Preservation or Historic Preservation Coordinator, and to have a graduate degree in historic preservation, potentially with some allied undergraduate degree (archeology, architecture, history, etc). Sometimes I see Site Supervisor or Property Manager, but that would typically be someone working for an entity that manages multiple properties, such as a local historical society.
Finally, don’t forget the landscape! That is another specialized area. Cultural resource management also includes specialties in historic landscapes – yet another professional degree with its own type of documentation – the Cultural Landscape Report.
PM me if you want to pick my brains some more!
posted by Preserver at 11:21 AM on July 19, 2023 [6 favorites]
I agree with Fiasco de Gama that realistically such a person would be a unicorn…any one of those fields (historic architecture, archeology, archives, curator) would require a specialized degree.
The closest analogy that I can think of is a colleague who is the “Director of Historic Preservation” for the Edsel and Eleanor Ford Estate in Michigan. She has an MS in Historic Preservation as well as an associate’s degree in building restoration and preservation technology, but she would still contract out for specialized expertise. She’s more in a position of oversight and providing direction. During a recent pool restoration project she researched and then coordinated the disciplines but had to bring in specialists to design the work. As just one example, the project required replicating the historic diving board which entailed tracking down the original designer, the entity that holds the patent, and then finding someone who could replicate it. If there had been some kind of archeological discovery during the construction process, she would know enough to recognize it and be able to call in an archeologist, but she would not do any of the actual survey or conservation of objects.
I take your point that this is not an authentic restoration, but any professional qualified to do this kind of work would still be following one of the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, especially for a large, significant historic site. Even in a project defined as Rehabilitation, architectural features like trim, doors, windows, etc. could be character-defining and thus kept. They would almost certainly have a guidance document prepared and be following it closely. In the US this is typically called a Historic Structure Report that is prepared by a team of historians, architects, engineers, and other specialists to establish what is "historic," the current condition, and what treatments to apply. In other countries a similar document is called a Conservation Management Plan, although they are not identical. Narratively, this could be a great source of tension as there are often disagreements among owners, consultants, reviewers, and tradespeople as to the correct course of action. Other details to work out would be if there are any constraints on the homeowner – for example, is the property in a local historic district that requires design review by a historic district committee? Are they using historic tax credits to fund the work? This also requires extensive review by the National Park Service.
Short answer – I would most expect someone in this type of position in the US to be called Director of Historic Preservation or Historic Preservation Coordinator, and to have a graduate degree in historic preservation, potentially with some allied undergraduate degree (archeology, architecture, history, etc). Sometimes I see Site Supervisor or Property Manager, but that would typically be someone working for an entity that manages multiple properties, such as a local historical society.
Finally, don’t forget the landscape! That is another specialized area. Cultural resource management also includes specialties in historic landscapes – yet another professional degree with its own type of documentation – the Cultural Landscape Report.
PM me if you want to pick my brains some more!
posted by Preserver at 11:21 AM on July 19, 2023 [6 favorites]
Building on the idea of poaching someone from a firm/what kind of employment background this person might have, based on a friend who has a graduate degree in the field and does historic preservation work. What this means in practice is that their company is hired when building developers are looking to do renovations - mentioned a bit above in an English context, but at least in the US, most of this revolves around meeting standards around various state and federal regulation. Because they are the experts at navigating these bureaucratic hurdles their work can include dealing with law around historical status but also things like LEED certification/green design, as well as knowing what needs to be filed in what order to make sure everything is successfully approved. Developers are seeking to avoid fines and delays, but also to capture all possible credits and tax rebates - there's often a lot of money at stake. My friend's job title? Tax credit manager.
posted by itsatextfile at 12:38 PM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by itsatextfile at 12:38 PM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by seanmpuckett at 5:07 AM on July 19, 2023