Historic Preservation Program Director Jorge Otero-Pailos interviews Susan Macdonald of the Getty Conservation Institute. Macdonald discusses her introduction to concrete through the pursuit of conservation in modern architecture. She raises questions about how the field approaches repurposing, recycling, renewing, and conserving concrete. The two discuss the economic, social, and cultural cost of continually replacing buildings and contemplate alternatives to that process.
They examine the narrow framework of classifying heritage and discuss how we can think more inclusively about cultural significance, pushing the boundaries of the engagement of preservationists. The podcast wraps up with an examination of stakeholder roles in the preservation of concrete and the link between understanding and process in the conservation of heritage.
Susan Macdonald joined the Getty Conservation Institute in 2008 as Head of Buildings and Sites, where she oversees more than 20 projects that aim to advance conservation practice internationally involving research, field projects, training, and dissemination. Macdonald has worked as a conservation architect in private practice in Australia and in England. She has also worked in the public sector where she was involved in a wide range of conservation issues at the strategic and bottom-up level, involving urban planning, development, economics, policy, technical matters, and world heritage issues. Macdonald is a member of the DOCOMOMO International Specialist Technical Committee and a Vice President of the ICOMOS 20th Century Committee.
Source by Columbia GSAPP
