Free Webinar at the Resource Center: Examining Facadism

The Santa Monica Conservancy is offering a new free educational program at the Preservation Resource Center which will feature the California Preservation Foundation’s ongoing series of webinars. The first of these will be “A New Attitude on Old Approaches: Examining Facadism.” Space for 20 registrants at the Resource Center is available. Register by sending an email to rsvp@smconservancy.org.

A New Attitude on Old Approaches: Examining Facadism

California’s metropolitan areas are continuing to face increased development pressures that threaten smaller-scaled historic resources. As urban design and planning call for more density and infill, an old approach that has long been out of favor seems to be making a comeback. Has the approach to facadism changed? Can it be done well? Is it an acceptable compromise when other priorities—affordable or just more housing, improving urban designs, climate change and seismic resiliency, or simple economics—clash with by-the-books preservation? How can we support good projects while maintaining preservation standards (if not the Standards)? On the other hand, how do we prevent facadism from becoming the default option? This session will explore these questions with a discussion among preservation professionals, city planning staff, and others.

Learning Objectives:

1. Familiarize yourself with the SOI standards and Preservation Brief 14.
2. Investigate appropriate design options that avoid facadism and still meet project objectives.
3. Examine and weigh the consequences of facadism with the integrity of an historic structure while encouraging the redevelopment and reuse of historic sites.
4. Use case examples to identify good and bad examples of facade reuse.

For more about the webinar, click here.