AIA Dallas Relaunches Historic Resources Committee

As noted in this article by Steve Brown in The Dalllas Morning News, Dallas has seen unprecedented interest in its historic buildings. As a result, AIA Dallas has been increasingly approached for comment and support for issues that have arisen around many of these projects. In recent years, such issues have been addressed through the Communities by Design Committee, but AIA Dallas President Zaida Basora, FAIA, saw a need for a more focused, preemptive approach. This past summer she drew upon the expertise of the Chapter's most experienced preservation professionals and formed the Historic Preservation Task Force to develop guiding principles to assist Chapter leadership. The result was the development of a soon-to-be released policy statement on historic preservation.

During the Task Force's deliberations, it became apparent early on that the need extended well beyond a one-time policy statement, that the profession held an important leadership position in both urban design and historic preservation, and that an on-going voice for that leadership was needed. To this end, the Historic Resources Committee has been re-formed. Following the model of previous HRC's at AIA Dallas, as well as those from other chapters around the country, the Dallas HRC is now meeting monthly, with the first meeting held at DCFA on November 16. The HRC is currently compiling a substantial library of resources that will augment the AIA Dallas policy statement on historic preservation and will publish those resource on their upcoming Springboard page. So keep an eye open for the formal roll-out of the Springboard page and the opportunities you will find there to participate in the committee's activities.