1st International Congress of Culture, Heritage and Sustainability

June 24 to 26, 2015, All Day
5 de Mayo Materials Lab

Senior Lecturer and Conservation Scientist Fran Gale and Historic Preservation program graduate student Izabella Dennis participated in the 1st International Congress of Culture, Heritage and Sustainability https://infoccps2015.wix.com/ccps  in Oaxaca, Mexico during May 2015. The congress was hosted by two Oaxaca Architecture Schools –  5 de Mayo and the Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez.  Over 150 students and professionals from México, Canada, the United States, Brazil, Colombia and Spain attended the congress.  In her lecture on “Heritage Conservation and Sustainability on a University Campus,” Gale discussed her collaboration with the UT Office of Campus Planning and Facilities Management to preserve historic buildings on the Forty Acres.  Izabella Dennis provided a presentation on the recently completed Battle Hall Conservation Study.  Other presenters discussed heritage conservation work in the Mexican states of Chiapas, Puebla and Guerrero and in Barcelona, Spain.

 

5 de Mayo Research Professor Herwing Zeth López Calvo, provided a tour of the architecture school’s laboratory facilities and Gale and Dennis met with students engaged in developing innovative sustainable building materials. In addition to participating in the congress, Gale and Dennis also explored the historic center of Oaxaca, a World Heritage Site since 1987. Dennis previously visited Oaxaca with Benjamin Ibarra-Sevilla’s 2015 spring semester Studio Mexico course. This design studio focused on developing an architectural proposal for Oaxaca’s historic buildings by exploring a range of possibilities for preservation, revitalization and development of the city.