Studies in Heritage Conservation at the School of Architecture at USC were inaugurated in 1993 when Jeffery Chusid established the Summer Short Courses in Historic Preservation. After fifteen years this class continues to meet every July for two and a half weeks of intensive field trips and lectures that explore the wide range of disciplines associated with preservation practice in the United States. In 1997, under the direction of Ken Breisch, the school established a Graduate Certificate in Historic Preservation and five years later the university approved a Master of Historic Preservation degree. All of these programs reside in the School of Architecture; which also offers graduate degrees in architecture, building science and landscape architecture.

Housed together on the third floor of the architecture school, this unusual combination of curricula offers an integrated approach to architectural studies, which places the field of heritage conservation within a broad professional context. It has also fostered an effort to develop new paradigms in the field of sustainability, which can call upon and integrate the knowledge of each of these fields of study. Students in each of these degree programs are offered the option of obtaining a graduate certificate in any of the other disciplines. The preservation program’s location in Los Angeles also provides it with an ideal opportunity to explore new approaches to the study of the recent past and the preservation of diverse cultural communities and landscapes, and places it in close contact with emerging fields of conservation in Asia and Latin America.

The USC School of Architecture is also responsible for the management and conservation of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Freeman House (1924) and Greene and Greene's Gamble House (1908-09). Ongoing research and work on these architectural masterpieces provides students with hands-on experience in cutting-edge preservation methods and technologies. The Freeman house has recently undergone extensive seismic rehabilitation and is now the subject of ongoing conservation work. In addition to the original design by Frank Lloyd Wright, Harriet and Samuel Freeman subsequently commissioned furniture by the noted Austrian modernist Rudolf Schindler, who also remodeled significant parts of the house. Along with the cultural and political significance of the Freeman’s to the history of avant-garde Hollywood, the chronological complexity of this house has been the subject of extensive study and debate. The Gamble House, which is the object of continued conservation efforts, represents one of the finest and most intact examples of Arts and Crafts design in the United States. Completed in 1909, it still houses nearly its entire original inventory of architect designed furnishings and fixtures.

In 2008, the School of Architecture, under the direction of Dean Qingyun Ma, initiated a new graduate course in Global Studies in Architecture and Urbanism in Beijing. “DIIP-Beijing” was opened to all USC graduate students, as well as students from other architectural schools in the United States and abroad. The DIIP format (Delta Investigation and Inquiry Program) is a Global Initiative of the School, which is structured to allow for opportunistic academic research into critical urban issues. Its format revolves around focused workshops involving USC, other institutions, and critical local stakeholders. Students work as interdisciplinary teams to investigate specific historical and environmental conditions. Future DIIP programs will explore other sites on the Pacific Rim.

Master’s Degree

The Master of Historic Preservation degree has been designed to introduce students to the documentation, interpretation and conservation of historic structures, landscapes and communities in the United States and Southern California. Students in this program may take advantage of the wide range of courses offered by the university and may also choose to obtain a graduate certificate in architecture, building science or landscape architecture. Under the guidance of the program director, students are encouraged to develop an area of concentration through their choice of electives and thesis topic. This concentration may focus on architectural or cultural history, the conservation and rehabilitation of historic sites and landscapes, problems associated with building science and technology, or other areas of enquiry appropriate to the field. Most recently the program has begun to focus on the post WWII architecture and cultural landscapes of Los Angeles and the American West, as well as the histories of the wide-ranging, but often-overlooked communities and cultures that have made the city one of the most ethnically diverse in the world. Recently, too, it has begun to turn more attention to other Pacific Rim locations, with summer workshops and seminars in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Lijiang, China.

Upon completion of their study at USC, students will have attained a fundamental knowledge of American and Southern California architectural history, and will be conversant with the standards and guidelines that apply to the designation, conservation, financing and development of historic preservation projects. This two-year program consists of 48 semester units of study (19 of which are electives that can be taken anywhere within the university) and the completion of the master’s thesis.

Certificate Program

The Historic Preservation Certificate Program consists of sixteen units of course work and is intended as a supplementary credential for students enrolled in graduate programs in architecture, landscape architecture, building science, urban planning or related disciplines. It is also available to practicing preservation, design and planning professionals in the community.

Summer Short Courses in Historic Preservation

Celebrating its fifteenth anniversary in 2009 the Summer Short Courses in Historic Preservation offer fifteen days of classes and field trips in Southern California. It is taught by a team of practicing professionals in fields ranging from conservation and engineering to economics and law. Studies include visits to historic sites, such as the Gamble and Freeman houses, the laboratories of the Getty Conservation Institute and current local rehabilitation projects.

1. Students with Carlotta Stahl at the Stahl House (Case Study House #22), which was designed by USC graduate Pierre Koenig in 1960.

2. USC students in the Field.

3. Noted architectural photographer, Julius Shulman with USC students at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Freeman House in Hollywood.

4. USC Building Science student, Benjamin McAlister reproducing a concrete block for the Freeman House. Ben wrote his master’s thesis on the conservation and reconstruction of Wright’s textile blocks.

5. Students enjoying the summer program at Green and Green’s Gamble House in Pasadena.

6. Christopher Gray, FRICS, demonstrating laser scanning technology in a workshop on documentation.

About the author: Ken Breisch has a doctoral degree in Art/Architectural History from the University of Michigan and is Director of Graduate Programs in Historic Preservation in the School of Architecture at the University of Southern California. He previously served as Director of Survey and Planning for the Texas State Office of Historic Preservation. He is the Henry Hobson Richardson and the Small Public Library in America and coeditor of Constructing Image, Identity, and Place: Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture IX and Building Environments: Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture X.