30TH

To date, the eleven international conferences have strengthened
collaboration, created regional networks, generated partnerships,
and produced proceedings, two of which have been
published by the GCI. The Institute’s commitment to promoting
professional exchange is also manifested in the institutional
support of professional networks such as ISCEAH, Proterra, and
Mediterra. The latter developed its strategic planning in collaboration
with the GCI in 2009.
To address specific issues on the conservation of earthen
sites, the GCI has organized several international colloquia.
Under the umbrella of Terra, the GCI organized the 2001 “Protective
Shelters for Archaeological Sites in the Southwest” colloquium
in Tumacacori, Arizona. Three years later, the GCI (also
under the Terra aegis) organized a colloquium in Mesa Verde,
Colorado, to address the challenges facing the conservation of
decorated surfaces on earthen architecture. In 2006, under the
EAI, the GCI organized a colloquium at the Getty Center in Los
Angeles to assess the impact and efficacy of GSAP. The GCI’s
Seismic Retrofitting Project was created in response to the colloquium’s
conclusions and recommendations.
education and capacity building
While all of the GCI’s endeavors in earthen architecture have
sought to advance and share knowledge, education-specific
initiatives have focused on developing a cadre of specialists
in the field.
Through the Gaia Project (a partnership of CRATerre-EAG
and ICCROM), four Preservation of Earthen Architecture (PAT)
courses were organized between 1989 and 1994 in Grenoble,
France, bringing together professionals from around the world for
specialized training in earthen architecture conservation. In 1994
the GCI joined the Gaia Project to translate the international PAT
curriculum into a regional, site-based training program. Hosted
at the archaeological site of Chan Chan in Trujillo, Peru, PAT96
and PAT99 integrated site management planning into the more
technically oriented curriculum, in response to the need to contextualize
conservation within a broader decision-making framework
for heritage stewardship. The courses utilized case studies
and developed didactic materials, so that participants were well
equipped to share their learning back home. With this training
partnership, the Gaia Project evolved into the Terra project, which
provided a platform for institutional collaboration in research,
education, and professional development.
The cumulative PAT experiences helped build the network of
those practicing and teaching earthen architecture conservation
and led to the adaptation by universities of the course’s didactic
materials and pedagogy, advancing earthen architecture as a field
of study. This in turn contributed to the creation in 1998 of the
UNESCO Chair of Earthen Architecture—Constructive Cultures
and Sustainable Development, based at CRATerre. These developments
then led to the EAI Guidelines for the Teaching of Earthen
Participants in the PAT96 course, held at the archaeological site of Chan Chan
in Trujillo, Peru. The course offered specialized training in earthen architecture
conservation. Photo: Getty Conservation Institute.
Conservation, a series of teaching and learning resources adapted
from the course materials and available on the GCI website.
fieldwork
Much has evolved in the field of earthen conservation since the
GCI work at Fort Selden. The GCI’s approach to fieldwork has also
evolved since then. After Fort Selden, the emphasis on implementing
discrete interventions has developed into a holistic approach
toward preserving earthen sites, while also designing solutions for
problems that potentially have wider impact.
An early example of more comprehensive conservation
intervention is the Mogao Grottoes site stabilization work
in the early 1990s, where windbreak fences were installed to
mitigate windblown sand, and both environmental and color
stability monitoring were carried out. A similar approach was
implemented when Terra collaborated in the development of
the management plan for the archaeological site of Chan Chan
while carrying out the PAT96 and PAT99 courses. This holistic
24 FALL 2015 | 30TH ANNIVERSARY