2010 Experience Mississippi

Historic Preservation Conference

 

The 2010 Experience Mississippi Historic Preservation conference will be held May 6th and 7th in Natchez.  This year the conference will focus on historic preservation and sustainability featuring sessions on energy efficiency in historic buildings and preservation as a "green" movement.  More information on the conference will be coming soon.

 

  

 

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2008 Conference Speaker Presentations Available for download!

Click on the title of the session to download a PDF of the presentation that was given at the conference.

 

Losing Your History: The Dangers of Teardowns

Kirk Huffaker - Utah Heritage Foundation

Even Mississippi is not immune to the teardown trend that is sweeping through the nation’s historic areas.  Tearing down historic buildings for new construction can be detrimental to historic districts and leave communities with out-of-proportion and ill-fitting replacements in the place of historic structures.  Kirk discussed this dangerous trend and explained how a grassroots movement in Salt Lake City led to new ordinances to proactively address the issue.   

 

Filling in the Vacant Space: Successful Infill Construction

Lynn Taylor - Taylor Made Plans, LLC

Designing and building compatible new construction on vacant lots in historic neighborhoods can be a complicated process. Lynn informed attendees about making good design choices for compatible infill that blends well with the existing fabric of neighborhoods, including both replica and more contemporary examples, and how these design choices can help re-energize and revitalize historic neighborhoods. Analyzed were the principal characteristics of historic homes and how those characteristics should relate to new construction. Examples of good and bad infill design were shown and how design guidelines are not simply arbitrary rules, but rather help to inform them on building contextual new construction.

 

The New Kid on the Block: Making New Architecture or Renovated Facades Fit in Your Downtown

Belinda Stewart, AIA - Belinda Stewart Architects, P.A.

How do you make new buildings fit into existing historic commercial areas?   How about existing facades that are not historic or ones that are being renovated?  Belinda has designed successful projects of these types across the state.  Learn about her approach to the challenges of making new architecture or façade renovations blend harmoniously with the existing commercial streetscapes of historic downtowns in Mississippi.   

 

How Homes Grow: Successful Additions

Tom Howorth, FAIA - Howorth & Associates Architects

A growing family needing more space may not want to leave a wonderful tree-lined street with sidewalks. There are alternatives to calling the moving van.  Discussed were solutions for adding on to historic houses, meeting the need for additional space but preserving the historic character of the structure and the surrounding neighborhood.

  

If You Preserve It, They Will Come

Sarah McCullough, Program Manager of Cultural and Heritage Tourism with the Mississippi Division of Tourism

Sarah explained how community based efforts can help local historic communities attract people to visit their area and increase the economic spin off from tourism. 

Connecting the Dots: Cultural Trails

Alex Thomas - Program Manager for the Mississippi Blues Trail, Mississippi Division of Tourism

Alex discussed the development of the Blues Trail in Mississippi and how this tourism tool is preserving and marking important historic sites throughout the state. 

Studios, Galleries, and Juke Joints: Preserving Place and the Arts

Malcolm White - Mississippi Arts Commission

Malcolm White, director of the Mississippi Arts Commission, knows that place is intimately related to the artistic heritage of the state.  The Building Fund for the Arts, a MAC grant program, enhances the arts industry and strengthens communities by providing citizens with increased opportunities to participate in arts and cultural activities and by offering artists high-quality venues in which to perform, create and exhibit their art.

Eat or We All Starve: Southern Food and the Places that Serve It Amy Evans - Southern Foodways Alliance

Amy Evans knows that atmosphere is important in the dining experience and preservation of unique places and culinary locales is important to the southern sense of place. The SFA documents and celebrates the diverse food cultures of the American South, setting a common table where we all can consider our history and our future in a spirit of reconciliation.