Master of Science in Architecture

Focus your studies on Historic Preservation

Graduate students in Prof. Kerry Traynor’s Fall 2017 URP 581: Preservation Planning Practicum aboard the USS Columbia, working on its documentation.

Graduate students in Prof. Kerry Traynor’s Fall 2017 URP 581: Preservation Planning Practicum aboard the USS Columbia, working on its documentation. 

Students in the MS in Architecture program may choose to focus their path of study on the challenges, skills and concepts of historic preservation in preparation for professional practice in the field. Courses in this area are broadly suited for students with backgrounds in environmental design, architecture, urban planning, history, law, art history and other fields.

Historic preservation is fundamental to the work of architects and urban planners as communities around the globe increasingly look to conserve and creatively reuse their historic architectural resources. Engaging the material fabric of our rich cultural past, historic preservation involves knowledge of our urban and architectural histories, the craft and technical methods of preservation and sustainable design, and the development of supportive policy and planning tools.

The school's close engagement with its regional context in Buffalo supports hands-on learning in a world-class "laboratory" for historic preservation. Among the city's crown jewels - all legacies of the city's industrial wealth at the turn of the 20th century - are Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin House Complex, Louis Sullivan's Guaranty Building and a Frederick Law Olmsted-designed park and parkway system. The city’s industrial landscape contains one of the nation’s largest clusters of grain elevators, widely regarded as a precedent for modernist architecture.

Graduates from the MS in Architecture focusing on Historic Preservation also qualify for the Advanced Graduate Certificate in Historic Preservation

Recent News

  • Uncovering cultural landscapes
    10/14/21
    Urban planning students have assumed an almost investigative role as they explore two of Buffalo’s most historically significant — and hidden — landscapes: the Buffalo Belt Line, a former passenger rail line that loops the city almost unnoticed; and the Scajaquada Creek, a largely buried 13-mile stream whose shores trace the evolution of Buffalo.

The School of Architecture and Planning has a long record of active engagement in the city's historic preservation movement that dates back to its founding in 1967. Our faculty, students and alumni have helped save landmarks from the wrecking ball, document the history of our urban fabric, build plans and policies for preservation, and adaptively reuse some of the city's most notable architecture. Just in recent years the school has developed a conservation district plan for one of Buffalo's oldest industrial neighborhoods, advanced new terra cotta restoration methods using digital design and fabrication technologies, and secured several National Register Historic District nominations.

Meet our program directors

  • Kerry Traynor
    2/22/24
    Director of Graduate Programs and Historic Preservation - Department of Urban and Regional Planning
    klta@buffalo.edu - Hayes Hall 226 - 716-829-5885

Meet the Historic Preservation Affiliated Faculty

  • Hiroaki Hata
    2/22/24
    Associate Professor Hiroaki Hata’s research and creative work focuses on the design, history, theory and criticism of urban structures and community development.
  • Despina Stratigakos
    2/27/24
    Professor - Department of Architecture
    despina@buffalo.edu - (716) 829-5893
  • Kerry Traynor
    2/22/24
    Director of Graduate Programs and Historic Preservation - Department of Urban and Regional Planning
    klta@buffalo.edu - Hayes Hall 226 - 716-829-5885
Please Note:

If you are interested in becoming a professional historic preservationist, you may wish to review the Secretary of the Interior's requirements, which include a combination of education and experience.

 

Interested in a Master of Science in Architecture?

Would you like to learn more?

Contact:
Kevin P. Donovan
Director of Graduate Recruitment
129 Hayes Hall
716-829-5224
kpd2@buffalo.edu

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