Letter from the President
Spring 2009
The Madison Trust regularly highlights the ever-increasing “Green” movement. But what is green? While it can mean many things, it certainly includes preservation and maintenance of existing buildings.
In the past there has been an underlying tension between historic preservation and sustainable design. Historic preservation seeks to protect our history and culture, typically by applying traditional methods of construction and conservation to existing buildings. Environmental design attempts to protect human health and natural habitat and promote alternative sources of energy, often by using innovative technologies and construction methods.
Conservation underlies the basic principles of both the preservation and the sustainable movements. Many of the typical design strategies of one reinforce the goals of the other. In some cases, new green technologies are helping to resolve the complex demands now placed on our historic structures. The re-use of historic and period buildings, reinvestment in downtowns and villages, and protection of historic landscapes can and should be central ingredients in sustainable practices.
Historic preservation practice encourages us to look beyond operating energy to the total energy associated with a building’s development. Energy is used to extract and create building materials, transport them, and assemble them into a building. It takes about 35-50 years for an energy efficient new building to recover the embodied carbon expended in construction. Original materials, and existing buildings, contain embodied energy, an environmental asset destroyed by modern replacement.
We need green planning as much as green design. Investment in older and historic villages and downtowns can reduce demands for transportation, new infrastructure and new building materials. Compact development and use of existing infrastructure can help protect important open space, farm and forest land.
While the marketplace often urges us to consider new as better, data from the U.S. Energy Information Agency shows that the only buildings more energy efficient than buildings built before 1920 are those built after 2000. The majority of these pre-1920 buildings were constructed using repairable and often local materials and were sited and designed to minimize heating and cooling requirements. That doesn’t mean that historic buildings are always as energy efficient as they might be. Old buildings can, and should, go green.
Sincerely,
James R. Westring
President
Madison Trust for Historic Preservation
Letter from the President
Winter 2008
As president of a non-profit, all-volunteer organization, let me focus on how we are able to do so much with so few resources such as money, time and volunteers. As I was writing, I thought, “What if we could do just a little bit more?,” or, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could not only increase our membership but increase the number of volunteers within this great organization to contribute to ‘the cause’?”
So, what has been going on within the Madison Trust these past few months? Some of our more notable contributions include:
- successfully nominating an intact historic block of buildings on the Capitol Square as city landmarks,
- teaming with Downtown Madison Inc. to contribute scavenger hunt tips for their grand reopening of the lower blocks of State Street,
- increasing attendance at our tours and the income that supports our work,
- attending conferences and lectures; board members both attended and presented at the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Local History and Historic Preservation Conference,
- actively participating in the zoning code re-write discussions,
- attending the Madison downtown planning meetings where input from individuals and groups such as the Madison Trust are considered and incorporated into the new vision of the city,
- keeping an eye on proposals for landmark buildings within James Madison Park.
Some of our disappointments have been the loss of St. Raphael cathedral and demolition of residential buildings at E. Johnson and N. Hamilton as part of the Pinkus McBride development.
A challenge we face as a non-profit organization is getting people to not only contribute financially as members (or advertisers in our newsletter), but to volunteer their time. We have great opportunities in property research, grant writing, communications, monitoring city and community meetings, assisting with programs such as the awards event, and so much more. There are other exciting projects that the board is working on to further the accomplishments of this organization.
We encourage people to share with us their knowledge and expertise and skills in law, fundraising, and accounting. Consider serving on a committee or attending a monthly board meeting to find out more about the Madison Trust and our important work.
You can contact us from the Web site or call 608-441-8864 to learn what you can do to get more involved. There are many opportunities to make a lasting impact. Future generations will thank you.
Sincerely,
James Westring
President
Madison Trust for Historic Preservation
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