Ian Stewart

Ian Stewart came to BU’s MA in Preservation Studies with a established career in timber framing and set rigging. He believed that his building techniques used on historic houses required a deeper understanding of general preservation knowledge, architectural history, and preservation planning. For Ian, preservation is a two-sided coin, namely the craftsmanship in building structures and the architecture and safeguarding of historic structures for the future. Today, his consulting and construction companies Preservation, Inc. and New Netherland Timber Framing and Preservation uphold these tenets of craftsmanship and preservation theory. Ian is fundamentally always learning new things and is thrilled by finding creative solutions to difficult challenges. The breadth of his projects confirms this curiosity, from Historic Huguenot Street, one of the oldest museum streets in America, to installations at the Museum of Fine Arts, to work on Islamic Structures in Uzbekistan.

You have been practicing preservation for almost twenty years, how did you get your start in this field and how did you come to enroll in BU’s Preservation Studies Program?

My first experience in the practice of preservation came with a job at the Historic Huguenot Street, New York, with hands-on building repair. In this museum of historic houses, I was in charge of the maintenance of 49 historic structures and was also part of the preservation crew. I wanted to know more about historic preservation. After Huguenot Street, I worked with Jim Kricker, with whom I further learned the trade of timer framing. While working with Jim I worked on a number of antique gristmills and sawmills. Consequently, working on these old buildings in upstate New York led me to Boston University and their Preservation Studies Program. I wanted to balance my established trade skills with theories of architectural history. I felt the BU’s focus on colonial antiquities matched my interests very well.

What were some of the courses you took during your time at BU that resonate in your daily work? Which were some of your favorites?

My favorite course at BU was the Architectural Conservation, which was taught by Bill Remsen, who not so coincidentally is now my business partner at Preservation Inc. The class was an introduction to the field of Architectural Conservation, and taught various techniques of reading buildings, assessing issues, and writing assessment reports. Bill brought in guest speakers such as paint conservators, stone conservators, preservation carpenters and architects, to expose us to the various trades involved in hands on preservation. To this day, it remains one of the most valuable classes I took in my time at BU. This has stayed with me through today, and the architectural history of buildings informs my work daily. During my stay at Huguenot Historic Street, I absorbed much architectural history, but in this course, I really saw the architectural history in a new, broader way. Also a building archaeology course was part of the Preservation Studies Program then, and it was also a very important part of my education. I deal with archaeological issues in many of my projects.

You speak about distinct transitions in your career. What were they, and how they informed your work on historic buildings?

My start in construction was in theater set design, in building the rigging for the sets. I was particularly good at creating quick and creative solution for a temporary use. While I was working as a roadie/rigger, I had the honor of working with Boston based Aerosmith for a few months. And while I left the industry full time when I started working in the preservation field, I still kept my contacts in the business. I worked on  Boston Calling in 2013 and the building of rigging for the concert at Boston City Hall, while I was in Graduate School. I also rigged a number of shows at the Agganis Arena at BU. There is a direct translation of large rigging construction to old timber framing techniques.

Years later and after my MA, my creative solutions in rigging and timber framing led me to a consulting job at the Museum of Fine Arts in deinstalling a fifth century Egyptian Dynasty Old Kingdom mastaba chapel wall and an Imperial Roman door surround from the second century. I had to develop a system to remove the structures from the wall (it was not documented how they were attached to the wall) and gently move them with no damaging effects.

Tell us a little about the Dutch colonial houses you have worked on. Driving in Upstate New York, one can see the difference in styling and materials? What makes them unique to their contemporary English colonial structures?

I have spent much time learning about and researching the Dutch Houses of the Hudson River Valley. To date I have written over four published articles on these structures. Of course, I got my start originally with Historic Huguenot Street, but this led to my BU thesis for my MA where I wrote about “The Birth of An American Form: Anglo-Dutch Houses of Columbia County, NY, 1790-1830.” Much of the Dutch houses of the Hudson River Valley are crafted from stone with deep and very low-pitched roofs. Many have the gable side as its façade which enabled the builders to line them up closely as they did in the Netherlands, creating that rhythm of pitched peaks. Many times, the upper half of the gable side was painted clapboard.

It seems you have worked with many Native American tribes throughout New England and New York. How are they incorporating historic wood framing into their structures? What is your experience in working with the many different tribes?

It is not so much that the Native Americans used timber framing in their structures, but in being  of Mohawk heritage I feel that I am giving back to  our community by teaching  employable skills. I have spent several weeks or so on a reservation, teaching  about the tools, joining and framing techniques. When I leave, the people  have learned valuable  skills that allow them to find solid paying employment. There is a real lack of trained  tradespeople, so it also helps me also in finding skilled carpenters. I’m currently in discussion with several tribes to run workshops for them.

Your unique skill set has taken you to many places. Which working trips really left an impact on you personally and professionally?

In 2022, I was hired as a consult to work with the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago to do a wood assessment and restoration of the Langar-Ota Mosque on the old Silk Road city of Langar-Ota, Uzbekistan. I was utterly struck by the beauty of the structure. The delicate Islamic woodwork and designs were marvelous. This mosque was like nothing I had worked on before. It is amazing to see different styles and craftsmanship throughout the world.

You gave a Tedx Talk titled “Could preservation trades help save our cities?” What was your basic premise? How can perseveration trades save our urban places?

In my Tedx Talk I spoke about the neighborhoods of today where there is a constant push to the future, with new “disposable” buildings. Our past, and our old buildings, are what got us here today. In working with the New York State Historic Preservation Office to teach an historic trades class, I taught homeowners the skills of craftsmanship in carpentry. Old craft skills scale immeasurably to modern construction techniques. One can pick up any modern tool and understand how to use it, but the reverse is not true. A drywaller cannot make plaster walls. I taught homeowners and neighbors traditional trade skills for ensuring the future of their old houses and gave them skills to work in home construction. What if we can put all these skills to use in saving old buildings, abandoned buildings, and turn them into housing for the future? Affordable housing is already in existence and ready to be used in our neighborhoods.

Ian is generous with his time and is an avid advocate for traditional craftmanship and the preservations of historic structures. He also participated in our own Preservation Studies Lectures Series in 2018 at Boston University with a talk on the Ware Center Meeting House in Massachusetts. We look forward to having him speak here again.

_{Contributors: Ian Stewart, Kristen Dahlmann and Jan Haenraets}

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