Position: Architecture Intern/Historic Preservation Technician
Type: Public Land Corps
Website: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/heritagedocumentation/habs.htm
Location: 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20240
Stipend: $16/Hour + Housing Allowance and Commuter Stipend
Duration: 5/27/24 – 8/9/24 (11 Weeks)
About:
Heritage Documentation Programs administers HABS (Historic American Buildings Survey), the Federal Government’s oldest preservation program, and companion programs HAER (Historic American Engineering Record), and HALS (Historic American Landscapes Survey). Documentation produced through the programs constitutes the nation’s largest archive of historic architectural, engineering, and landscape documentation. The documentation is housed in The Library of Congress in Washington, DC.
THE PROJECT
The Summer 2024 project consists of three components. First is the production of Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) measured and interpretative drawings of select historic structures associated with the enslaved at Pharslaia Plantation in Tyro, Virginia. Second is writing a short-form HABS historical report on the structures drawn. Third is teaching HABS documentation methods to students enrolled in a historic preservation field school. There will be travel to the site from Washington. Travel expenses will be reimbursed.
THE SITE
Pharsalia, was given to William Massie and his bride, Sarah Steptoe, in 1814 as a wedding gift from William’s father, Major Thomas Massie. The main house that William and Sarah lived in was built by enslaved workers from 1814 to 1816. The plantation complex also contains several outbuildings associated with farming and rural living, including quarters and buildings used by the enslaved.
Learn more about Pharsalia at https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/VA-02-051-0001
THE BUILDING TO BE RECORDED
HABS documentation will be produced on the historic Kitchen-Hospital-Quarters building at Pharsalia Plantation.
Learn more about the Kitchen-Hospital-Quarter building at https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/VA-02-051-0003
Work Environment:
The office staff consists of architects, historians, and landscape architects. We are located in the US Department of the Interior building which is a secure government building. The building is near Metro and bus stops and has a cafeteria, nurse’s station, post office, bank and ATM, and a recreation center.
The office environment is professional and casual. There will be many opportunities to work with various and diverse members of the HABS, HAER and HALS staff and summer interns on a professional level. College age summer interns hired through our Summer Recording Program often socialize outside of office hours and discover the history and culture of the Washington, DC area.
The majority of the internship will occur in an office environment between the hours of 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. The position requires working in a team environment with shared workload and responsibilities. Team meetings occur daily while meetings with the entire staff occur every two weeks. The summers are generally hot and humid.
Work in the field generally requires jeans, sturdy shoes/boots, and potentially working on a ladder. Office dress is casual but professional, except when working in the field. There may be the opportunity of overnight stays with the HABS team to conduct field work and field school training. Costs associated for travel will be provided/reimbursed by HABS/HAER/HALS.
The office building is accessible to those with physical disabilities however some site visit locations being documented may not be accessible.
Description:
The internship will provide the students with marketable skills that will further their professional career in architecture, historic preservation, and the use of new technologies. The position requires ability in hand-sketching and hand-measuring in the field, the production of detailed, as-built, measured drawings of the Kitchen-Hospital-Quarters building and slave cabins at Pharsalia Plantation, in Tyro, Virginia, in AutoCAD.
Duties Include:
- Learn about various documentation methods such as photogrammetry and terrestrial laser scanning, including being introduced to several new software programs.
- Produce standard two-dimensional architectural drawings (site plans, floor plans, elevations, sections, and architectural details, etc.) to the standards of the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS). There is potential for some drawing in 3D and 3D modeling.
- Write a short-form HABS historical report on the buildings being recorded under the guidance of a HABS historian and/or others knowledgeable in the history of Pharsalia Plantation. Upon completion, the documentation produced will be transmitted to the HABS/HAER/HALS Collection in The Library of Congress where it will be permanently archived and made available to a world-wide audience online. The internship position is supervised by a permanent architect of the Heritage Documentation Programs (HABS/HAER/HALS) staff.
Learning Goals:
- Learn about the history of and housing conditions of the enslaved on a historic plantation.
- Learn by working with architects, landscape architects and historians to produce HABS/HAER/HALS documentation of historic sites.
- Learn the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Architectural Documentation.
- Understand the principles of design and construction of historic structures and sites.
- Improve skill in the use of AutoCAD to produce two and three dimensional measured and interpretative drawings.
- Use a high-definition laser scanner and multiple associated software.
- Work with 3D Point Clouds to produce measured drawings, a valuable and marketable skill.
- Network with professionals in the field of Historic Preservation.
- Understand the mission of the National Park Service.
Mentorship:
The Heritage Documentation Programs staff consists of a diverse group of historic preservation professionals (architects, landscape architects, historians and engineers) who will be actively involved in interns’ work assignments, overall project goals and will provide mentoring. The intern will also work with and learn from other HABS/HAER/HALS summer interns working in the office on other documentation projects.
Desired Skills and Qualifications:
- Completed at least three years in an accredited program of architecture or be pursuing a degree or certificate in historic preservation
- Course work in an accredited design major or technical/computer-aided drafting is strongly recommended (for example: architecture, architectural history, computer aided design and drafting, historic preservation, etc.)
- Legible hand lettering, freehand sketching, and precision computer-aided drafting
- Experience in producing field measurements and measured drawing is recommended, but not required
- Proficiency in the use of AutoCAD or other computer aided drafting (CAD) software is strongly recommended
- Work samples will be requested prior to placement (examples such as: freehand pencil sketches, architectural lettering, field notes with annotations and measurements, traditional architectural drawings produced in a recent version of AutoCAD, etc.)
- Basic knowledge of laser scanning technology and photogrammetry is helpful but not required
- Detail oriented
- Communication skills
- Desire to learn
Minimum Requirements
- Current student or recent graduate (no more than two years) from a Historically Black College and University
- US citizen or permanent resident
- Participation in workshop in Washington, D.C from August 4th – August 10th, 2024
More About the Location:
The offices of the Heritage Documentation Program are in the US Department of the Interior building in downtown Washington, DC. There are a variety of grocery stores, drug stores, shopping areas, restaurants, cultural sites, museums, doctor offices/hospitals and other sites of interest nearby. Washington is hot and humid during the summer months. Washington possesses a great public transportation system (buses and subway) so transportation is easy within the city. Uber and Lyft operate in Washington, Northern Virginia and the Maryland suburbs which are also options for transportation. As with any large city, Washington is safe but does have areas where care should be taken.
Questions? Email us at contact@hbcui.org.
