Build Up Aspiring Historical Architect Intern

HPTC Build Up Aspiring Historical Architect Intern

Position Details

Stewards Individual Placements (SIP) provides individuals with service and career opportunities to strengthen communities and preserve our cultural resources. Participants work with federal agencies, tribal governments, and nonprofits building institutional capacity, developing community relationships, and supporting ecosystem health.

SIP in partnership with the National Park Service and Historic Preservation Training Center are seeking an individual for an exciting new opportunity as an HPTC Aspiring Historical Architect Intern. The goal of this position is to provide a technical internship that facilitates the opportunity to learn the full scope HPTC programming. This position provides a structured introduction and learning opportunities in the fields of Park Planning, Facilities, and Land Management within the National Parks Service system. The individual selected for this opportunity will receive direct mentorship from NPS Staff and work closely with the HPTC Youth Program Specialist.

The Historic Preservation Training Center (HPTC) utilizes historic preservation projects as the main vehicle for teaching preservation philosophy and building crafts, technology, and project management skills. Our experiential learning approach emphasizes flexibility in addressing the unknown conditions encountered during the project and ensures that the goals of preservation are met. The Architecture Section completes research, planning, and documentation of historic structures for future preservation, restoration, or rehabilitation for a variety of uses.

This internship will provide tremendous learning opportunities with the HPTC Architecture Section. Besides learning how to complete field work the way NPS prefers to collect structure data, these interns will directly affect planning documents for individual historic structures in the NPS. The planning documents are tools for park management to use when determining future use and treatment of the particular structure. Sometimes the structures have been vacant for 20+ years, sometimes they are being used but the use needs to be reassessed, and everything in between. Projects cater to parks and the structures. In addition, interns will be given opportunities for a couple field trips to see other close-by resources, so they get wide array of experiences with different structures of different historical periods. Further, interns will work side by side with higher-graded employees to work directly with them on projects to learn how HPTC provides services to individual parks.

Position Responsibilities will include:

• Historic structure reports (HSRs), documentation drawings, accessibility studies, compliance reviews, condition assessments, preservation maintenance plans, rapid assessment-style reports, etc., under the supervision of the Architecture Section Manager or other staff historical architects.
• Duties will include field inspection/assessment, historic fabric investigation, field documentation, archival research, and composing treatment recommendations.
• Field work is completed with weather in mind but could occur in cold or hot temperatures with precipitation in local park units or those which require overnight travel from HPTC headquarters.
• Office work is completed indoors in the historic Gambrill House at Monocacy National Battlefield.
• Project focus will be on the Belmont-Paul House in Washington, DC – documentation of recent construction work and development of a preservation maintenance plan. Various lockhouses at the C&O canal – assessment, documentation, and writing treatment report. Other projects are still under development.

Minimum Requirements:

• Ages 18-30 (Up to 35 with veteran status documentation)
• Very strong communication skills (writing/editing)
• Very strong organizational skills
• Ability to work independently
• Ability to pass a federal background check
• Possess a valid driver’s license

Preferred Qualifications:

• Successful candidate(s) should be architecture or historic preservation students and should be familiar with historic construction methods and historic preservation philosophy, including The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
• Hands-on experience with field documentation, archival research, material assessment, CAD and hand-drawing skills, use of Adobe InDesign, and solid writing skills are preferred. Please articulate these skills in your application; drawing and writing samples will be requested.
• Candidate(s) must provide their own laptop, with access to, at the minimum, AutoCAD, Microsoft Word, and Adobe InDesign. All other field tools, materials, and equipment (including required PPE) will be provided by HPTC

Benefits:

• $25/hr (Full Time, 40 hours per week)
• Public Lands Corps hiring authority eligible
• Travel to National Park Service sites available
• Networking across the National Park Service
• Involvement in dynamic team, get experience in and have impact on a national program in the National Park Service
• Exposure to many individuals in youth programs, historic preservation, and training world of National Park Service
• Ample professional and individual development opportunities to be determined by intern and supervisor
• For those seeking architectural licensure, this internship may count toward the NCARB Architectural Experience Program (AXP) system and could allow candidate(s) to gain experience working with a practicing licensed architect.

How to Apply:
Please be prepared to submit a resume and cover letter as part of this application.

Gwennan Richmond
Stewards Program Coordinator

304-860-0320

grichmond@conservationlegacy.org