What’s Buzzing: Drones for Preservation

The Historic Resources Committee won’t allow another month to fly by without a primer and update on the latest application of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the investigation and documentation of historic structures. On February 11th, we welcome Benjamin Haavik, conservator and Team Leader of Property Care at Historic New England; Kelly Streeter, structural engineer and Partner at Vertical Access LLC; and Tim Sturgeon, geographer, pilot and product representative at QuadCopterDigital, for an engaging and informative presentation on the state of the art in inspection technologies.

Tim Sturgeon will present the imagery and mapping developed as part of a drone documentation project at Historic New England’s Cogswell’s Grant property. Ben Haavik will then discuss how his team immediately used the Cogswell’s Grant imagery in project planning and how his team has been using its newly-acquired drone to document its historic sites. Covering regulatory issues, Kelly Streeter will summarize the FAA’s treatment of UAVs in commerce and will describe current use of UAVs for restoration/rehabilitation and evolving applications for 3D and infrared photogrammetry. If time permits, Kelly will also touch on the cost comparison between 3D laser-scanning technologies and 3D modeling using UAVs.

Kelly Streeter PE leads hands-on specialized building investigation teams nationwide. Her extensive experience with historic structures includes the U.S. Capitol Dome in Washington, D.C. and the Chrysler Building in New York City. A frequent presenter at industry conferences, Kelly is chairperson for the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z359.9 subcommittee on Personal Equipment for Protection Against Falls and leads her firm’s in-house development of inspection technologies, including direct-to-digital annotation software (TPAS®) and imaging techniques using UAVs. She is a lecturer at graduate level historic preservation university programs, and a SPRAT certified Level III industrial rope access supervisor.

Benjamin Haavik, Team Leader of Property Care for Historic New England, is responsible for the maintenance and preservation of 36 historic house museums and landscapes open to the public. In this role, Ben oversees all property assessment, project planning and implementation and has recently begun to use drones to support this effort. Previous to joining Historic New England in 2004, Ben was Deputy Director of the Historic House Trust of New York City, where he cared for 24 historic sites throughout the five boroughs. Ben began his career at the Fairmount Park Historic Preservation Trust in Philadelphia, after receiving his MS in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania.

For those who qualify, 1.5 LUs are available

To learn more about the Historic Resources Committee, visit architects.org/committees/historic-resources-committee

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