Discover how Julian Phillips ’20 M.Arch uses his MassArt education in historic preservation, restoring iconic landmarks and uncovering untold architectural stories.
Julian Phillips ’20 M.Arch, Architecture, Living Color, laser cut/ etched colored acrylic, 2016
Building the Future by Preserving the Past
Whether restoring a barn on Thomas Edison’s New Jersey property or working to preserve the Virginia home of Maggie Walker, the first Black woman in the United States to establish a bank, historical architect Julian Phillips touches a lot of history, literally. Phillips, who works at the Historic Architecture Conservation and Engineering Center (HACE), a division of the National Park Service, credits MassArt for providing the creative foundation for his unique career in historic preservation.
We want these buildings to last as artifacts for future generations — it’s our history, the told/untold. What we’re doing now is telling a more complete story.Julian Phillips M.Arch ’20
One of the first courses he took at MassArt was in early American furniture — an introduction to furniture design and also to historians, museum curators, and craftsmen. It directly helped him in his role at HACE. “HACE is extremely multidisciplinary, exactly like MassArt,” he says. “Conservators, architects, landscape architects, historians — we all work together. I learned the value of that at MassArt, how to not only appreciate the differences around me but also find similarities. All those people were in the same space and had done different things, and we came together and learned from one another.”
Julian on lift conducting an exterior masonry exploration at Arlington Street Church, Boston, 2021
MassArt’s Community Build program provides graduate students with hands-on learning as they create a functional structure for community use. Pictured above: “Co-pavilion”, painted steel, wood assembly, Peabody Essex Museum, 2019
MassArt alum Nancy Callan returns with Blown Away judge Katherine Gray, showcasing collaborative glassblowing and inspiring students through hands-on demonstration and mentorship.
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Architect Michael Plofker reflects on historic preservation in New York City, Plaza Hotel restoration, and Lincoln Center/66th Street subway station underground gallery.
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