This month John Canning & Co. team members attended the 2023 Association for Preservation Technology International Conference in Seattle, WA. Amongst our team was founder John Canning, PA AIC - an honorary AIA member, president David Riccio, PA AIC - a 2019 honorary Association for Preservation Technology (APT) Recognized Professional, and studio design director, Jacqueline Canning Riccio. Having two of the company’s three principals, David and John, in attendance demonstrates John Canning & Co.'s solid commitment to APTI. Our firm was very excited to return to this year's conference as a gold sponsor again.
Association for Preservation Technology International is a multi-disciplinary, membership organization dedicated to promoting the best technology for protecting historic structures and their settings. The organization’s mission is to advance appropriate traditional and new technologies to care for, protect, and promote the longevity of the built environment and to cultivate the exchange of knowledge throughout the international community. Our firm is also a member of the Northeast chapter of the Association for Preservation Technology, with our principal David Riccio having been a past board member.
This year’s conference was guided by the Future of T.E.C.H. theme: Technology, Environment, and Cultural Heritage; investigating the blending of the multitude of natural environment and human cultures that create a unique environment for preservation and conservation. Through workshops, field sessions, and presentation sessions attendees learned about the influence of geology on the region’s development, materials that are native to the region, and the blending of high tech and historic works, while being mindful of sustainability and tradition. This year’s Association for Preservation Technology offered over 25 sessions ranging in various topics, one of the sessions that some of the John Canning & Co. team members attended was “Preserving & Stabilizing Historic Materials”, presenting the use of steam to remove in-situ coatings from fire risk wood structures. Often times, wood framed and sheathed heritage resources experience constant environmental degradation, requiring cyclical removal of accumulated finishes and debris maintenance before recoating. For historical wood structures located in high fire risk areas, the use of heat in paint removal is deterred from with serious concern for fire and many artisans find the use of chemical strippers to be problematic in performance and environmental sustainability. Founder John Canning was quick to recall a traditional method he used while in practice called "sweating", which used a blowtorch for paint removal. As a firm that uses traditional methods and techniques in our trade services, John Canning & Co. offers insights of our historic wood restoration, repair, and replication work with our downloadable resources and blog articles.
John Canning & Co. is rooted in using traditional methods and materials, but our team prides itself on being preservation problem solvers, using our collective expertise to develop solutions for complex restoration challenges, often integrating the old traditions and new technology to achieve the desired result. Nearly 30 years ago, our firm performed work in various sections of the Michigan State Capitol, a complete restoration of the House of Representatives, Senate Chambers, Ancillary Areas, and Public Spaces, involving all decorative arts aspects, a large quantity of woodgraining – replicating multiple wood species, graining, color -, and the consolidation and conservation of an estimated 45 elaborately decorated distemper ceilings. Following 20 years after our successful initial work, John Canning & Co. returned to Michigan State Capitol in 2015 to address sagging and detached plaster corridor ceilings. One of the largest challenges faced during the ceiling reattachment project was determining exactly where and how the plaster and lath would be secured to the furring and joists located above. In order to minimize any further damage or plaster loss, John Canning & Co.’s conservation professionals invented a system to raise and reattach the ceilings. Upon initial investigation, team members used a borescope to assess the plaster ceiling. This new modern tool, entering through a one-inch-wide access hole, made it possible to determine where the nails attaching the lath and the furring to the joists were backing out. The borescope was also used to carefully observe and look for obstructions between the furring and joist, as well as the nails going back in place, joining to our new fasteners for proper connections. Most of the fabric of the ceilings, including both plaster and decorative art, was original to the Capitol, making it critical to limit the number of intrusions while successfully securing the largely original materials. Subscribe to our newsletter to witness future completed results.
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Latest Articles & Announcements |
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Church Art Restoration - 7 Steps for Preserving History |
Some art restorations can ironically be more damaging than protective for original works of art. In a conditions analysis, you will often find that the surface design is not the original mural. In painting over the original décor, the beauty of the sacred decoration is masked. Out of reverence for the church’s primary designs, it is important to keep the original art exposed when conducting a restoration. John Canning & Co. shares 7 steps to preserving sacred art depicting religious history.
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| Density of Various Wood Species
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Wood density is determined by flexibility, strength, and susceptibility to deterioration. These factors can greatly impact the overall building project scope as wood continuously absorbs and evaporated moisture even after being made into building materials. Learn the differences in wood density and how they affect a buildings endurance over time; projecting timelines for wood restoration and preservation.
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A special October birthday shoutout to Architect Mifflin E. Bell! Bell was one of the original architects to design the Iowa State Capitol building. John Canning & Co. was granted the opportunity to perform plaster restoration and conservation and decorative painting in over twenty spaces at the State Capitol. The work also involved multiple large exposures with pattern documentation and color matching.
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Hosted by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the 2023 Past Forward conference will take place November 8-10 in Washington, D.C. Opening reception will be held in the neoclassical Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium – a stone cleaning, stone restoration, and gilding preservation project recently completed by John Canning & Co. As conference attendees gather in the space, may they assess the full scope of our work that includes Sphinxstone wall and column repair, cleaning and finishes restoration, inpainting, decorative painting, and plaster repairs.
For more than 70 years, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded nonprofit organization, has led the movement to save America’s historic places., to tell the full American story; build stronger communities; and invest in preservation's future. |
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Congratulations to our project partners - JCJ Architecture - on their latest award – The Elizabeth Mills Brown Award - for the restoration work at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Campus – a significant landmark in the north end of Hartford, CT. John Canning & Co. performed window restoration inclusive of wood consolidation, wood stripping and refinishing, and dutchman repairs alongside our industry professionals. The scope of work aimed to reintroduce original architect, Frank Irving Cooper’s original intent of “a harmonious balance between structural design and interior components”.
Presented in conjunction with Preservation Connecticut, the Elizabeth Mills Brown Award recognizes design excellence in the restoration, rehabilitation, adaptation, and reuse of historic structures.
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Interested in Seeing More of Our Work?
Follow Us on TikTok! |
Owned by the renowned state college, University of Connecticut (UCONN), the historical Hartford Times Building – home of UConn School of Public Policy - underwent conservation cleaning of sgraffito on the building exterior, under cover of the loggia. Shown in our TIKTOK video onlookers can see clean areas appearing lighter-colored versus darker areas, which still require cleaning.
Sgraffito, meaning “scratched” in Italian, is a decorative art technique made by scratching through a superficial layer to reveal a preliminary surface of a contrasting color, pattern, or shape; this is typically done in plaster or stucco on walls. |
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We understand the importance in sharing our expertise and knowledge in our field. Besides the monthly newsletter and blogs we post, we also develop and share downloadable resources to help guide you in your conservation, preservation and restoration projects. Check out the Resources page and see if any of the resources can help answer some of your questions and provide a better understanding of some of the intricacies in the preservation field.
Check out our Featured Downloadable Resource below.
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Historic campuses can evoke feelings of pride, passion, and a desire to create grand new concepts and products that could one day shape the world around us. Historic colleges and universities that have undergone preservation and restoration projects are given a strengthened legacy while bringing new life and continued pride to the educational institution and surrounding community.
Discover more of our historic architectural finishes and decoration, restoration, conservation, and creative expression works for various historic universities and colleges. |
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| As a national nonprofit preservation organization, the National Trust for Historic Preservation works to save America's historic places and is a great resource for anyone looking to learn more or get involved. |
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The American Institute for Conservation and the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation work together to promote the preservation and protection of cultural heritage. Partner with us to further that mission. |
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JOIN THE CONVERSATION #PerfectingPreservation #jcanningcrew |
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