RFP for Preparation of Post WWII Commercial/Industrial Context Study

While recognizing that Post WWII structures have reached the 50 year age threshold for eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, preservation professionals, property owners, and the general public continues to struggle with decisions regarding how to preserve, protect and designate these resources.  While it may be easier to understand why buildings and structures that date from before World War II are worthy of protection, the preservation community is increasingly confronted with questions about the importance of properties from the recent past as well as why they merit efforts to preserve them. To address this need for a clear and concise approach for understanding and evaluating historic properties from the modern-era, the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation is seeking a consultant to develop a historic context of Post WWII commercial/industrial architecture built in Washington from 1940 to 1975.  Project goals are:

• To allow Historic Preservation professionals and members of the public to use the context to craft local, state and National Register nominations of Washington’s Post WWII commercial/industrial buildings.
• To allow Historic Preservation professionals to use the context to evaluate the significance of Washington’s Post WWII commercial/industrial buildings.
• To create an attractive and useful on-the-ground tool for inventorying, documenting and evaluating Post WWII resources.

Work will include:

1. An overall context which establishes and expands on the various times, themes and events associated with Post WWII commercial/industrial development in Washington State
2. Identification of property types and character-defining features associated with Washington's Post   WWII commercial/industrial development
3. Rationale and explanation of minimum requirements for determining eligibility and assessing integrity of properties for the National Register of Historic Places
4. An architectural style guide specific to Post WWII commercial/industrial designs in Washington State
5. A timeline of the use of various Post WWII materials and features (i.e. exterior wall cladding, window types, roofing, doors, etc..)
6. A visual glossary of Post WWII terminology
7. A resource guide for further research

Send questions to the attention of: Michael Houser State Architectural Historian, Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation P.O. Box 48343 Olympia, WA 98504-8343 Or michael.houser@dahp.wa.gov One (1) PDF copy of the submittal whether mailed, emailed, or hand delivered must be received at the DEPARTMENT no later than 5:00 p.m. PST, Friday, February 27, 2015. Submittals received after this date and time will not be considered and automatically disqualified from further consideration. Click here for the full RFP_ModernismContext_FINAL_revised.