Honoring the Past Through Preservation

Milstein Hall and Historic Preservation

The design of Milstein Hall enables the site to be used for AAP’s growing needs while successfully addressing the Secretary of Interior's Guidelines for Rehabilitation by protecting significant historic features, differentiating the old from the new, and minimizing changes to the existing buildings so that Milstein Hall is fully removable. The placement of Milstein Hall in proximity to Sibley and Tjaden halls preserves the historic significance of these important buildings and the integrity of the Arts Quad itself.

The U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s guidelines are the most widely recognized “best practices” in the historic preservation field. They have been used by planners, architects, owners, and regulators nationwide for decades. Cornell University and OMA turned to these guidelines as the standard by which to design Milstein Hall. The guidelines recognize four types of historic preservation treatment:

1. Preservation — to maintain and conserve existing historic features when no change or expansion of use is needed
2. Rehabilitation — to adapt historic property to new uses through alteration or addition
3. Restoration — to make existing historic resources appear as they did at a particular time in the past
4. Reconstruction — to recreate a vanished historic resource for interpretive purposes

The second of these, rehabilitation, is applicable to the vast majority of all historic preservation projects, including Milstein Hall.

Related Link

See historical images from around Sibley, Rand, and the Milstein site