AIA Houston Historic Resources Committee Speaker Series - April

SAVE THE DATE!

Thursday, April 28

Join AIA Houston Historic Resources Committee Speaker Series

Speaker:  Roman McAllen, Assoc. AIA, Historic Preservation Officer - City of Houston

Title: Historic Preservation in Houston 

AIA Credit: 1.0 LU

Location: Architecture Center Houston, 902 Commerce, Houston, TX

Description:  The National Historic Preservation Act was passed in 1966, partly in a reaction to the demolition of the original Pennsylvania Station building.   All local historic preservation ordinances in Texas more than likely can be traced back to the Act.  The Act has had a long lasting and far reaching impact, but offers limited protection for historic properties. The local Historic Preservation Ordinance plays a more significant role in protecting historic properties.  Houston adopted the Historic Preservation Ordinance in 1995, and since then the ordinance has undergone several amendments. Join Roman McAllen the Historic Preservation Officer for Houston as he walks us through an overview of the development of the Historic Preservation Ordinance in Houston, and the role the local ordinance plays in protecting historic. He will also describe the challenges the city faces in administering the ordinance and outline initiatives that are currently underway to address these challenges.

Bio: Prior to studying architecture at the UT School of Architecture in Austin, Roman worked for the Progressive and AIG Insurance companies becoming a highly ranked company expert on automotive repair.   He also attended law school for one year at the University of Houston while working for Paul D. Clote, one of Houston’s most esteemed trial lawyers.   He is a native Houstonian, and after architecture school, worked in Brownsville and Denton, Texas as what he calls an activist urban planner and as the historic preservation officer in both cities.  He is the immediate past president of Preservation Texas, the only private, nonprofit membership organization in Texas that is dedicated to being a full-service statewide preservation organization.  As an associate architect and urban planner, he has worked assiduously to revitalize and preserve historic resources, activate dormant streetscapes, and use CDBG funds for historic preservation, all while on staff in municipal government, always a challenging environment for action. Certified by the Congress for the New Urbanism, the American Institute of Architects as an associate architect, and certified by the American Planning Association, he applies what he has learned in his current role as the City of Houston’s historic preservation officer.