As the 2025 recipient of the APT DC’s Emerging Professionals Sponsorship Program, I had the incredible opportunity of attending the APT Annual Conference in Providence, Rhode Island. The conference’s tagline, “The Power of Water, Craft, & Architecture,” structured the various field sessions and presentations and demonstrated how the three themes were interwoven.

On my first full day at the conference, I attended a field session at Roger Williams Park, which was established as a gift to the city of Providence in 1871. It has grown from 100 acres to 420 acres today and remains a model example of the Urban Parks Movement during the late nineteenth century. I was particularly interested in this field session since my undergraduate thesis was focused on urban park field houses in Chicago, born out of the same movement and time period.

The field session began with a presentation led by the Park staff in the Clark Dalrymple Boathouse and progressed into a tour by bus and on foot around the park to visit several key buildings. Over the last decade, the park has undergone a series of major capital improvement projects for its buildings, landscape, and infrastructure. This work ranged from repaintings, interpretative signage, and public art to major repairs to bridges, roadwork, stormwater management, and building enclosures and roofs. The staff emphasized necessary upgrades for accessibility and life safety on several properties. One particular standout on the tour was an impromptu visit through the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium’s basement taxidermy collections, which I will never forget now.

Temple to Music (1924) is sited at the edge of a lake within the park and is a popular venue for concerts and prom photos

Museum of Natural History and Planetarium (1895)

Betsey Williams Cottage (1773) is the oldest structure in the park and has recently reopened to the public after restoration efforts

I spent the following two days attending the various paper sessions organized around three key themes: water, craft, and architecture. Topics ranged from improving San Francisco’s Indian Basin Waterfront Park, the installation of the Royal Thai Pavilion in Madison, Wisconsin, and the craft tradition of stone carving in Quebec. Dorothy Krotzer’s presentation on the use of linseed oil paint to restore the Maryland State House posited that technological developments need to be balanced with traditional crafts and techniques.

A similar argument was made by Todd Matuszewicz in his presentation “Neon: More than Signage.” Matuszewicz, a decades-long neon tube bender, presented a very moving account of how the craft has changed in the last century. Neon took off in 1933 due to the confluence of three factors: the New Deal's enactment, the patent on neon lighting expiring, and the end of Prohibition. Though neon craftmaking has been declining both in its demand and as a trade, Matuszewicz argued for how it could evolve in the future as an art form and as a practical and sustainable lighting method.

Another presentation that stayed with me was given by Colleen Chapin on the Souther Tide Mill, located in Quincy, Massachusetts. It is one of the few remaining tide mills in the United States and is located in a flood zone where it has been flooded once a year. She highlighted a key sentiment that was raised by other presenters  — the difficulties and unpredictability of building with, or in some cases, against water. Chapin argued that it may not be enough to just have the technical knowledge on how to preserve the building, but that stakeholders need to think through what it’s being preserved for, especially if it’s awaiting a use that never comes. Even though we were at a conference focused on the technical aspects of preservation, I realized that it was also important to ask why and for whom we are preserving.

I had a wonderful few days in Providence, being able to meet and learn from fellow architects and preservationists. A key highlight of the weekend was the APT Chapter Breakfast, where I was able to reconnect with and meet other professionals from DC. I also spent time meeting people from the Western Great Lakes chapter when the DC table became too popular and crowded. 

The DC table at APT Chapters Breakfast

Outside of conference programming, one of the best parts of the weekend was the chance to walk around Providence and explore all the beautiful historic architecture throughout the city. Throughout the weekend, I spent time walking through College Hill, Federal Hill, Jewelry District, and the downtown area.

Fleur-de-lys Studio, located opposite the First Baptist Church in America (where the Welcome Keynote was held)

Barnaby Castle in Federal Hill

When I was in graduate school a few years ago, I took a policy course on managed retreat and climate adaptation policy. During one of the seminars, our professor asked everybody to go around and describe a childhood memory related to water. Regardless of where in the world they were from, my classmates shared a precious memory they held onto — be it the river that cut through the city they were born in, the lake they would go to during the summer, or the creek close to their house. Our built environment and the memories we embed in it are formed and shaped by water, and this year’s conference was a wonderful reflection of that.