It’s interesting how the Internet represents today and tomorrow, but at the same time, can connect us to the past. Last week, I discovered an article online that referenced UF architecture students and the School of Architecture’s Preservation Institute: Caribbean (PI:C).
It was time to investigate.
I determined the work referenced in the article would have taken place in the 1980s or early 1990s. So I asked the person in the office next to me — Bill Tilson, who happens to be the director of PI:C — if he knew anything about this project.
He contacted the alumnus who worked on the project mentioned in the article. Jim Stege received his Master of Architecture in 1985, and then one year later, was asked by the Caribbean Conservation Association to apply his concentration in historic preservation to a project in Bridgetown, Barbados. The project was the restoration of the second oldest synagogue in the Western Hemisphere.
In an email, Jim expanded on the experience: “I spent three months researching, designing and running a demolition/construction crew of local laborers and craftsmen towards that end. The experience combined a beautiful island, interesting cultures, great food, a warm relationship with the Barbados Jewish community, and a solid foundation on which to start my professional career. It was pleasure to be part of such a worthwhile historic project.”
Currently, Jim works in St. Augustine as a principal at SchenkelShultz Architecture.
Jim’s work in Barbados paved the way for further collaboration, including work with the Barbados National Trust. UF architecture and landscape architecture students worked on preservation guidelines for Speightstown, Barbados, one of the first projects to include a proposed community interactive Web site into the development plan. UF students also worked on the only structure inhabited by George Washington outside the United States, Bush Hill.
It’s interesting to see how an article on the Internet opened a conversation that led to my discovery of past work in the college. It also led to the discovery of an article written in 1996 about the college’s international programs. Bill Tilson had a copy of the article from UF’s alumni magazine, UF Today. For our alums who were students at the time of this article, it’s a blast from the past.
