Adobe Consolidation

A new stabilization process for adobe developed through research at historic Fort Selden

Project Details

About

Goal

The Adobe Consolidation project at Fort Selden, New Mexico, developed and tested new techniques for stabilizing adobe by building and treating test walls in a variety of ways, including drainage, sheltering, and reburial.

A partnership with the Museum of New Mexico State Monuments, the work was part of the Getty Conservation Institute’s long-term commitment to the preservation of earthen architecture.

Outcomes

  • Research identified a multistep process using three chemical procedures that effectively stabilized sections of the adobe ruins adjacent to the test-wall area at Fort Selden
  • Initial findings were presented and discussed at Adobe 90, an international conference co-organized by the Getty Conservation Institute and other organizations active in the field.

Background

Partner

The Museum of New Mexico State Monuments