The Second Pan-American Course on the Conservation and Management of Earthen Architectural and Archaeological Heritage, familiarly known as PAT99, was held in Trujillo, Peru, from October 31 to December 10, 1999. The course was organized as a collaboration of the GCI, the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and the Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), the International Centre for Earth Constructionö School of Architecture of Grenoble (CRATerre-EAG), and the Instituto Nacional de CulturaöLa Libertad (INC-LL).

The primary venue of the course was the museum of the archaeological site of Chan Chan, an earthen city constructed and occupied by the Chimu people from the 9th century to the 15th century. Chan Chan served as a field laboratory throughout the course, as did several nearby sites in the Moche Valley, including Huaca de la Luna, El Brujo, and a number of earthen colonial structures in the city of Trujillo.

The PAT99 course was designed to promote a methodological, scientific, and interdisciplinary approach to the investigation, conservation, and management of earthen architectural and archaeological heritage. The course utilized a team teaching approach involving 10 principal instructors from the Americas and Europe and 15 associate instructors. The associate instructors consisted of alumni of past PAT courses and INC-LL staff. Twenty-seven architects, archaeologists, and conservators—representing 12 countries in Latin America—also participated as students in the intensive six-week course.

The course was one of the activities of Project Terra, a multiyear collaborative effort of the GCI, ICCROM, and CRATerre-EAG aimed at developing the conservation of earthen architectural heritage—as a science, a field of study, a professional practice, and a social endeavor—through institutional cooperation in the areas of education, research, planning and implementation, and advocacy.

Photo: Hugo Houben.

PAT99 was the last in the 10-year history of short-term, midcareer PAT courses. A primary educational objective of Project Terra is to develop earthen architecture conservation as a field of study at the university level, through elaboration and testing of training methodologies and didactic materials, development of faculty, and building of a university consortium. Already a university consortium is forming: in October of 1998, the UNESCO Chair on Earthen Architecture was formally inaugurated. Centered at CRATerre-EAG, the UNESCO Chair is a vehicle for collaboration with universities in developing countries, aimed at instituting formal education programs related to earthen architecture construction and conservation. The Terra partners are charged with spurring and coordinating the development of curricula and faculty for earthen architecture conservation within this consortium.

An important aim of PAT99 was to synthesize past efforts and to begin to codify the body of knowledge that has amassed through these years of training activities, in preparation for working with universities. By both capturing this cumulative experience and exploring new and innovative approaches to education in this area, PAT99 served as a critical testing ground for improved teaching methodologies and materials that can be shared within the consortium and beyond.