Suzanna Barucco, Principal of sbk + partners, LLC, has been a frequent collaborator with Partners for Sacred Places since its founding in 1989.  Suzanna was the project manager and architectural conservator for condition assessments of historic religious properties that supported Partners’ seminal publication, Sacred Places at Risk (1997) and has been an instructor in Partners’ New Dollars/New Partners program.  Partners for Sacred Places is the only national advocate for the sound stewardship and active community use of America’s older religious properties.  

For this project, sbk was retained to serve as project manager and architectural conservator to guide a team of professional structural, mechanic, electrical and plumbing engineers to assess and develop recommendations for physical and system improvements for four United Methodist Church sites in Philadelphia.  Order of magnitude cost estimates for recommended repairs were also provided.  This project developed clear priorities for restoration and repair, and recommended solutions that preserve the historic character of these community landmarks while recognizing limited financial resources.  As with all sbk projects, the project balanced client needs and goals with sound preservation practice.