PMA Welcomes New Architectural Historian

PMA Architecture is thrilled to announce the addition of Architectural Historian Ivy Weeks to the firm’s professional staff. A 2013 cum laude graduate of College of Charleston, Ivy holds a degree in Historic Preservation and Community Planning. She will be leading the firm’s many historic projects on naval and other military bases across Virginia, D.C., and Maryland.

Ivy’s interest in historic buildings began with her upbringing in a 100-year-old home in an historic district of Orlando, Florida. Generations of her family had lived in that home and she spent many weekends working with her family on various efforts to improve and maintain it – getting involved in everything from wallpaper removal to plaster repair to electrical work. Also inspired by her grandmother who worked as a professional contractor until just recently retiring at age 90, Ivy decided as a high schooler to study historic preservation. She chose to study at the College of Charleston which offers one of the top programs nationally in the field.

Shortly after graduating, Ivy had the opportunity to work with a grassroots preservation group and was hired by the general contractor to save a late 1800s Victorian home in Winter Park, Florida known as the Capen House which was threatened by demolition. “The home mattered to the community because there aren’t many historic buildings of this age left in that part of the country,” she says. “We were able to raise over $550,000 in just six months. That money allowed our team to propose moving the building to a new site, on the nearby property of a sculpture museum, where it could be cared for and enjoyed by the community. The owner agreed. The house was cut in half and then moved (across a lake on a barge) to its new site. The restored home is a wedding and event venue now and provides office space for the museum,” says Ivy.

The early part of Ivy’s career consisted of work as a project manager for general contractors in Florida, South Carolina, and Maryland where she managed high end renovation, restoration, and repair projects. During this time, she developed an expertise in building envelope issues and water mitigation strategies for historic buildings. What she learned from working directly for contractors is helpful in her work today. “I loved it,” she says. “I’m a very practical person and it taught me how to avoid mistakes in construction planning and how to develop specifications that are easier to execute in the field.”

Prior to joining PMA Architecture, Ivy served as a Capital Programs Administrator for the Maryland Historical Trust in the Maryland State Historic Preservation Office. She oversaw their capital funding programs, provided education and outreach, evaluated applications for the Historic Preservation Capital Grant and Loan Programs, and provided the work and leadership to ensure that historic projects were in compliance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.

Ivy currently lives in an historic cottage originally built as military housing, which she enjoys renovating in her free time. She was drawn to her new position with PMA Architecture by “the historic military housing aspect” that is a regular part of PMA’s on-going historic work on military installations across the Mid-Atlantic. " I look forward to protecting the buildings to honor those that protect us,” says Ivy.

When they aren’t busy with home renovations, Ivy and her husband enjoy spending their free time with their two dogs, going to the beach, and visiting local micro-breweries.