CoPR and Current Research

The Center of Preservation Research (CoPR) surveyed and documented the working historic landscapes of rural Colorado and provided an experiential learning opportunity for graduate students in the college through internships and class work. This website documents the CoPR's work from 2011-2020 and current research taking place at the CU Denver College of Architecture and Planning on historic working landscapes in Colorado.

Professor of Architecture Kat Vlahos served as the Director of the Center of Preservation Research (CoPR) from 2008 – 2020. Professor Vlahos’ expertise and scholarship focus on the development of innovative methods to broaden our understanding of the cultural landscapes that define the American West.

Professor Vlahos' approach is shaped around the principle that multiple kinds of evidence developed through documentation, survey, and assessment, promote informed decision-making for future planning. Her investigations focus on understanding changing cultural landscapes that weave together the human experience, cultural traditions, and sustainable approaches for building in relationship with nature and the land.

Current Preservation Research

Research preservation work continues documenting sites to provide a glimpse into the past that may provide lessons on sustainable building practices and appropriate use of local materials – learning from the past to inform the present and future.

Projects of the Center of Preservation Research - 2011-2019

In 2011, the Colorado State Historical Fund awarded $88,708 for the Colorado Rural Preservation Education Project (CRPEP), a pilot partnership between the Center of Preservation Research and Colorado Preservation Inc. At the University of Colorado Denver’s College of Architecture and Planning, Kat Vlahos and Christopher Koziol acted as co-principle investigators on the grant project. Its aim was to survey and document the working historic landscapes of rural Colorado, while providing an experiential learning opportunity for graduate students in the college through internships and class work.