When I began research for this book I was drawn immediately to the preservationists, because they are the only building professionals with a pragmatic interest in the long-term effects of time on buildings. They work creatively with the economics and changing uses of buildings, and they promote expertise in the crafts of longevity. Architectural historians, on the other hand, had almost nothing for me. As a subset of art historians, they are interested only in the history of intention and influence of buildings, never in their use. Like architects, they are pained by what happens later to
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