Applications to the University of Oregon’s 2013 Croatia Conservation Field School are being accepted through March 1 for the program on Croatia's central Dalmatian Coast June 21-July 19. Registration priority will be give to students in historic preservation, architecture, landscape architecture, and other A&AA majors and programs.

The field school gives students hands-on experience in the conservation of vernacular settings and cultural landscapes along with a focus on sustainable design. Students will explore villages from the 16th-18th centuries while learning the history of the area, documenting and analyzing structures, and learning local building skills.

Above: Croatia field school students measure a structure.

The field school is situated in a heritage-rich region of the Dalmatian Coast and is surrounded by multiple UNESCO World Heritage sites. The first session will start in Trogir, a World Heritage site dating from Roman times. The first several days are dedicated to field trips that explore vernacular villages, World Heritage sites, a cultural museum, and a national park. Next, the school will work in the village of Radosic, collaborating with a local nongovernmental organizations dedicated to the conservation of the cultural landscape.

The field school will then relocate to the island of Brac, where students will participate in classes at the Klesarska Skola stone carving school, learning how to dress stone. While on Brac, students will also receive instruction in dry stone construction, take field trips to local quarries and monasteries, and develop field recordation drawings.

Application materials can be found at the UO International Affairs Study Abroad website.

The Croatia field school is sponsored by the University of Oregon Historic Preservation Program, the School of Architecture and Allied Arts, and the Ministry of Culture in Trogir.

Above: A scene near where students in the field school will be working.

Above: A building on the field school site in need of conservation.