FEATURED AUTHOR

Harold Kalman

Principal
Commonwealth Historic Resource Management

Harold (Hal) Kalman is a heritage specialist and architectural historian based in Vancouver, BC (Canada). He divides his work time between writing and teaching, and engages in heritage advocacy. He is the author of many books and articles for both professional and general readers. Hal teaches graduate-level courses in heritage conservation (historic preservation) at the Universities of Hong Kong and Victoria. He recently withdrew from active consulting after 35 years in practice.

Subjects: Built Environment, History, Museum and Heritage Studies

Biography

Harold Kalman, CM, PhD, LLD, CAHP, began his professional career teaching the history of art and architecture at the University of British Columbia, after studies at Princeton University. He left academic life in 1975, setting up practice as Canada’s first heritage consultant. After training in historic preservation in the U.S. and the U.K., Hal Kalman co-founded Commonwealth Historic Resource Management Ltd., which developed an extensive Canadian and international conservation practice. He specializes in heritage planning (historic preservation planning) and architectural history. He was the founding president of the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals. He closed his consulting practice in 2010. Hal now focuses on a dual career as author and teacher. He writes for popular, academic, and technical audiences, and teaches intensive courses at the University of Hong Kong (where he holds the rank of Honorary Professor) and the University of Victoria. His books include the new Heritage Planning: Principles and Process (Routledge), and the highly praised Exploring Vancouver and A History of Canadian Architecture. Hal is a member of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. He has served on the boards of many heritage organizations and on community heritage commissions. He received the BC Heritage Award in 2006 and the Gabrielle Léger Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Heritage Conservation in 2009. He was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2012. A native of Montreal, Hal lives in Vancouver with his wife, artist Linda Kalman.

Education

Areas of Research / Professional Expertise

Websites

My Website

Books

Featured Title

Articles

Conservation of the Hollow Tree in Vancouver's Stanley Park

Published: Apr 01, 2015 by Bulletin of the Association for Preservation Technology, 42:4 (2011), 3-12
Authors: Harold Kalman and Lorne Whitehead
Subjects: Built Environment, Museum and Heritage Studies , Environment and Agriculture

The article provides a political and technical account of the conservation of Vancouver’s legendary Hollow Tree, a millennium-old Western Red Cedar that the City of Vancouver’s Park Board threatened to take down. A group of volunteers, including the authors, stabilized and restored the tree. The practical solution combined high- and low-tech methods in an innovative way. The article received the publisher’s Martin E. Weaver Award for the best article on wood conservation.

Rehabilitating Qingdao’s Zhongshan Road Neighbourhood

Published: Apr 01, 2015 by Héritage, 5:1 (2002), 23-25
Authors: Harold Kalman
Subjects: Built Environment, History, Museum and Heritage Studies

Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong Province, China, developed as a German possession at the turn of the 20th century. The Germans left a rich architectural and planning legacy. Harold Kalman and his team produced a plan to rehabilitate Qingdao’s Zhongshan Road Neighbourhood, a vibrant area developed with dense housing for Chinese residents. The article provides an overview of the neighbourhood and the plan.