UF alumnus receives historic preservation award

March 20, 2008

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Rolando Rivas-Camp, director for the Center for Historic Buildings at the U.S. General Services Administration, was awarded the University of Florida College of Design, Construction and Planning’s 2008 Beinecke-Reeves Distinguished Achievement Award, the college announced today.

The annual award recognizes an individual who exemplifies the spirit of historic preservation in Florida. It is given to an individual or group having a connection to the state and demonstrated dedication to historic preservation. Rivas-Camp, a preservation architect and UF alumnus, received this year’s award in recognition of his innovation in identifying methods, policies, and programs to preserve and reuse prominent U.S. government buildings from the 1950s to the 1970s.

“For Rolando’s efforts to expand the vision of GSA to include this vast inventory of historic buildings, he has been internationally recognized as one of the leaders in historic preservation,” said Roy Eugene Graham, director of the college’s Historic Preservation Programs.

Rivas-Camp oversees preservation activities within GSA’s national office and 11 regional preservation programs. With his guidance, a December 2000 industry conference identified nine important GSA buildings in Florida, including the 1961 and 1964 federal buildings in Ocala and Gainesville respectively. This effort led Rivas-Camp to spearhead the landmark publication “Growth, Efficiency and Modernism: GSA buildings of the 1950s, ’60s and ‘70s,” which provides guidance in assessing government buildings from the recent past. He has also helped GSA win many preservation awards from industry organizations for its showcase rehabilitations and imaginative public-private partnerships.

“As the steward of more than 420 historic properties, GSA has an enormous ongoing responsibility,” said GSA Administrator Lurita Doan. “Rolando’s exemplary work in Florida and throughout the nation has helped us fulfill our mission and earn our reputation as a leader in federal preservation.”

Prior to directing the center, Rivas-Camp served as a project director for GSA’s Courthouse Management Group, coordinating projects for the Nationwide Federal Courthouse Building Program. He also was the U.S. representative at the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property in Rome, Italy. He holds a master’s degree in architecture from UF. Rivas-Camp also studied at the University of London’s Bedford and Birkbeck Colleges’ architectural studies program. In 2005, he was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects.

“As GSA’s director of historic buildings and the agency’s preservation officer, Rolando works tirelessly to ensure that GSA’s historic properties remain the jeweled treasures of our inventory,” said GSA’s Commissioner of Public Buildings David L. Winstead. “Under his leadership, the agency has risen to the forefront of the preservation profession, gaining recognition for policies and model practices, making preservation integral to our business.”

The award is named in honor of the late Walter Beinecke Jr. and UF professor emeritus F. Blair Reeves, both of whom were recipients of the National Trust for Historic Preservation Crowninshield Award for their accomplishments in historic preservation.