Elizabeth Blasius

About Elizabeth Blasius

Elizabeth Blasius is an architectural historian and writer, and a partner in Preservation Futures, a Chicago-based firm for research, action and design in historic preservation. She advocates for the preservation and understanding of the narratives of the built environment through work that focuses on vernacular architecture and the recent past. In her role as writer, Blasius has served as the Midwest editor of The Architect’s Newspaper, and has had her work featured in Curbed Chicago, Block Club Chicago, The Chicago Tribune and CityLab. She currently writes a monthly column for Mas Context, a non-profit architecture and design platform. She is a leading progressive voice on the history and future of historic preservation. Blasius has worked extensively with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) in both the public and private sectors across the United States. This work has focused on disaster mitigation and recovery as it relates to historic and cultural resources, and has included assisting federal agencies such as the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in complying with federal laws. Blasius meets the professional qualifications established by the United States Secretary of Interior’s Standards for qualified architectural historians per the Code of Federal Regulations, 36 CFR Part 61. Blasius is a subject matter expert on local, state and national historic preservation laws and ordinances and is a practical scholar on vernacular architecture, Postmodern architecture, and the City of Chicago. Blasius received a Master of Science in Historic Preservation and a Bachelor of Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Experience

1. Architectural Historian

   Preservation Futures

   Apr 2021 — Present · Chicago, IL, US

   Preservation Futures is a Chicago-based firm exploring the future of historic preservation through research, action, and design. Founded by Elizabeth Blasius and Jonathan Solomon in 2021, Preservation Futures goes beyond historic preservation’s traditional approach to saving buildings to identify and shepherd future landmarks that elevate the social and cultural history embedded in places and spaces.

Education

• School of the Art Institute of Chicago

  Bachelor's Degree

  2000 — 2004

• School of the Art Institute of Chicago

  Master of Science (MS)

  2006 — 2008

Skills

• Archival Research
• Technical Documentation
• Environmental Compliance
• Architectural Design
• Grant Writing
• Leadership
• Telecommunications
• Photography
• Urban Planning
• Architectural History
• Sustainability
• Research
• Historic Preservation
• Cultural Heritage
• Design Research
• Sustainable Design
• History
• Historical Interpretation
• Museums
• Urban Design
• Cultural Resource Management