- Client
- Conservation Practice
The Challenge
Large technology objects are among the most complex heritage assets to preserve. Their size, weight, hazardous materials, operational history and mixed-material construction demand careful planning long before restoration begins.
Andrew Pearce has specialised in large technology for his entire working life. Beginning his career as an apprentice electrician with the South Australian Railways, he developed an intimate understanding of locomotives, rolling stock, industrial machinery and complex electrical systems, long before qualifying as a conservator. Today, that rare combination of trade experience, conservation science and industrial heritage expertise makes him one of the few specialists internationally, able to advise on the preservation of complex technological objects.
Our Approach
Aircraft, locomotives, military vehicles, ships and industrial machinery are rarely single-material objects. They combine metals, glass, timber, textiles, leather, rubber, electrical systems, paints and composite materials, each requiring different conservation methodologies. Successful projects begin by identifying the most vulnerable components and understanding how they influence the preservation of the object as a whole.
Andrew and Victoria first met while working on the Australian War Memorial's Messerschmitt Bf 109, where an insect infestation within inaccessible cavities of the aircraft required a multidisciplinary treatment strategy. While Andrew was treating and stabilising metal, glass and rubber components of the aircraft, Victoria was consulted on the biological deterioration and organic components. That collaboration established the multidisciplinary approach Endangered Heritage continues to apply today — drawing on additional specialist expertise only where it strengthens the conservation outcome.
Outcomes
The success of Andrew's conservation strategies cannot be measured on the day a project is completed. They are measured by how little intervention the asset requires over the following fifty years.
Every significant heritage challenge begins with a conversation.
We advise a small number of institutions each year. If you are facing a challenge that demands strategic thinking, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss it.
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