Meet the Historic Preservation Officer

Donna Klee, the Architect of the Capitol's (AOC) Historic Preservation Officer (HPO) since late 2023, plays a crucial role in safeguarding the nation's heritage assets on the Capitol campus. The AOC's mission, centered on serving, preserving, and inspiring, relies heavily on maintaining the longevity and integrity of these historically significant buildings, recognized globally as symbols of U.S. government and democracy. The Capitol campus, with over 225 years of construction history, embodies critical moments for the country, necessitating careful preservation for future generations. Klee's responsibilities include administering and interpreting the AOC's Preservation Policy and Standards. This framework guides decision-making to ensure the appropriate care of these assets, which include artwork and architectural features. With over 25 years of experience, Klee focuses on maintaining as much historic 'fabric' as possible, prioritizing efficient and minimally disruptive preservation methods. Her approach emphasizes stabilizing original materials with the least destructive interventions to maximize their lifespan, reflecting her lifelong passion for architecture and historic preservation, ignited by her parents' work restoring old houses. Klee's extensive knowledge of the Capitol campus, gained in part from her nine years as Project Executive on the Cannon Renewal Project, underpins her ability to champion the preservation culture within the AOC. The first preservation policy was established in 2006, evolving to formalize values and philosophies for modifications, restoration, conservation, and daily operations. This policy also delineates responsibilities, with certain collections and assets delegated to the AOC Curator and botanical assets to the U.S. Botanic Garden Curator. Even routine maintenance is considered an act of preservation, underscoring the importance for all AOC employees and contractors to understand preservation principles, including the proper selection of cleaning products to avoid irreversible damage to historic materials. The AOC's Architecture and Preservation Branch supports these efforts through comprehensive tools such as Building Preservation Guides, Cultural Landscapes Reports, and specialized studies like envelope studies and paint analyses. These resources provide crucial context, information, and inventory, detailing historically significant spaces and elements, clarifying preservation priorities, and offering historical background, including original designer intent, chronological data, physical descriptions, and historical building zone classifications. This documentation helps ensure that preservation goals are met consistently. Since assuming the HPO role, Klee's primary goal has been to foster a proactive and intuitive preservation culture by making information more accessible to those who work with and maintain the historic buildings. She is actively involved in both daily inquiries and long-term project development, emphasizing education and training for congressional staff, the public, and AOC employees. Klee advocates for honoring the established preservation processes and implementing robust maintenance and life-cycle planning to prevent unintended losses and potentially reduce long-term costs. As the "voice for the buildings," Klee's innate curiosity drives her to investigate root causes of building conditions. She plays a vital role in project planning, from formulating scopes of work to crafting development plans, always aiming to minimize negative impacts. Her process includes careful examination, thorough documentation, and scientific investigations like paint analysis before any intervention. She also leverages the expertise of highly skilled artisans on the AOC staff. Klee stresses that everyone involved in work on the Capitol campus must adopt a preservationist mindset, recognizing the irreplaceable nature of historic fabric and the need for thoughtful planning and adherence to policy to balance protection with functional requirements. Ultimately, Klee's role is to educate, provide understanding, and identify appropriate solutions to uphold the AOC's preservation goals, ensuring that historic preservation, defined as intentional actions to identify, document, maintain, or repair heritage assets, guarantees their continued use into the future. #HistoricPreservation #CapitolCampus #DonnaKlee #ArchitectOfTheCapitol #HeritageAssets #PreservationPolicy #BuildingConservation #ArchitecturalHistory #CulturalHeritage #HistoricPreservation #CapitolCampus #DonnaKlee #ArchitectOfTheCapitol #HeritageAssets #PreservationPolicy #BuildingConservation #ArchitecturalHistory #CulturalHeritage