InSite Loses a Dear Friend, Leader, and Colleague
It is with deep grief and sorrow that we announce the passing of our dear colleague and friend, Gretchen K Pfaehler, FAIA, who left us on January 13, 2025. Gretchen was a cherished member of our leadership team and industry leader, known for her passion for preservation of historic buildings and landscapes, sustainability, and social justice. We will miss her friendship and guidance immensely.
Over her 33-year career, she continued to invigorate and celebrate historic sites with each of her projects meeting contemporary environmental performance requirements, mitigating risks presented by aging historic building materials, and reviving the cultural relevance of a site for its community.
As a past chairperson and board member on the D.C. Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB), Gretchen impacted DC’s and the nation’s architectural heritage. Going above and beyond the required board effort, her advocacy created an alignment of preservation and energy reduction strategies, raised awareness of preservation resources among DC residents, and developed technical guidelines in collaboration between DC agencies. Her efforts informed other preservation commissions throughout the U.S. and Canada in considering their approaches to both environmental and architectural preservation.
Gretchen was also a professor at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) where she taught multiple classes on historic rehabilitation techniques, the built environment, and the examination of world-wide cultural belief systems and other factors that have had a major impact on the man-built world.
Additionally, Gretchen connected architecture students and young professionals with the resources of the Association for Preservation Technology (APT), a multi-disciplinary organization dedicated to promoting the best technology for protecting historic structures and their settings. As a past APT President, Gretchen expanded partnerships between APT and the AIA, the AIA HRC and HABS Peterson Prize, the Preservation Trades Network, the National Trust for Canada, and the International National Trusts Organization.
Please keep Gretchen’s family in your thoughts and prayers as they go through this difficult time.
Please visit (https://www.forevermissed.com/gretchen-pfaehler/about) to learn about how to pay your respects and celebrate Gretchen’s life.
