Architects in New York City recently attended the second session of the Plastering & Spray Fireproofing Contractors of Greater New York's six-credit continuing education program held in June.

Known as "The Science & Art of Plastering in Today's Contemporary Buildings," the all-day course and field trips are validated by the American Institute of Architects and is an official AIA/CES LU course with an HSW (Health, Safety Welfare) classification. Its six credits are fully accepted by New York State toward the fulfillment of any architect's mandatory, continuing education credit requirements.

Under the guidance of a moderator, there were 10 guest lecturers and an all-day mixture of classroom lectures, luncheon presentations, live and in-classroom casting of real ornamental plaster moldings, and a walking tour of outstanding plastering jobs. The walking tour visited the intricate plastering challenges involved in the renovation of Grand Central Terminal and took the 40 attendees through the ornate restoration of the Roosevelt Hotel in which the lecture portion of the course was actually held.

The lectures covered such topics as the history of plastering, cost-effective new plastering approaches, EIFS wall systems, Venetian plastering, cementitious exterior finishes, all types of spray fireproofing and special finishes, and new, national standards for plastering apprenticeship programs now being conducted by the plasterers' union.