In memoriam

Robin Letellier and Mounir Bouchenaki (ICCROM Director General), 2006

Robin Letellier (1944-2007)

Obituary by ICCROM

It is with great sorrow that ICCROM informs its network of professionals in the conservation community of the death of long-time collaborator and friend, Robin Letellier. Robin passed away on 20 April 2007 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA), where he was giving a course within the Graduate Group in Historic Preservation at the University of Pennsylvania.

Robin received a degree in architecture from Laval University in Quebec in 1970. He joined Parks Canada shortly after graduation and reached the position of Chief of the Heritage Recording Services Division, Heritage Conservation Programme by the time of his retirement in 1997. After 2000, he worked as a Heritage Conservation Management Consultant, specialized in heritage recording.

Beginning in 2002, he was also strongly involved, as the International Coordinator, in the RecorDIM Initiative a partnership of a number of international and national heritage organizations, working together to bridge the gaps that currently exist in the heritage field between information users and information providers. As part of this initiative, he was in the process of publishing a new book with the Getty Conservation Institute entitled, Recording, Documentation and Information Management for the Conservation of Heritage Places - Guiding Principles.

In regard to his long service to ICCROM, Robin was a regular lecturer on aspects of heritage recording at many of ICCROM's courses for more than 20 years. He taught at the Architectural Conservation Course (ARC) starting in 1986 until the last course in 1998, and the International Course on the Preservation of the Earthen Architectural Heritage (PAT) from 1989 to 1996. He also participated in the GRADOC Initiative (Graphic Documentation Systems in Mural Paintings Conservation) and recently taught in several of the courses held as part of the ATHAR Programme (Conservation of Archaeological Heritage in the Arab Region).

Robin participated in the development of the Course on Architectural Records, Inventories, and Information Systems for Conservation (ARIS) where he taught in 2003 and 2005. Robin was scheduled to teach again at the upcoming ARIS course that will begin in September 2007.

Robin was also an active member of ICOMOS for many years and was a founding member of the Recording and Documentation Committee of ICOMOS Canada. He was the Chairperson of that committee between 1983 and 1991. During this period, he organized five international seminars and symposia on traditional and new technologies for recording, documentation and information management of cultural heritage resources. Starting in 1974, he was a member of the ICOMOS International Committee for Architectural Photogrammetry (CIPA) and served in various positions on that committee including Secretary General, Vice-President, and Task Group Coordinator starting in 1993.