The UNESCO World Heritage Centre honors the memory of Frank Matero, the Gonick Family Professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Stuart Weitzman School of Design. Prof. Frank Matero, made an enduring contribution to the theory, practice, and teaching of architectural and heritage conservation worldwide.

Over more than three decades, he played a pivotal role in advancing the conservation of the built environment. He founded and directed the Architectural Conservation Laboratory (ACL), a hub of applied research that championed a rigorous, materials-based approach to preservation, combining scientific investigation and practical intervention, which contributed to the protection of a wide range of cultural heritage sites, in particular Taliesin West and the Guggenheim Museum, two of the components of the World Heritage site the 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, inscribed in 2019.

He founded and directed the Architectural Conservation Laboratory (ACL), a hub of applied research that championed a rigorous, materials-based approach to preservation by combining scientific investigation with practical intervention. Through this work, the ACL contributed to the protection of a wide range of cultural heritage sites, in particular Taliesin West and the Guggenheim Museum, two components of the World Heritage site the 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, inscribed in 2019.

A prolific and influential scholar, Frank Matero authored and contributed to over 100 publications on conservation history, building technology, ethics, and practice. In his later years, his research increasingly focused on developing frameworks to assess the vulnerability of materials and heritage sites to climate change, helping guide strategies for conservation and adaptation worldwide.

Beyond academia, he also contributed his expertise to international heritage organizations, including ICCROM, where he was widely respected for his principled, research-driven approach that integrated cultural, social, and material knowledge.

Colleagues and former students remember Frank Matero as a generous mentor, a rigorous thinker, and a passionate advocate for the ethical stewardship of cultural heritage. His legacy endures in the institutions he strengthened, the professionals he trained, and the countless historic places whose care was informed by his insight and dedication.