Héctor J. Berdecía-Hernández (He/him) is an Architectural Conservator and the founding Director-General of the Centro de Conservación y Restauración de Puerto Rico (CENCOR). The Center serves Puerto Rico and the Caribbean region through conservation and preservation services, education, research, and community outreach initiatives. In his current role, he oversees all conservation and preservation services, research projects, initiatives, and administrative duties at the Center. Héctor is also an Adjunct Professor in Preservation Technology at the Graduate Program in Architectural Conservation and Rehabilitation at the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico (PUPR).
His teaching and research focus on the conservation of historic buildings and sites, with emphasis on the history of traditional building technology, traditional trades, and the conservation of historic building materials, particularly masonry mortars, concrete, and cementitious materials. Héctor received an M.Sc. Historic Preservation with a concentration on Architectural Materials Conservation at the University of Pennsylvania where he was awarded The Anthony Nicholas Brady Garvan Award for an Outstanding Thesis in Architectural Conservation, and the Elizabeth Greene Wiley Award for Outstanding Promise.He also received a B.EnvD. in Environmental Design-Architecture and a B.A. in History from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus in 2018, and attended joint Conservation Science courses within Georgetown University and the Universitá degli Studi de Firenze.
Héctor currently serves as Chair of the Architecture Specialty Group (ASG) of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC). He is a member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), and a member of the Association for Preservation Technology International (APTI) Technical Committees on Materials and 20th Century Modern Heritage. He was also elected to the College of Young Practitioners of the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture & Urbanism (INTBAU).