A cross-disciplinary series of events for professionals working in the built heritage sector
2 In-Person Events
IHBC NI – Retrofit for the Future
Wednesday 3 May 2023, 9.30am-2pm, The Majestic, 208-212 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 6GD
The UK and Ireland has committed to net zero by 2050. Traditional, built heritage or just plain older buildings present amazing opportunities to reduce energy use and taking advantage of the existing embodied carbon. The challenges of retrofit are many, including protecting the external integrity & the historic fabric / traditional construction from inappropriate or un-informed intervention or ‘improvements’. Our 3 speakers will share their experiences as they have wrestled with this subject.
Speakers:
Professor John Edwards, Director Edwards Hart Consultants
Chris McCollum McCollum Conservation
Stephen Douglas Hall Black Douglas
RSUA – ‘Overground, Underground, What’s there to see‘
Friday 13 October 2023, 1pm-4.30pm, 2 Royal Avenue, Belfast City Centre
You are invited to ‘Belfast’s Old Town: Underground, Overground, What’s there to see?’ at 2 Royal Avenue in Belfast City Centre on Friday 13 October 2023. The event will explore the role of various built heritage disciplines using the historic core of the city as a case study.
Lunch will be provided at 1pm followed by a series of short talks and Q&As as well as a one hour walking tour, finishing with a social drink in a historic bar at 4.30pm.
The series of talks will focus on the architects’ role in conserving the built heritage, the archaeological discoveries that have been made, the planning issues that have been arising and the wider understanding of the history of the area. The goal being to deepen our understanding of how each of these parts interact with each other.
Speakers
Planning
Michael Gordon, Turley
Michael Gordon is Senior Director and Head of Planning at Turley and Philip Stinson is Director of Planning at Turley. Turley is a full-service planning and development consultancy which, since being founded in 1983, has established a strong reputation for providing honest and sound commercial advice, skilled presentation, advocacy and negotiation.
Architecture
Graeme Moore – Consarc
Graeme is a RIBA Accredited Specialist Conservation Architect and has worked with Consarc Design Group in Belfast since 1998. His experience includes working on the repair of, and interventions to, a variety of Listed Buildings and Historic Structures ranging from the Scheduled Monuments, Georgian Houses to Historic Ships and Listed Buildings of the Modernist Era. He sits on the Heritage Building Council and the CITB National Heritage Skills Committee as well as teaching on the RSUA Conservation Course.
Archaeology
TBC – Institute of Archeologists of Ireland and Chartered Institute of Archaeologists
History
Sean Napier – The 1798 Belfast Walking Tours
Public historian Sean Napier will take us through an epic 1798 journey through Belfast’s hidden and illustrious past. We will travel through time from Belfast’s humble beginnings to the advent of the Presbyterian enlightenment period that leads to the formation of the United Irishmen in Belfast October 1791 and thus the beginning of the radical political tradition of republicanism for the next 230 years.
5 Online Lunchtime Talks
RICS Whole Life Carbon Assessment & Built Environment Carbon Database
Tuesday 18 April 2023, 1pm-2pm, Online
RICS Whole Life Carbon Assessment (WLCA) is set to become the world-leading standard for carbon measurement in the built environment. The second edition builds upon the success of the existing RICS WLCA and will establish a global benchmark for consistent carbon measurement at all project stages. Created by RICS in consultation with internationally-recognised professional bodies, the WLCA is accessible, reliable and promotes long-term thinking by encouraging reuse, recycling, and redevelopment. Giving visibility to the carbon cost of different design choices, the standard aims to help professionals manage carbon budgets, reduce lifetime emissions and build a net-zero future for construction. The Built Environment Carbon Database will become the main source of carbon estimating and benchmarking for the UK construction sector. It will also serve as a practical tool to support the decarbonisation of the built environment. Populated by industry professionals, the database will collect and supply product data and entity level data to the industry through its own portal and by interacting with existing databases and software solutions.
Speakers:
Matt Collins, Senior Specialist – Construction & Infrastructure Management, RICS
Matt is both a member and staff member of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, leading RICS’s involvement, collaboration and output in respect to sustainability within the built environment. Matt currently has a particular focus on consistent and comparable carbon measurement and reporting and is leading the update to the RICS Professional Statement in Whole Life Carbon Assessment for the Built Environment, due to be launched in Spring 2023. Matt is Deputy Champion of the CIC’s 2050 Group and sits on the Steering Group for the UK Net Zero Carbon Building Standard.
Fabrizio Varriale – Place & Space Analyst, RICS
Fabrizio is supporting the development and delivery of the Built Environment Carbon Database and trained as an architect. Fabrizio regularly speaks and comments on sustainability issues on behalf of RICS.
RTPI – Incorporating renewable energy into historic settings
Monday 12 June 2023, 12.30pm-1.45pm, Online
Adapting and mitigating to climate change is a priority for us all but how can renewable energy, as part of the response, be incorporated sensitively into the historic environment? This webinar will hear from experiences of how this has been achieved and learn valuable lessons.
Sensitive Reuse of Vacant Buildings and the S.P.A.B Approach
Tuesday 1 August 2023, 1pm-2pm, Online
The SPAB Ireland theme for 2023 is centred on re-use of historic buildings, with a particular focus on the inextricable link of built heritage conservation and environmental sustainability.
This lecture will offer an exploration of the S.P.A.B’s core values and their relevance to appropriate adaptive reuse of our vacant built heritage, to include; philosophical approach to works, craft skills and local materials.
Drawing on experience gained on the S.P.A.B Scholarship in 2022, Sinéad will discuss a range of case studies to demonstrate a diversity of approaches undertaken to achieve delightful results.
Speaker:
Sinéad Scullion
Sinéad Scullion is an Irish architect and S.P.A.B Scholar (2022) who is currently based at Donald Insall Associates in Chester, England. Prior to moving to the U.K, Sinéad has spent the majority of her career working for Shaffrey Architects, focusing on the adaptive reuse of nine Georgian townhouses in the heart of Dublin’s South Georgian Core.
Sinéad is interested in the wide spectrum of built heritage conservation and its protection for future generations, to include appropriate adaptive reuse of existing structures. In
addition to her architectural work, she actively pursues this interest as an appointed member of the SPAB Ireland Committee (Corresponding Member) and the ICOMOS International Emerging Professional Working Group (Membership Officer and International Liaison for ICOMOS Ireland).
DfC Guidance for Thermal Upgrade of Traditional Buildings
Wednesday 13 September 2023, 1pm-2pm, Online
An overview of guidance produced by the Historic Environment Division which is to be referenced in the revised Part F of the Northern Ireland Building Regulations
Speaker:
Jacqui Stokes
Jacqui Stokes is an RIBA Conservation Accredited architect working in the Heritage Advice and Regulation Branch of the Department. Jacqui has previously worked in private practice in Northern Ireland and London, and has trained as a PassiveHaus consultant. This triggered an interest in energy conservation and in the behaviour of built fabric generally. She brings this knowledge to her current advisory role with an understanding of how traditional buildings behave and how we can treat them in balance with their special qualities to make sure they are sustainable.
CIfA and IAI – Informing climate change responses: the role of archaeology
Thursday 9 November 2023, 1pm-2pm, Online
Archaeologists spend their lives studying past societies and their environments and are uniquely placed to help us understand and adapt to environmental changes in the future as a result of the climate emergency. Drawing on case studies from the built and natural environments, this CPD session will focus on ensuring that responses to climate change are informed by an understanding of the historic environment, how it has evolved and how it might be impacted in the future.
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