Heritage Retrofit: Historic Building Adaption for the Future

Up the hill from the sea and city are the raw materials from which both its built heritage and wealth are hewn and mined: timber, coal, ore, stone.

On the one hand, these materials represent the result of aeons, rather than the mere centuries of history. On the other, they are consumed over ever-decreasing durations, producing waste and degrading the environments they long predate.

This session will debate how heritage preservation might engage with this process. It has long been argued that conservation must be a carbon-positive activity, but alternative thinking suggests that sometimes keeping what already exists may not be the most sustainable approach.