The CIOB held a successful conference on How to Make Historic Buildings for You yesterday (17 March) with a number of speakers and topics exploring how to get the best out of the country’s traditional pre-1919 building stock.
The day-long conference in historic Somerset House looked at the re-use of older buildings and the various refurbishment strategies available.
Shadow minister for culture and the digital economy Chi Onwurah gave the keynote address on the need to train and upskill professionals working in design and conservation, while also reiterating the importance of preserving the UK’s heritage markets and culture.
Keynote speaker: Chi Onwurah
Colin King, director for BRE Wales, gave a closing talk on domestic retrofits and identified a “skill level and skills gap” crisis in the housing refurbishment sector that was harming the industry.
In particular, in the field of retrofit wall insulation, he said that a step change was needed in the industry if there was to be any further successful market growth, and also warned that the current drive to fit older houses with external wall insulation could prove to be harmful to the built environment.
He added that the current government strategy of providing grants for the insulation of homes primarily to save carbon emissions was misguided, and that there was a clear “gap between the policy maker and the industry”.
Among the talks given was a detailed case study of the ongoing development plan for Somerset House by Mike Figg, property services manager for Somerset House.
Break-out sessions covered topics such as BIM and 3D Scanning, a guide to restoration legislation by Craig Hatch from WYG Group and the holistic approach to retrofit from Andrew Dallen, from Cornerstones Management Services.
Afternoon sessions included a case study about the Wallace Collection in London from Dartford-based Coniston, on the philosophy of partnering with different companies to restore listed buildings. The firm has completed three projects at the Wallace Collection, as well as several refurbishments and fit-outs for the V&A Museum.
