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SUMMARY:Conservation + Sustainability: Can Conservation and Retrofits Work
  Together? - Speaker to be confirmed
DTSTART:20101028T110000Z
DTEND:20101028T130000Z
UID:TALK27210@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:18154
DESCRIPTION:*Abstract*\n\nSustainability is related to conservation in a b
 roader ecological sense.  It is often said by conservationists that the gr
 eenest building is the one that is already built\, as this accounts for th
 e massive amount of embodied energy that went into its construction. \n\nT
 he difficulty comes in that modern services applied to listed buildings ca
 n cause deterioration of the historic structures\, as they may create clim
 atic conditions and variations of temperature and humidity\, which fail to
  maintain the equilibrium in which ambient environment conditions and stru
 ctural elements or artworks usually are. On the other hand\, buildings are
  responsible for 40% - 50% of the national primary energy consumption in U
 K\, most of which is used to satisfy needs for lighting\, heating and cool
 ing.  When considering roadmaps to 2050 reduction emissions targets\, it i
 s critical to note that most of the buildings that will be standing in 205
 0 are standing today which prioritises retrofit issues over new constructi
 on.  Buildings with specific aesthetical\, social and historical value sho
 uld be preserved and reconditioned in order to be more environmental frien
 dly and adapt to modern world’s demand for limiting future climate chang
 e\, but how can this be done without jeopardising the very qualities that 
 make them special?\n\nThis seminar intends to encourage an interesting con
 versation on the relationships between sustainability\, the historic envir
 onment\, conservation and emission reductions. It seeks to investigate the
  impact of installing sustainable retrofits to old listed buildings on the
  conservation of historic elements and other values. \n\n*Speakers*\n* Nic
 holas Ray Architect\, Nicholas Ray & Plastik Architects\n* Oliver Caroe Ar
 chitect & Conservationist\, Caroe Architecture Ltd & Associate of Cambridg
 e Architectural Research\n* Magdalini Makrodimitri PhD student\, Departmen
 t of Architecture\, University of Cambridge\n* Kayla Friedman PhD student\
 , Department of Engineering\, University of Cambridge\n\n*Speakers' Abstra
 cts*\n\n*Nicholas Ray: "Comfort and Sustainability"*\n\nHuman behaviour wi
 ll have more effect on energy efficiencies and carbon emissions than any a
 mount of building up-grading. If we take energy issues seriously we should
  therefore re-examine our attitudes to comfort.\n\nArchitects need to be m
 ore self-conscious of their philosophical stance: architectural design and
  production is inevitably conditioned by the positions designers hold. Arc
 hitects struggle to reconcile the demands of their "art" with the criteria
  of a world of calculation.\n\nNeither an apparently objective position\, 
 nor an exclusively artistic attitude is helpful. The problem of balancing 
 a respect for architectural context\, and answering the understandable nee
 ds of people for enhanced comfort\, while at the same time achieving measu
 rable environmental efficiencies is endemic to contemporary practice\, and
  this will be illustrated in a Cambridge case study.\n\n*Oliver Caroe: "Hi
 storic Environment & Climate Change issues"*\n\nAbstract TBC\n\n*Magdalini
  Makrodimitri: "Sustainability and Heritage Conservation: Thermal Comfort 
 vs conservation in Historic buildings. The case of English churches"*\n\nC
 onservation is believed to be very closely connected to sustainable develo
 pment and regeneration of urban environment. Conservation and sustainabili
 ty are also related in a broader ecological sense. Conservation thus shoul
 d be combined with regeneration work to improve people’s lives in severa
 l ways including the quality of local environment. This presentation looks
  at the issues surrounding the environmental management of listed public b
 uildings. Historic churches are used as pilot studies to reach wider concl
 usions on thermal conditions and their potential improvement not only in h
 istoric churches but also in other similar historic buildings such as larg
 e hall structures. \n\nHistoric buildings’ adaptation to the modern ther
 mal comfort requirements often raises conservation issues\, due to changes
  in the balance of conditions occurring in the ambient internal environmen
 t\, internal fabric and artefacts’ elements. \nThis presentation aims at
  encouraging a discussion about the possibility of improving the thermal c
 omfort levels in historic buildings\, while reducing energy consumption. \
 n\n*Kayla Friedman: "The importance of existing urban buildings towards ad
 dressing climate change"*\n\nIn 2008\, for the first time in history\, mor
 e than half of the world’s population was living in towns and cities. By
  2030 this number is expected to swell to almost 5 billion.  Indicative da
 ta suggests that in 2006\, about two-thirds of the world’s energy was co
 nsumed in cities\, accounting for over 70% of global GHG emissions\, thoug
 h only around half of the world’s population lived in urban areas.  Howe
 ver\, energy use per capita of city residents is slightly lower than the n
 ational average in the United States\, the European Union\, Australia\, an
 d New Zealand.  By contrast\, urban residents in China use almost twice as
  much energy per capita as the national average due to higher average inco
 mes and better access to modern energy services.  City residents consume m
 ore coal\, gas\, and electricity than the global average\, but significant
 ly less oil.\n\nNew York City released a study of 2005 total greenhouse ga
 s emissions and found that 79 percent were caused by the consumption of en
 ergy by buildings in the city\, in contrast to the national average of 34 
 percent.  However\, as New York has the lowest car to resident ratio of an
 yplace in America\, it simply highlights the necessity of understanding an
 d addressing the existing urban building stock in addressing climate chang
 e.\nThis presentation looks at the data available regarding building energ
 y use and cities and makes the case for the need for urgent\, sensitive\, 
 and radical action in addressing the existing building stock of cities. 
LOCATION:CRASSH Seminar Room 17 Mill Lane
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