This one day seminar, funded by English Heritage and held in the beautiful Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds, brought together over 60 Design and Heritage Champions, planning, regeneration, conservation officers and elected Members, in addition to professional and educational organisations to explore the highly important built environment issues developing due to climate changes.
The event followed on from a particularly popular ’Sustainable Building’ seminar held by Shape East in Norwich, November ’08. The seminar presentations focused in particular on the challenges faced by the nation’s traditional buildings and how these buildings have the potential to serve as a model for a more sustainable future.
The day opened with an introduction to the Theatre Royal’s history. A range of insightful and extremely thought-provoking presentations followed, ranging from the preservation of historic buildings’ role in the battle against climate changes to the specific architecture of sustainable buildings, from the economic incentives to adapting old buildings to a closer focus on traditional building techniques.
A networking lunch was then followed by an engaging, though somewhat chilly walking tour of Bury St Edmunds, expertly led by English Heritage’s Historic Areas Advisor, Michael Munt and architect Ralph Carpenter of Modece Architects, who specializes in the use of hemp in new and renovated buildings: http://www.modece.com/sustainable-construction.html
The day closed with a much needed question and answer session and discussion time. Thank you to everyone for making the day such a success. |
