Material Legacies: Heritage, Reuse and the Climate Challenge

Can the reuse of existing buildings help address the climate crises and contribute towards mission impact development whilst ensuring the preservation of both tangible and intangible heritage?

Join SAVE Britain’s Heritage as part of its 50th-anniversary year programme of national events, for an evening of thought-provoking presentations and discussions exploring how the rehabilitation and reimagining of heritage assets is critical to a long-term vision for a sustainable built-environment.

In collaboration with Friends of the Pipe Factory and New future and hosted by Henrietta Billings - Director at SAVE, the panel discussion brings together experts in heritage, sustainability and policy to explore the challenges of retrofit and heritage conservation and question their social, economic and environmental dimensions.

• Simon Sturgis (Built-Environment Consultant / Targeting Zero)
• Dr Cristina Gonzalez-Longo (ICOMOS / Strathclyde University)
• Nick Van Jonker ( Hamilton Hay Van Jonker Architects)
• Felix White - (Friends of the Pipe Factory / Connected Response)
• (+ others)

Speakers will present; the environmental case for the reuse of existing buildings, draw attention to the social and cultural value of our built heritage, frame the complexities of raising private and public finance for heritage projects, and discuss the opportunities and limitations of delivery framed through the lens of The Pipe Factory and other heritage projects here in Glasgow.

This event is a rare opportunity to hear from the voices across government, finance, sustainability, architecture and conservation who are leading the charge to forefront the significance of heritage buildings within the delivery of a decarbonised, low-impact and financially viable built environment.

SAVE at 50!

‘SAVE has been at the forefront of the movement to rescue – but crucially also to reuse – historic buildings for 50 years. We want to use our 50th birthday as an opportunity to equip a new generation. Evidence clearly shows historic buildings are catalysts for economic growth, community development and environmental sustainability – yet 50,000 buildings a year are demolished, many of them needlessly. Throughout the year we will be celebrating stories of rescue and reuse while also drawing attention to buildings in need of a champion.’

“The challenges we face are daunting yet exciting, especially where we are successful in mobilising the wider public to support and engage in our movement. Together we can ensure the restoration, revitalisation and reuse of thousands of remarkable buildings that will become beacons of social and economic prosperity and environmental sustainability, for the benefit of people, places and planet. Together we can make a difference.” (Henrietta Billings - Director at SAVE)

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Friends of the Pipe Factory CIC was formed in March 2020 and brings together the knowledge and expertise of three organisations; Articulate Cultural Trust, INCH Architecture + Design and Strange Field in a shared ambition to form a permanent home that fuels the creativity that will generate pathways to pursue individual learning and development in the fields of art, architecture and design. With young people and our communities at its heart.

New Future is a Glasgow-based accelerator for cultivating sustainable construction and retrofit skills in the built environment. Founded as a Community Benefit Society, NFCS equips construction sector participants with the skills required to preserve our existing, and decarbonise our future, built environment. By delivering low-impact retrofit, heritage and new-build skills training NFCS enables new and existing construction workers to become versatile and multi-skilled experts in the practical application of sustainable, low-carbon, bio-based and circular materials. The novel model of retrofit and heritage training will be delivered through live construction projects, rehabilitating disused and at-risk buildings for community benefit. NFCS views access to specialist climate literacy education and sustainable construction skills as essential to addressing some of the most significant social, environmental and economic challenges of our time, aiming to empower construction professionals and urban communities with the agency to accelerate environmental and economic transformation.