Session Three: Why Conserve the Built Environment?

Why Do We Conserve Older Buildings and Sites? “A country without a past has the emptiness of a barren continent; and a city without old buildings is like a man without a memory”. British architect, Graeme Shankland

Why conserve urban buildings? What values do these streetscapes from Venice, New York, Calgary, Victoria + Vancouver reveal? The need for a common terminology Emerging trends in urban heritage conservation and sustainability—environmental, social/cultural and economic sustainability A brief overview of urban heritage conservation over the past 30 years Roles of the private, public + not-for-profit sectors

What is Heritage Conservation? “Heritage is an essentially collective and public notion. Though heritage is certainly valued by individuals, its raison d’etre, is by definition, to sustain a sphere of public interest and public good.” Randall Mason, “Economics and Heritage Conservation: concepts, Values, and Agendas for Research”, Economics and Heritage Conservation, Getty Conservation Institute, 1999.

Values-based Heritage Conservation Aesthetic Cultural Economic Social Historic Environmental Political Spiritual Commemorative

Heritage conservation in North America Moved from individual buildings to districts Focussed on “vernacular” architecture and the wider urban fabric—good, bad, the ugly Creative solutions to finding new uses Public-private partnerships Cultural tourism as a global phenomenon Heritage conservation as influenced by the energy crisis of the 1970’s and GHG’s today

Conservation “all actions or processes that are aimed at safeguarding the character-defining elements of a cultural resource so as to retain its heritage value and extend its physical life. This may involve “Preservation,” “Rehabilitation,” “Restoration,” or a combination of these actions or processes.”

Preservation “the action or process of protecting, maintaining, and/or stabilizing the existing materials, form, and integrity of a historic place or of an individual component, while protecting its heritage value.”

Restoration “the action or process of accurately revealing, recovering or representing the state of a historic place, or of an individual component, as it appeared at a particular period in its history, while protecting its heritage value.”

Rehabilitation “the action or process of making possible a continuing or compatible contemporary use of a historic place or an individual component, through repair, alterations, and/or additions, while protecting its heritage value.”

The Environmental Lens: Heritage Conservation Going Green—what does this mean? Reducing landfill sites What is the business case for green heritage buildings? LEED—Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Buildings BOMA—Go Green Program

The Cultural/Social Lens: Building Coalitions Questions to Consider: What are we preserving and for whom? Who decides? Owners, residents, governments? Why protect buildings and sites? The public and private interests What role does marketing play? What is the role of “heritage style” and authenticity?

The Economic Lens: Building the Business Case Demonstrate the costs and benefits of or renovating buildings and neighbourhoods Consider the long and short term implications of office space rental or condo sales Economic incentives—what role do they play? Employment in the heritage business—from contractors to designers, building supplies Tax incentives, property taxes and revenues

And Where to From Here? “Building conservation can also act as very visual catalyst to changing the attitudes of people to consumption and encouraging recycling.....sustainability is more than just about green technologies; it also encompasses local community issues and economic aspects.” Mark Gorgolewski, Municipal World, 2006