Government minister for climate change, Greg Barker, will deliver the keynote speech at the CIOB’s Retrofit Conference, due to take place on 9-10 April at Queens’ College, Cambridge.
Organised by the CIOB, the National Trust and property consultant Bidwells, the event will focus on the practical, financial and strategic issues associated with retrofitting listed, historical and traditional buildings, explored through talks and hands-on demonstrations. Attendance can count towards delegates’ CPD credits.
Barker is to outline the government’s strategic priorities and plans in relation to retrofit. Other guest speakers include experts who have either successfully implemented carbon optimisation strategies, or are currently working on them, as well as strategists and consultants.
“Anyone who attends will get a good idea of the limits to which the latest retrofit technology can be taken, as well as a grounding in the basics,” said Rory Cullen FCIOB, head of buildings at the National Trust and chair of the CIOB’s Conservation, Maintenance and Refurbishment group.
“The conference will include several trade stands and several practitioners will run masterclasses showing, through cases studies, what can be done to improve various elements of the building fabric and services. Think of it as a one-stop-shop for all things retrofit,” he said.
"Anyone who attends will get a good idea of the limits to which the latest retrofit technology can be taken, as well as a grounding in the basics."
Rory Cullen FCIOB, National Trust.
On the opening night, Alan Wright, partner at Bidwells will give a tour of completed retrofit projects at Cambridge University Library, an early adopter of carbon optimisation strategies for historic buildings. The after dinner speech will be delivered by John Vidal, environmental editor at The Guardian.
Presentations on the main conference day will kick off with a welcome speech and introduction by Sarah Staniforth, director of historic properties at the National Trust.
Other speakers will include:
- Jeremy Sanders, pro-vice chancellor in charge of the University of Cambridge estate, will discuss future proofing considerations on historic retrofit projects.
- John Edwards, assistant director at CADW, the official guardian of Wales’ built heritage, will discuss the retrofit of a traditionally built, non-listed house in Wales.
- Roger Curtis, technical research manager at Historic Scotland, will examine insulation work carried out on traditional properties in Scotland.
- Developer Urban Splash will deliver a case study on its retrofit of the Fort Dunlop factory building in Birmingham.
A series of masterclasses from retrofit experts will be held during the afternoon, including a walk & talk tour of New Court, Trinity College, a grade I listed building currently being retrofitted to the highest standards.
Tony Perks, CIOB chair of faculty building control and standards will deliver a speech on the application of building control legislation for retrofit, the implications of Part L changes and considerations related to DDA, sound compartmentation and fire safety.
Lastly, Keith Jones, environmental practices adviser at the National Trust, will ask how practitioners can make the “biggest difference” on retrofit projects.
“Some of the work on site at Trinity College is really ground breaking and not yet in the public domain,” said Cullen. “I’m also looking forward to the talk on Urban Splash’s iconic Dunlop building, it’s such a huge and historically important building.”
Standard tickets for the conference and dinner have an “early bird” rate of £150 + VAT, rising to £175 + VAT after 1 March. A ticket to the conference day alone costs £90 + VAT.
