COTAC News

Background

The Council on Training in Architectural Conservation (COTAC) originated in 1959 in response to the need to create training and educational resources for practitioners involved in repairing and conserving historic buildings and churches. Based in the Building Crafts College (BCC), Stratford, London, COTAC has since persistently and influentially worked to lift standards, develop qualifications and build networks across the conservation, repair and maintenance (CRM) industry sector. This involves enabling the pan-professional Edinburgh Group and working in partnership with national agencies, standard setting bodies, educational establishments and training interests. Details of COTAC’s activities can be found on the http://www.cotac.global and http://www.understandingconservation.org websites.

To assist in continuing with this work, COTAC is currently seeking two volunteers to appoint as Trustees, one of which will also hold the position of Honorary Treasurer.

A core programme of quarterly 2-hourly meetings (plus travel time) is generally held in London at the Building Crafts College, although additional bi-monthly meetings may be called for. These may be peripatetic, travelling to other parts of the UK, depending upon business needs.  The total time commitment for each position is estimated at 7-8 days per annum. The two positions are non-remunerated, although reasonable expenses will be refunded on the production of receipted claims.

To register interest to become a COTAC Trustee, and for the vacancy of Honorary Treasurer, please submit a brief application statement highlighting relevant previous experience, an understanding of the role requirements, and a short CV to cotac@thebcc.ac.uk  by 31 May 2018.

Honorary Treasurer role functions can be found here.

As the Council on Training in Architectural Conservation (COTAC), continues to grow and flourish, it is delighted to announce the appointment of Michael Netter to the role of Honorary Secretary, with effect from 1st April 2018.  As part of the process, COTAC is also seeking to appoint two new voluntary Trustees to strengthen its governance, with one of the new appointees being invited to take on the role of Honorary Treasurer.  The Charity is also in the process of updating it’s next five year Corporate and Business Plan and further announcements on this initiative will be made in due course.

COTAC’s 21st century role is no less critical than that of its past. New technologies, including aspirations to low carbon retrofit, demanded energy efficiencies and emerging digital innovations such as BIM, can too easily obscure the need for a core understanding of traditional materials and how to approach historic structures with a finely honed set of skills.  Additional voluntary assistance to help in addressing the issues would be warmly
welcomed.

Ingval Maxwell OBE, Chair COTAC

After the successful experiences in October 2017 and February 2018, the Intensive Course Training for Trainers Life Beyond Tourism
will be back in May 14-18, 2018.

We invite you to attend the course and become a Certified Trainer of the Life Beyond Tourism Movement in your university/institution.

As international organizations like UNESCO, UNWTO and ICOMOS nowadays remark, it is undeniable the need to create new approaches for the valorization of World Heritage Sites and the management of their visitors. These sites have the potential to play a leading role to build intercultural dialogue and contribute to local sustainable development.

Accordingly, the Life Beyond Tourism International Institute created by the Fondazione Romualdo Del Bianco, offers best practices for approaching the subject and aims at making our Partners ready to learn and implement Life Beyond Tourism directly within your teaching programs, thus activating training for the sake of your students’ professional growth!

To participate visit the Intensive Courses Training for Trainers Life Beyond Tourism® web page; Special conditions are available for the Experts of the Foundation and the staff of the universities which signed the Memorandum of Understanding Life Beyond Tourism or the 2014 Declaration of Auspices Life Beyond Tourism for UNESCO.

The next sessions of the Training for Trainers course are:
May 14-18, 2018    October 22-26, 2018    January 28 – February 1, 2019

See here for more details.

European Civil Protection Forum 2018: “Civil Protection in a Changing Risk Landscape” Brussels, 5 – 6 March 2018

Report by Ingval Maxwell, Chair: Council on Training in Architectural Conservation

Organised by the DG ECHO Civil Protection Forum Organising Team, the “European Civil Protection Forum 2018: Civil Protection in a Changing Risk Landscape” was held in the EC Charlemagne Building, Rue de la Loi, Brussels on 5 and 6 March 2018. The event brought together some 900 representatives of the European civil protection community, including EU Member States, European Neighbourhood governments, first-line responders, academia, international organisations, NGOs and European institutions. The aim was to discuss current developments in the Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism framework and put forward policy recommendations on how to tackle common challenges.

Strengthening Europe’s ability to prevent and respond to disasters was recognised as a shared responsibility that could only be achieved by working closely together. The aim was that the 2018 Forum results would contribute to fostering a greater understanding of the shared efforts and goals, whilst also encouraging mutual learning and cooperation within the civil protection and disaster risk management communities.

Over the two days, the Forum was developed on four strategic pillars:

Strengthening Preparedness
Simplifying Response
Scaling up Prevention
Fostering Resilience in Europe’s Neighbourhood

A brief video of the event is available here.

The final report, summarising key points raised during the various Four Pillar Sessions, and the web-streamed discussions, is available on the Forum’s webpage.

This one day workshop aims to provide an introductory guide to the preparation and use of’ hot mixed’ lime mortars, that is, mortars prepared by slaking quicklime, sand and natural hydraulic lime binders (and possibly other additives like tallow or pozzolans) to more closely mimic the appearance and technical performance of conservation mortars and in some cases offer advantages in use and technical performance over more conventional ‘cold mortars’. More and more clients and specifiers are asking building contractors to make and use ‘hot mixed’ mortars on their repair jobs, so get ahead of the game and brush up your knowledge and skills with us.
‘Hot mixed’ mortars have a long history of use in the UK, with evidence visible throughout the nation on traditional buildings and structures. Since the lime revival of the mid 1990s however, the preparation and use of conservation mortars has been largely dominated by lime putty bound mortars or ‘cold’ mortars based on natural hydraulic limes (NHLs). Whilst all these mortar types have their place, a renewed interest in the production of what are perceived to be more authentic mortar preparations using quicklime and sand has been growing and this workshop aims to take the building contractor through the process of making and using ‘hot mixed’ mortars safely, constituents to be used, preparation of mortars, correct mixing equipment and critically at which point these mortars should be used for particular applications.

By the end of the course, attendees will be able to recognise traditionally made ‘hot mixed’ mortars in historic structures and buildings and be able to develop the skills to produce and successfully cure ‘hot mixed’ mortars in relation to authenticity, performance, exposure, season, substrate and nature of the masonry repairs required.

The course will take place on 24 April and 19 May, 2018, in Charlestown Workshops, Fife.  For more information, see here.

The 2018 STBA-SPAB Conference will take place on 7 June, 2018, in Baxter’s Gallery, Clerkenwell, London.  The theme will be the sustainability of traditional buildings.

Keynote speakers from Ofgem, Each Home Counts and ICOMOS will provide an update on policy and standards.

Delegates will hear about practical examples including the problems at the retrofit in Preston, what is happening in the Private Rented Sector, various projects in Scotland, and how a Whole House Approach is working out at scale in London.

During the day there will be a small, select group of exhibitors providing information on products and services in the traditional built environment.

Exhibition opportunities available.  All enquiries to debbie@stbauk.org

The Lead Sheet Association is changing. We’ve listened to the needs of the construction industry and we are pleased to announce that the LSA is transitioning into a dedicated Training Academy. The Lead Sheet Training Academy (LSTA) is here for all of your Lead and Hard Metal Training needs.

We are pleased to say that although the name may be changing our high-quality training will still be the same. We are dedicated to providing first class training courses and facilities delivered by the country’s best tutors from our purpose-built training centre in the heart of Kent. Our Lead and Hard Metal training courses are the only courses of their kind which are approved and accredited by City & Guilds and CITB and range from basic to advanced.

We will be solely focused on providing unrivalled training for the industry and investing all of our training income back into the services we provide to the Traditional Metal Roofing industry.

However, this change in focus means that the Technical Service previously provided free of charge by the LSA will no longer be available from The Lead Sheet Training Academy. In future technical advice will be provided by the lead sheet manufacturers. During this transitional period please direct any technical enquiries to your lead manufacturer who will be happy to assist you.

The future sponsors of the Lead Sheet Training Academy are BLM British Lead and Calder Industrial Materials who are both committed to providing a top class technical service to the lead sheet industry.

To contact them please email mjones@britishlead.co.uk  or technical@calderlead.co.uk

Use the Find-eR tool to explore a wealth of resources on EU policies, law, and more.

Access here.

• you can win amazing monthly money prizes 
• you can access the annual competition and win up to € 3.000 
• help us spread the word about the importance of protecting our Planet Earth through heritage, travel and dialogue!

Take Part Here.

The UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage has an attractive range of financial support packages available to suit both full-time and part-time postgraduate study.

High calibre applicants should apply for bursaries. This support could be used to cover part of the course fees, travel and/or living expenses, depending on the status of the applicant and the specific criteria of the bursaries.

See here for more details.