Historic environment news, events and more….
The InnoChain ETN network is a shared research training environment examining how advances in digital design tools challenge building culture enabling sustainable, informed and materially smart design solutions. The network aims to train a new generation of interdisciplinary researchers with a strong industry focus that can effect real changes in the way we think, design and build our physical environment.
Read more…
AABC is excited to announce the winner of our 2020 Photography Competition.
Congratulations to Jess Wood, whose picture was taken through a conserved window of the Hillersdon Mansion ruins, with a view of Elstow Abbey (Bedfordshire). This wonderfully fulfilled our theme “Conservation from your Window”.
The AABC were also very impressed with another photograph submitted by Holly Poncini from Chastleton House. As the runner up, Holly has also been awarded and the below photograph will also be featured on our website.
We would like to thank all those who entered, it was a very tough decision!
SET 2021 – the 19th International Conference on Sustainable Energy Technologies
17th – 19th August 2021
CVK Park Bosphorus Hotel, Istanbul, Turkey
SET 2021 is a multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed international conference on sustainable energy sources and technologies that provides a forum for the exchange of latest technical information, the dissemination of the high-quality research results, the presentation of the new developments in the area, and the debate and shaping of future directions and priorities for sustainable development and energy security. All presented papers as oral or poster will be published in the conference proceedings on Web of Science and Scopus.
This a major event attended by leading researchers, scientists from industries, universities from over 60 countries.
COTAC is pleased to announce that following an application to the British Library ISSN UK Centre it has been granted specific ISSN numbers for its online publications. In addition to that granted for its E-News series, ISSN 2632–9166 has been granted for the COTAC Conference Report series and ISSN2634-7709 for its Study series.
This formal recognition has occasioned a reformatting, in-part, of the material that was previously placed on the COTAC website www.cotac.global to bring it into line with British Library recommendations.
The first of these newly identified and re-released publications concern “Improving Thermal Performance in Traditional Buildings” and “Passed Caring? BIM and the Refurbishment of Older Buildings” Conference Reports of 2011 and 2012. Both have now been reposted on the COTAC website
This has been followed by the reposting of the COTAC Conference Report of 2013 entitled “A Digital Future for Traditional Buildings: Practical Applications for Survey and Management: Abstracts”. This report has been re-released online in conjunction with COTAC Study 1 “Integrating Digital Technologies in Support of Historic Buildings Information Modelling: BIM4Conservation (HBIM)”.
The Conference Reports are also supported on-line with pdf copies of what various speakers have presented where they have given their approval for this.
Over the next few months further Conference and Study reports will be re-released under their specific ISSN designations on the COTAC website.
It is with sadness we report that David (Harry) Harrison, CEO of Hayles and Howe Ltd and expert plasterer, has passed. COTAC volunteers remember fond times with David and wish to convey their condolences.
Donations can be made here to St Peter’s Hospice in Harry’s memory.
The 2015 Paris Agreement gave each country 5 years to hear from scientists and ratchet up their climate action contributions to meet the escalating climate emergency. In the coming weeks, will find out which countries are listening.
November marks one year until the next UN Climate Summit (COP26) where a precious chance awaits to get climate action on track.
November marks the one-year anniversary of the Edinburgh launch of the Climate Heritage Network — whose members embrace the critical role that arts, culture and heritage can play in driving greater ambition and supporting rapid and just transitions to a low-carbon, climate resilience future.
It aims to enhance the capacity of the arts, culture and heritage sectors to help build a climate-neutral and resilient world in the time of COVID-19.
It aims to promote new partnerships between cultural actors and stakeholders across sectors.
It aims to prepare the culture sector to play its part in driving greater ambition at COP26 and beyond.
The new RIBA Conservation Architectural Services PSCs have been launched and digital copies of these new contracts are available through RIBA Contracts Digital (www.ribacontracts.com). Paper copies of these contracts will be available at the end of October.
The two new PSCs are the RIBA Concise Professional Services Contract: Conservation Architectural Services and the RIBA Domestic Professional Services Contract: Conservation Architectural Services and can be found here.
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry in East London where some of the country’s most
famous bells have been cast, sadly closed and stopped manufacture in 2017. The
Company had been producing bells since 1570 and on the site in Whitechapel Road
since the 1740s. These have included in the 1700s, the clock bell for St Paul’s
Cathedral, the Liberty Bell, symbol of American independence, and the famous Bow
Bells for St Mary-le-Bow, which to be born close enough to hear, defined being a
“Cockney”. In the mid-1800s they cast Big Ben, more correctly the “Great Bell”
providing the famous chimes in the Clock Tower (now Elizabeth Tower) adjacent to
the Houses of Parliament which among other landmarks signify the arrival of New
Year at midnight on 31 st December.
The site sold in 2017 by the Hughes family, Raycliff Whitechapel LLP developers, the
new owners propose to preserve the main road fronting Grade II* listed building and
build a luxury 103 bedroom hotel with rooftop pool at the rear. The scheme backed
by Historic England and approved by the local authority Tower Hamlets has now had
an alternative put forward by Re-Form Heritage and Factum Foundation to retain
the site as a viable bell foundry. Following opposition from the public and
community groups, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local
Government has “called in” Raycliff Whitechapel’s proposals. Consequently an
enquiry, expected to last up to two weeks will prepare a report to submit to the
Secretary of State who will then decide the future of the site.
For more information please see the Guardian article at:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/oct/04/will-the-bells-ring-out-again-at-londons-
big-ben-foundry
The Developer’s more detailed proposals and the form to pledge support for their
scheme to the Secretary of State:
https://www.thebellfoundry.co.uk/
The Re-Form Heritage site and opportunity to support the alternative scheme at:
https://re-form.org/whitechapel/information
Graham Lee
Project Manager
COTAC
These free weekly webinars, presented by Historic England’s Technical Conservation Team, provide delegates with an in-depth look at a range of technical conservation topics. The new Technical Tuesday autumn series will explore the following themes:
Building services:
8 September – Emergency lighting and exit signage
6 October – External lighting
17 November – Internal lighting
Conservation:
15 September – Dealing with environmental deterioration of stained glass
29 September – Purbeck marble: conservation and repair
20 October – War memorials part 1
3 November – War memorials part 2
Climate change adaptation:
22 September – Whole-house approach to retrofit
13 October – Low-carbon heat sources
27 October – Flooding part 1: preparation, resistance and resilience
10 November – Windows and energy efficiency
24 November – Flooding part 2: salvage, recovery and restoration
As 3D data capture becomes an increasingly common method for the documentation of cultural heritage there has emerged a growing need to assist with the distribution and open access of this growing library of 3D data while maintaining scientific rigor, respecting cultural and ethical sensitivities, enhancing discoverability, and addressing data longevity and archival standards. In response to these areas of need, the Open Heritage 3D project was developed to make primary 3D cultural heritage data open and accessible and remove the barriers for content producers to publish their data. CyArk along with other founding organizations Historic Environment Scotland and the University of South Florida Libraries committed in 2019 to make available their significant repositories of data from legacy as well as new 3D documentation projects. Since then other organizations have joined the initiative, contributing over 200 datasets and we invite others to join the Open Heritage 3D project and contribute their datasets to this growing library of data.