FollowBe part of the conversation at this watershed moment! Canada’s heritage conservation sector is under unprecedented pressure: from social upheaval and cultural conflict, to economic disruption, the climate emergency, and the surging housing crisis. How do we navigate this societal sea change? Where is heritage currently on the public agenda, and where does it need to be?
Heritage Now will bring together 500+ participants from a diverse range of backgrounds – from professionals to planners, heritage site owners, construction industry, policymakers, academics, students, and volunteers.
Presentation/session proposals are invited on the following themes:Heritage Practice in the Marketplace: Housing, Adaptive Reuse, and Systems ChangeThe Power of Place and Story: Voices, Built Heritage, and the Land.Climate Adaptation, Decarbonization, and Material Value: Forging a Heritage PathStrengthening the Heritage Sector: Expanding the Heritage Workforce and Breaking Down Silos
Call for papers – Studies in Photography – Shifting Perspectives: Scotland’s Urban Architecture Through the Lens
Studies in Photography has issued a call for papers for their upcoming conference: Shifting Perspectives: Scotland’s Urban Architecture Through the Lens. The event will take place on 20 May 2025 in The Engine Shed, Stirling and is supported by Historic Environment Scotland, Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and Scottish Council on Archives. Academics, students, architects, photographers, and cultural historians will gather to discuss how photography influences not only the perception of Scotland’s built environment but also the way our modern towns and cities are planned and designed. More information can be found here.
Submissions Close: 24 March 2025
Call for Consultation Responses: Scottish Government: Proposed review of fire safety topics
More information here: Building regulations – proposed review of fire safety topics
The purpose of this review is to consider changes to the standards and processes set within The Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (as amended) and other published guidance documents to improve provisions addressing fire safety. This consultation seeks to obtain the views and opinions of stakeholders on a review of building standards relating to the fire safety of historic buildings converted for hotel use and several other specific fire safety issues, to help ensure the safety of people in and around Scotland’s buildings. The Building and Fire Safety Expert Working Group was created to look at the long-term commitments outlined within the Cameron House Hotel SLWG Report and to review other aspects of Scottish Building Standards and fire safety guidance. This consultation reflects the outcomes and proposals of the Expert Working Group.
Closes: 7 March
Information on the review process to date, including minutes of the building and fire safety expert panel meetings, can be found here.
Closes 7 March 2025
Call for Consultation Responses – UK Parliament: Protecting Built Heritage
The Culture, Media and Sport Committee is to examine the importance of built heritage in the UK and the barriers to its preservation. The inquiry will examine issues with funding and whether current finance models are suitable and accessible. It will also engage with how the Government can tackle practical and regulatory challenges, such as the availability of skilled practitioners, the managed decline of assets on publicly-owned land, and policy issues arising from net zero targets and planning policy. Alongside this, MPs will highlight the importance of built heritage for economic regeneration and to community identities, as well as how those communities can be empowered to manage their local built heritage assets.
You can find the survey here
Closes 2 February 2025
Call for Consultation Responses – Edinburgh School of Architecture & Landscape Architecture & City of Edinburgh Council: Giving Voices to Historic Property Owners
Edinburgh School of Architecture & Landscape Architecture & City of Edinburgh Council
This University of Edinburgh project aims to understand what specific aspects of the Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas planning guidance (Consultation Draft 2024) require further clarification, and to explore possible improvements that will make the guidance more practical and accessible for historic homeowners. This project focuses on improving the clarity of the guidance document and making the content more accessible to all and is currently recruiting focus group and workshop participants for the project. Participants must be owner-occupiers of listed buildings and properties in a conservation area in Edinburgh.
For more information and to sign up, follow the link.
*NEW* January-May 2025
BSI: Building Performance Evaluation and BS 40101 Survey
BS 40101, Building performance evaluation of occupied and operational buildings (using data gathered from tests, measurements, observations and user experience) – Specification, was launched early in 2022. The standard was intended to be applicable to recently completed and existing buildings of all types and scales to provide a consistent basis for establishing and recording the actual in-use performance of buildings. It was intended that results obtained through the application of the standard could satisfy diverse needs ranging from verification of designed performance, providing information on which to improve design and delivery of future buildings, to understanding performance prior to (and after) improvement works and investigating reasons for excessive energy demand or occupant concerns.
With BS 40101 having been in circulation for over two years, it is time to take stock to understand where and how the standard is being used, the purposes it is being used for and why it is not being used where it could be beneficial. Following this survey BSI is expected to set in motion a refresh of the standard to enable it to be used more widely. The anonymized results of the survey will also be shared with the wider BPE community including those involved in training/CPD, development of guidance material and case studies to improve the adoption building performance evaluation and hence improve the performance of buildings in use.
Whether you are an existing user of BS 40101, someone who carries out any form of building performance evaluation, a client, designer, constructor, finance provider or are involved in policy and regulation in the buildings and building improvement sectors, please take a few minutes to respond to the survey here.
Call for demonstrator cases – Historic England seeks LB EPC Demonstrator Cases for consideration
EPC Demonstrator Cases -Submission for Consideration
Submissions Close 6 December 2024
Historic England are looking for demonstrator cases to provide an evidence-base to enable the critical appraisal of data gathered and advice presented in Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) for traditional buildings, against their in-situ Measured Energy Performance (MEP.)
You can find more information, or submit a case for consideration here
Call for survey respondents – Review of Retrofit Assessment in Scotland for Improving Home Energy Efficiency Survey, SEDA
Closes: 5pm, 3 January 2025
The Scottish Government has commissioned Glasgow Caledonian University, Robert Gordon University, and Carbon Futures to conduct a review of retrofit assessment in Scotland for improving home energy efficiency.
The review is set against four core objectives of reviewing existing methodologies, identifying gaps in the retrofit assessment market, evaluating skills and qualifications, and assessing market readiness in Scotland.
The survey is available at:
https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/robertgordonuniversity/review-of-retrofit-assessment-in-scotland-for-improving-home-en
The survey will close at 5pm on Friday 3rd January 2025. All responses will be treated anonymously and used solely for the purposes of this research.
Call for Papers – TICCIH 2025 Kiruna Heritage in Action
Closes: 31 December
TICCIH – the International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage – is hereby inviting you to its 19th congress under the theme “Heritage in action: Legacies of industry in future making” in Kiruna, August 25 – 30, 2025. We invite interested researchers and practitioners to submit proposals for conference sessions.
For more information, visit the website here
Call for Manuscripts – MDPI Architecture Special Issue: Strategies for Architectural Conservation and Adaptive Reuse
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 August 2025
‘With the emergence of community-led approaches and
tools for the interpretation and valuation of cultural
heritage (critical heritage, cultural mapping, etc.), adaptive
reuse strategies have been diversified, using design and
conservation as tools to regenerate historic and heritage
places while promoting their tangible and intangible
heritage dimensions. Thus, this Special Issue aims to serve
as a platform to assemble such recent and innovative
research findings and draw attention to different
approaches relating to the field of adaptive reuse and
architectural conservation. Through an open access mode,
this Special Issue intends to disseminate this knowledge
widely at a time when the heritage context is facing critical
challenges posed by urbanisation and the need for
economic development. The discussion in this Special
Issue intends to cover diverse types of historic and modern
heritage.’
For more information, visit the website here