The Heritage & Sustainability Symposium 
November 4th & 5th, 2010
A public education program that addressed the cultural, economic and environmental sustainability of older buildings. Specific focus of the symposium was sustainable design in the rehabilitation and retrofit of older buildings. Watch presentations below.
NEW LIFE OLD BUILDINGS
Your Green Guide to Heritage Conservation
“New Life” and “Old Buildings” appear as contradicting philosophies. Why would a heritage organization that deals with historic buildings be interested in modern green-building techniques?
In the words of American architect, Carl Elefante, “Even if every new building from this day hence has a vegetative roof, is powered only with renewable energy sources, and is built entirely of environmentally appropriate materials, sustainability would still be far from fully realized. We cannot build our way to sustainability; we must conserve
our way to sustainability.” We must make wiser use of what we have already built.
With generous funding from the Vancouver Foundation and the Province of BC Heritage Branch, the VHF has researched the topic of heritage & sustainability. The booklet not only conveys the important message of “The greenest building is the one that is already built” but is also a practical guide with useful tips and suggestions for “greening” old buildings.
Containing 5 local case studies and plenty of tips & tools, the VHF’s innovative
New Life Old Buildings: Your Green Guide to Heritage Conservation
is now available to pick up at the VHF office Mon- Fri 9am - 5 pm. To view the electronic pdf file, simply click on the image of the guide above.
 
EARTH DAY http://www.heritagecanada.org/eng/h_day.html
Heritage & Sustainability links, resources and articles
compiled by HERITAGE CANADA
www.nationaltrust.org/green/
The National Trust for Historic Preservation in the US has established a new department to provide information and services encouraging the sensitive greening of the nation’s historic properties. Check the site often as they develop their information tools.
http://www.gvrd.bc.ca/BUILDSMART/library.htm
Metro Vancouver’s Build Smart website is a tremendous source of green building information. It contains articles with titles such as: ‘Salvaged Building Materials in New Construction’; ‘Best Practices Guide: Materials Choices for Sustainable Design’; ‘Sustainable Building Design; Principles, Practices & Systems’.
www.vancity.com/MyCommunity/CommunityFunding/GreenBuildingGrant
Up to $ 50,000 available from Vancity for building renovations/retrofits to existing buildings, regulatory changes that advance green building or smart growth development and practice and education to increase the understanding and use of practical green building strategies
www.sustainablebuildingcentre.com
Lighthouse Sustainable Building Centre on Granville Island is a great resource for tips on how to green your house.
www.Cascadiagbc.org
The Cascadia Region Green Building Council is a chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council and, as a chapter of the Canada Green Building Council as well, is the only international chapter in North America. Cascadia's mission is to promote the design, construction and operation of buildings in Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live, work and learn.
The Journal of the National Trust for Historic Preservation - Summer 2007
‘The Greenest Building is the One That is Already Built’ is an article by architect, Carl Elefante making the case for the sustainability benefits of heritage buildings.
www.nationaltrust.org/Magazine/current/index.htm
‘The Green Issue’ of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the US January / February 2008 ‘Preservation’ magazine is an up-to-date series of articles on greening historic structures.
www.heritagecanada.org/eng/news/archive.html#mag
‘Saving Heritage is Key to Sustainable Development’ article in Spring 2006 Heritage Canada magazine makes an excellent case for the contribution heritage buildings make to sustainable communities.
http://archrecord.construction.com/features/green/archives/0307edit-1.asp
Green Source, the magazine of the green department of the Architectural Record, is an excellent source of information about sustainability and green building design.
http://archrecord.construction.com/community/editorial/archives/0903.asp
Architecturalrecord.com supplements the monthly magazine Architectural Record.
Click here to view an editorial piece about Heritage Conservation and Sustainability
"The Greening of Historic Properties" is a white paper that came out of a national summit convened in Pittsburgh in 2006 by the US National Department of Energy which brought preservationist and green building practitioners together. Now a few years old it is an excellent overview of the topic.
http://www.nationaltrust.org/green/research.html
This page gives links to a series of articles in journals, newspapers and other publications that about heritage and sustainability.
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The VHF 2008 calendar was dedicated to the strong connection between heritage & sustainability. Each month features a local rescue and rehabilitation project that integrates green building principles |
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