In its sixth Carbon Budget, the Committee for Climate Change stated that buildings, including homes, are the 3rd largest carbon emissions producers in the UK - accounting for 13% of all the UK’s carbon emissions. We can’t drastically modify these heritage structures, and for more modern buildings it is neither feasible nor environmentally desirable to conduct a mass demolition and rebuilding programme, so we need to find practical ways to decarbonise our existing and historic building stock. The National Trust has already assessed its carbon outputs and has set ambitious targets to decarbonise by 2030 - but how can engineers balance issues of sustainability and energy efficiency against the need to preserve original structural features and fabrics?
It cannot be assumed that modern or ‘standard’ engineering and technologies will solve all these problems. Adapting heritage sites to meet modern usage and environmental demands requires an appreciation and...