Are Retrofits in Historic Buildings a Nightmare?

The preservation of historic buildings is essential to maintaining cultural diversity, promoting history, and fostering a sense of progress. While LEED EB guidelines do not specifically address historic preservation projects, there is a great deal that can be derived from the information that is offered. What’s more, there are a number of online resources, including the National Parks Service, Preservation Nation, and the Environmental Protection Agency, that can help you identify the best path for progress with your sustainable retrofitting.

Thus, while recycling an old building can initially appear a daunting task, the reality is that it is likely just more unique than troubling. In fact, it can often be the greener thing to do than simply to scrap the existing building and engage new construction. According to a 2011 report by The Preservation Green Lab, a branch of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, when accounting for size, use and location, existing buildings with sustainable retrofits reduce climate impact more than new green construction.

So, what is all the discreet grumbling about greening historic building? Simply put, preservation is a delicate process in which the character of a building may be only minimally altered, if at all. What’s more, the aesthetic value of the existing building is often paramount. Finally, preservation projects often involve many stakeholders - from architects and engineers to conservators and art historians - so there must be an explicit outlying of goals and immense communication during the entire process in order to effectively accomplish the task.

But despite these challenges, preservation projects can be immensely rewarding as they are often a true test to one’s proficiency in green building. Requiring creative problem solving and even product innovation, this EB niche is actually beginning to blossom. As Vice Head of the Institute for Renewable Energy of the European Academy at Bolzano, Alexandra Troi, recently told youris.com in this interview, “A real development is a new openness on the part of the architects and conservators for no longer excluding historic buildings from an energy efficient retrofitting...This has now changed to a more constructive approach.”

To learn more even about sustainable building conservation, consider investigating 3encult, an organization dedicated to efficient energy preservation projects for European cultural heritage sites. Among the many valuable offerings they provide are eight case studies from different projects throughout the continent which investigate everything from HVAC solutions to RES integration. If nothing else, they’ll serve stakeholders as a fantastic starting point for the creative preservation process!