Earlier this week, London Associate, Jess Foster took part in a New London Architecture event on a panel discussing how we give new life to old buildings. The webinar brought together architects, conservation specialists and built environment professionals to discuss the conservation of historic places and buildings and the value of preservation for the future of London – celebrating heritage in a growing and fast-changing city and showcasing exemplar projects in London that have been transformed and given a new life.

Given our particular expertise working on listed, heritage buildings and our ‘Retrofirst’ , wherever possible approach, this event provided the perfect setting for Jess to talk through two recent projects and also highlight the crucial point that of ‘conservation’ also being crucial to address the climate emergency. In her presentation, Jess showcased Cannon Green and Quadrant Arcade, both extremely complex structural projects that transformed  the buildings to enable the next chapter of their story to be told.

With 80% of buildings in 2050 having already been built, Jess finished by making the point that ‘the greenest building is one that is already built” and how it isn’t just about breathing new life into individual buildings, given the our urban infrastructure work, conservation can improve and transform a whole area.

If you missed Jess’s presentation, as well as presentations from EPR Architects and Purcell, you can view the whole event here

It is well worth a watch!