2 C O N T E X T 1 1 0 : J U LY 2 0 0 9 Context Briefing Copy deadlines Context is published five times a year, in March, May, July, September and November.The remaining copy deadlines in 2009 are: Issue Deadline September, Issue 111 20 July November, Issue 112 21 September Editor Rob Cowan Editorial Coordinator Fiona Newton 21 George Street, Louth, Lincolnshire LN11 9JU Tel 01507 602567 email [email protected] Editorial Board Fiona Newton (chair) Susan Brook (regular contributors) Nigel Crowe (main features) Peter de Figueiredo (book reviews) Michael Taylor (main features) Cartoons by Rob Cowan Context is distributed to all members of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation. © Institute of Historic Building Conservation 2009 ISSN 0958-2746 Publisher Published for the Institute of Historic Building Conservation by Cathedral Communications Limited, High Street, Tisbury,Wiltshire, England SP3 6HA Tel 01747 871717 Fax 01747 871718 email [email protected] www.buildingconservation.com Non-member subscriptions to Context Context is available to non-members of the IHBC at an annual subscription rate, including postage, of: United Kingdom £50.00 Elsewhere £75.00 Subscription orders, together with remittances payable to Institute of Historic Building Conservation, should be sent to the IHBC Business Office at Jubilee House, High Street, Tisbury, Wiltshire SP3 6HA. The views expressed in Context are not necessarily held by the IHBC or the publisher. Neither the publisher nor the IHBC shall be under any liability whatsoever in respect of contributed articles. We gratefully acknowledge the support of firms whose advertisements appear throughout this publication.While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this issue of Context is current and correct, neither the IHBC nor the publisher can be held responsible for any errors or omissions which may occur. Pan-professional resource The website www.understanding conservation.org is an on-line resource for professionals involved in repair, maintenance and conservation work on traditional buildings. Over the past 17 years a number of conservation accreditation schemes have emerged. Each has had the intention of improving the abilities and competencies of individual practitioners through a peer-review process of submitted portfolio evidence. Their emergence is also a response to the increasing awareness of the high volume of work in the conservation, repair and maintenance sector of the construction industry. While common in their intentions, sufficient differences existed in their original form to warrant a review of how they might be brought into a common framework. That work was overseen by a pan-professional body, the Edinburgh Group, on which the IHBC is represented. The site is now under the auspices of COTAC (the standing Conference on Training in Architectural Conservation). One of the results of this panprofessional cooperation has been the creation of the website www. understandingconservation.org. The site is fully supported by the architecture, surveying and engineering professional bodies, who are represented on the Edinburgh Group. Incorporating the internationally recognised ICOMOS training and education guidelines, the site is open to all. The website has two purposes. Primarily it aims to support individual practitioners who wish to apply for accredited status from their professional body. A variety of support tools are available for professional users so they can work their way through the material and build up a portfolio of evidence for assessment. This is achieved by directing users to reading lists and web sites, and suggesting suitable evidence for portfolios. The site also aims to test practitioners’ clarity of understanding of the philosophy and practice underpinning conservation by posing rhetorical questions to encourage research. It is fundamentally a selfassessment tool with the intention of assisting practitioners who are presenting for accreditation with a method of testing their approach to conservation, setting this against internationally recognised skill set requirements. In addition to this primary aim, the site will provide educational material for a much broader range of users. This will include students, general practitioners, training and education providers, building contractors and the interested public. In this capacity the site will help those directly involved in carrying out more effective repair and maintenance on the country’s existing building stock. The site, which has been available since April 2007, was updated in June 2009. The Grade ll* listed, Lutyens-designed 1 Finsbury Circus, built in 1925 and recently renewed by Hermes Real Estate and the Property Merchant Group, has won the 2009 City Heritage Award for Excellence in Building Conservation. The award is presented annually by the City Heritage Society and the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers. Economic argument The IHBCWales branch is hosting a conference on 24 September 2009 in Cardiff, featuring Alun Ffred Jones, heritage minister in the Welsh Assembly Government, as keynote speaker, alongside senior professionals such as Cadw director Marilyn Lewis. It will explore the diverse economic benefits of conserving places. The conference also marks the IHBC’s council meeting in the capital. There will be an optional sponsored banquet in Cardiff Castle on 23 September, open to the first 80-odd delegates to book, at no additional cost. Key speakers, including the minister, will attend the dinner.Whether for the day only, or the dinner as well, at £100 for IHBC members (£120 nonmembers) it is exceptional value for CPD and ministerial-level networking. The conference will examine the challenges and benefits of retaining and
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgyMjA=