I, the intern, had the pleasure of attending a lecture at the Virginia Center for Architecture in Richmond last Thursday. Jean Carroon, FAIA (Fellow of the American Institute of Architects) and Principal at the Boston firm Goody Clancy, was the woman of the hour and presented a timely and informative lecture on sustainability in preservation. Calling herself a preservationist and an environmentalist, Carroon has worked on preservation meccas, such as H.H. Richardson's Trinity Church in Boston. She is a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation Sustainability Coalition and has been traveling from state to state advocating her new book, "Sustainable Preservation: Greening Existing Buildings."
The night started with the Center's newly appointed Executive Directer's (Helene Combs Dreiling, FAIA) opening remarks, followed by an introduction by Kathleen Kilpatrick, Director of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, and lastly it was Carroon who took the podium.
Every preservationist knows that the greenest building is the one already standing. But as a student studying preservation, sustainability is something that has been a recent focus in the field and there is much to be learned. Carroon's lecture was extremely informative and gave a preview to how important this issue is--not only to preservationists, but to the environment.
She spoke often of sustainability being a holistic term in that it needs to include the economic, environmental, structural (urban), and toxicity issues. Stating that we need to turn to the environmental aspects of preservation, she pointed out that the issue is not so much with new construction but with our existing buildings, and that the focus should be on avoided impacts--not embodied energy. Instead of calculating raw material extraction, material processing, production, use and maintenance, and disposal--focus on how much of that can be avoided.
Carroon then detailed what exactly was green about existing buildings. High durability, low maintenance, inherently fire retardant, and excellent life cycle benefits are all characteristics of historic structures making them more sustainable than new construction. She listed three things that specifically make greening existing buildings more efficient: durability, repairing, and cleaning. Structures that were built prior to 1930 were built to last more than 50 years where as today, they last 20. So, these buildings have less repair or repair that is easier, and historic buildings are easier to clean which is economical and produces less toxins (new construction ranks first (17%) in human toxicity in the United States).
Moving into environmental issues, Carroon spoke of storm water run off being the most important/harmful environmental aspect to focus on when greening an existing building. The waste and toxins that inherently run off into our water ways is unhealthy and can be avoided--and avoidance is much cheaper than cleaning the polluted water! She then spoke of some of her recent projects where she has installed more windows/skylights providing day lighting, and she spoke of her work on Trinity Church-- Carroon has successfully installed a geothermal heat pump that goes underground (twice as deep as the height of the church), doesn't make any noise AND GET THIS--we installed one at the historic mansion, Braehead, here in Fredericksburg! AND we are also installing a 14 ton geothermal system at 415 William Street proving that it is possible to do such a thing in a tight, urban setting! Win-Habalis!
Lastly, Carroon stated that monitoring energy consumption is the most important thing. One could say they are doing this and that, but the paper work must be there to back it up or else it means nothing. With tax benefits and laws being put in place, it is a smart move to document energy consumption. And with the end of her lecture, she closed with what has become my favorite quote: "Saving buildings is saving the environment."
Making the hour drive on 95 South was definitely worth it. The Virginia Center for Architecture was a great host, and I will be attending their exhibit "Vertical Gardens" in the next couple of weeks--so look for that blog! Carroon was a great speaker and I encourage you to buy her book, and if you get the chance, go to her lecture!
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