Are you living in or working with a traditional building?
\n \nThis lecture
will explore how a whole-building approach can gui
de energy efficiency and climate resilience measur
es in traditional buildings\, helping owners\, pro
fessionals and anyone with an interest in older bu
ildings to better understand how changes can be ma
de without causing unintended damage. Rather than
looking at insulation or individual upgrades in is
olation\, the talk will consider the building as a
complete system\, including walls\, roofs\, floor
s\, ventilation\, moisture movement and material b
ehaviour. It will show why this matters in traditi
onal buildings\, where performance\, comfort and d
urability are closely tied to how the building man
ages heat and moisture.
\n
\n Those att
ending will gain a clearer understanding of how to
assess a traditional building before carrying out
works\, what kinds of interventions are most like
ly to be effective\, and where common retrofit mis
takes can lead to problems such as damp\, condensa
tion or fabric deterioration. The lecture will be
particularly useful for homeowners\, custodians\,
conservation professionals and anyone involved in
the repair or upgrading of older buildings.
\
n
\n Attendees will come away with practical
insight into how a whole-building approach can su
pport better decision-making\, improve comfort and
resilience\, and protect the long-term character
and performance of traditional buildings. There wi
ll also be an opportunity to ask questions during
a live Q&A at the end of the session.
This lecture i s aimed at those directly involved in working on t raditional buildings with a technical side to the lecture. Private owners of traditional buildings a re also welcome.
\n \n• The principles of a whole-bu
ilding approach to traditional buildings.
\n
• How traditional buildings manage heat and moi
sture.
\n • Why inappropriate intervention
s can lead to damp\, condensation\, and fabric dam
age.
\n • How to approach energy efficienc
y and climate resilience in a balanced and compati
ble way.
\n • Practical insights to help g
uide repair\, maintenance\, and retrofit decisions
.
You wi ll need a computer\, phone or other device with a stable internet connection
\n \nHannah Reynolds is a Conservation Architect and SPAB Scholar. Holding an MA and MArch\, and accredited by both AABC and RIBA\, Hannah is a specialist in considered and e nvironmentally conscious repair\, climate change m itigation\, adaption & resilience for historic bui ldings.
\n \nCl osed captions are available for this talk.
\n \ nThis event is gene rously supported by The Heritage Council.
\n \ nAll bookings are subject to our Terms and Conditions.
\n \nPho to credit: Rosemary Kane/ Alamy
DESCRIPTION:SPAB Ireland Lecture Series 2026\n \n Assess Befor e You Act: Whole Building Approach for Vernacular Energy Efficiency and Climate Resilience\n \n Hann ah Reynolds\n \n \n \n Tuesday 21 July\, 7.30pm\n \n \n Are you living in or working with a traditio nal building?\n \n \n \n This lecture will explore how a whole-building approach can guide energy ef ficiency and climate resilience measures in tradit ional buildings\, helping owners\, professionals a nd anyone with an interest in older buildings to b etter understand how changes can be made without c ausing unintended damage. Rather than looking at i nsulation or individual upgrades in isolation\, th e talk will consider the building as a complete sy stem\, including walls\, roofs\, floors\, ventilat ion\, moisture movement and material behaviour. It will show why this matters in traditional buildin gs\, where performance\, comfort and durability ar e closely tied to how the building manages heat an d moisture.\n \n \n \n Those attending will gain a clearer understanding of how to assess a traditio nal building before carrying out works\, what kind s of interventions are most likely to be effective \, and where common retrofit mistakes can lead to problems such as damp\, condensation or fabric det erioration. The lecture will be particularly usefu l for homeowners\, custodians\, conservation profe ssionals and anyone involved in the repair or upgr ading of older buildings.\n \n \n \n Attendees wil l come away with practical insight into how a whol e-building approach can support better decision-ma king\, improve comfort and resilience\, and protec t the long-term character and performance of tradi tional buildings. There will also be an opportunit y to ask questions during a live Q&A at the end of the session.\n \n \n \n Who is this talk for?\n \ n \n This lecture is aimed at those directly invol ved in working on traditional buildings with a tec hnical side to the lecture. Private owners of trad itional buildings are also welcome.\n \n \n \n You will learn/discover\n \n \n • The principles o f a whole-building approach to traditional buildin gs.\n \n • How traditional buildings manage hea t and moisture.\n \n • Why inappropriate interv entions can lead to damp\, condensation\, and fabr ic damage.\n \n • How to approach energy effici ency and climate resilience in a balanced and comp atible way.\n \n • Practical insights to help g uide repair\, maintenance\, and retrofit decisions .\n \n \n \n IT requirements\n \n \n You will need a computer\, phone or other device with a stable internet connection\n \n \n \n Speaker(s)\n \n \n Hannah Reynolds is a Conservation Architect and SP AB Scholar. Holding an MA and MArch\, and accredit ed by both AABC and RIBA\, Hannah is a specialist in considered and environmentally conscious repair \, climate change mitigation\, adaption & resilien ce for historic buildings.\n \n \n \n Accessibilit y\n \n \n Closed captions are available for this t alk.\n \n \n \n Supported by\n \n \n This event is generously supported by The Heritage Council. \n \n \n \n \n All bookings are subject to our Terms and Conditions (https://www.spab.org.uk/content/bo oking-terms-and-conditions).\n \n \n \n Photo cred it: Rosemary Kane/ Alamy\n \n CATEGORIES:Talk CALSCALE:GREGORIAN DTSTAMP;TZID=Europe/London:20260721T193000 DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260721T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260721T210000 LOCATION:Online\n United Kingdom\n URL:https://www.spab.org.uk/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=1457 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR