Online CPD Recordings - New ideas for Old Buildings

Event details

These four online sessions are packed with information and insight. They were recorded in March 2025 as a way to easily meet your CPD requirements and improve your understanding of building conservation. 

Taking inspiration from the SPAB-STBA conference on ‘New Ideas for Old Buildings’ last November, the talks illuminate the challenges faced by traditional and historic buildings in the face of climate change, technological advancements, skills shortages and economic pressures.  

Ideal for buildings professionals and students, as well as those with wider interest in heritage conservation, our expert speakers will explore where tradition meets innovation, and how the past informs the future.  

Price and package booking discounts

These online CPD sessions are £10 each and can be bought individually or as a package of four at the discounted price of £30.

Technology and Tradition: using digital tools to support the traditional woodcarving process

Matt Bateman and Greg Meeson, Refinery Studio

£10

Greg Meeson and Matt Bateman's presentation on their pioneering collaborative works in the restoration of carved historic features in wood. Their innovative and award-winning process introduces a wealth of digital technology alongside traditional skills to bring powerful new capabilities and efficiency whilst fully retaining the traditional skills of hand carving, fine joinery and conservation knowledge. This introduction of technology is deliberately focused on enhancing and uplifting traditional craftsmanship, rather than seeking to replace it. Their talk explores their process, looking at how they combine capabilities from two distinctly different practices. In particular, significant works for Stowe House where their creation of two richly detailed chimney pieces for Stowe’s State Dining Room showcases all aspects of their workflow.

Using site excavated subsoil to make earth blocks for building construction

Nikolay Shahpazov, Bennetts Associates

£10

Using the Tribeca development near King’s Cross, London, as a case study, Nikolay Shahpazov discusses the use of site excavated subsoil to make earth blocks for building construction. These earth blocks were used in place of concrete in the building of a new laboratory for the London BioScience Innovation Centre (LBIC), the first project in the UK where their application has been achieved at this scale. Emitting just 1/10 of the CO2 of cement alternatives, they highlight one of the ways traditional construction methods and materials can be combined with modern manufacturing techniques to produce low-carbon building products.

A lime seamless floor at the Royal Hospital Chelsea: an experimental approach

Laura Morgante, Peregrine Bryant Architects

£10

Laura Morgante explores the experimental approach taken at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, supported by the NLHF, to create a lime seamless floor in the Stable Block. Drawing on an 18th-century Venetian tradition, itself first practiced in Ancient Rome, this beaten lime technique is known as 'cocciopesto'. It is made with crushed bricks, lime, sand and other stone aggregates to produce a floor that is beautiful, breathable and manages water effectively. This flooring is still produced in Venice today but is a relatively novel approach here in the UK and Laura's lecture discusses how this could be a starting point for future developments in the field of sustainable seamless flooring.

Light Touch to Old Buildings: New Ideas at the Old House Project

Jonathan Garlick, The SPAB and Mal Fryer, Malcolm Fryer Architects

£10

Architect Mal Fryer and project manager Jonny Garlick explain how environmental and other challenges have been tackled with sensitive new design at SPAB's Old House Project in Kent. Learn how the sustainable rammed earth wall oak walkway links the new garage with the oldest doorway in the building, while acting as an acoustic shield for the site. Hidden for many years behind an open fireplace, the discovery of this ornately-carved doorway presented a new set of challenges for the project.

Four-for-Three - Discount bundle

All four talks for £30

Assessment / Accreditation 

A CPD certificate can be issued upon request. 

Accessibility

Automatically generated subtitles are included.

Anything we can do to make this event more accessible for you? Please email education@spab.org.uk

Partners

This event is brought to you in association with the Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance (STBA)

The STBA (Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance) is an alliance of the UK's leading organisations associated with the conservation and improvement of traditional buildings. The STBA aims to develop policy, guidance and training to minimise risks and maximise benefits to traditional buildings and their owners.

About us

The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) is here for old buildings and the people who care for them. Based on years of experience and research we understand how old buildings work.

All bookings are subject to our Terms and Conditions. 

Photo credits: Greg Meeson, Refinery Studios; Alastair Bogle, Bennetts Associates; Feltracco Fratelli; Jonathan Garlick, The SPAB