Date: -
Audience: General interest
Price:
£5 Members
£7 Non-Members
Event details
SPAB Ireland Lecture Series 2026
Assess Before You Act: Whole Building Approach for Vernacular Energy Efficiency and Climate Resilience
Gissella Renolfi
Tuesday 14 July, 7.30pm
In this first talk of SPAB Ireland's 2026 lecture series, Gissella Renolfi, Carrig Conservation and a SPAB Ireland Committee member, will draw on her own experience of upgrading her home. Aimed at homeowners, the talk will explore how to understand a building's fabric, assess its condition, and develop a considered approach to upgrading or retrofitting a traditional building.
The lecture will explore why traditional buildings need to be properly understood before retrofit measures are introduced, and why insulation should never be considered in isolation from the wider performance of the building. Using a whole-building approach, the talk will look at how traditional structures manage heat, air, and moisture, and how well-intentioned interventions can sometimes lead to unintended consequences such as damp, condensation, decay, and long-term fabric damage.
Drawing on practical conservation experience, the session will consider the importance of assessing the condition, materials, and behaviour of a building before decisions are made. It will show how a careful and informed approach can help improve comfort, energy efficiency, and resilience while still respecting the character and significance of older buildings.
Attendees will come away with a better understanding of the principles behind sensitive retrofit in traditional buildings, the risks of poorly considered upgrades, and the value of seeing the building as a complete system rather than a set of separate elements. The lecture will be relevant to homeowners, conservation professionals, architects, surveyors, and anyone involved in the care or adaptation of older buildings. There will also be an opportunity to ask live questions during a Q&A at the end of the session.
Who is this talk for?
This lecture is aimed at home owners. It will help them understanding their building fabric and means to assess it to prepare an upgrade and/or retrofit strategy.
You will learn/discover
• Why traditional buildings should be assessed before retrofit works begin.
• Why insulation must be considered as part of a whole-building approach.
• How traditional buildings manage heat, air, and moisture.
• What can go wrong when retrofit measures are poorly planned.
• How to improve comfort and energy performance without damaging historic fabric.
• How better understanding leads to better repair and retrofit decisions.
IT requirements
You will need a computer, phone or other device with a stable internet connection
Speaker(s)
Gissella Renolfi is a Conservation Consultant and Architect with Carrig Conservation International. She holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Building Repair and Conservation from Trinity College Dublin and has worked on a range of significant conservation projects, including Parnell Square Library, St Patrick’s University Hospital, and Rossmore Mausoleum. Her professional interests include the care, repair, and adaptation of historic buildings, and she has also been involved with SPAB Ireland as a committee member since 2018.
Accessibility
Closed captions are available for this talk.
Supported by
This event is generously supported by The Heritage Council.
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Photo credit: Rosemary Kane/ Alamy