The Green Rehabilitation and Sustainability Forum and Workshop held on January 19 to 20, 2009 in Vancouver, Canada, engaged building practitioners to examine and discuss the connect/ disconnect between green building rating systems, the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada and the new BC green building code.

Forum speakers highlighted that although there was no specific LEED standard for heritage buildings, existing LEED-NC for New Construction and Major Renovation could be used for heritage building rehabilitation projects. Credit points in LEED categories such as sustainable site, material reuse, use of salvage materials etc. could easily be achieved due to the nature of heritage building rehabilitation.

It was noted that the embodied energy saved by rehabilitation of heritage buildings was significant but public awareness of such was inadequate. Cultural and social values were cited as important aspects of heritage building rehabilitation. Life cycle analysis and the use of computer energy modeling were noted as important tools for green rehabilitation of heritage buildings as well.

Speakers at the forum include:

·         Susan Ross, Conservation Architect, Heritage Conservation Directorate, Public Works and Government Services, Canada

·         Barbara Campagna, Graham Gund Architect of the National Trust, Stewardship of Historic Sites, National Trust for Historic Preservation

·         Bob Parliament, Regional Heritage Planner, Lower Mainland Area, Heritage Branch, Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts

·         Catherine Green, LEED Senior Coordinator, Canada Green Building Council

·         Ralph Di Nola, Principal, Green Building Services, Inc.

·         Roger Lam, Senior Policy Analyst, Building Safety Policy Branch, Office of Housing and Construction Standards, Ministry of Housing and Social Development

·         Will Johnston, Chief Building Official, City of Vancouver

·         Elena Zysblat, programming Director, Vancouver Heritage Foundation

·         Jay Hiscox, Senior Associate, Architect MOAQ, Stantec

·         Will Johnson, Chief Building Official, City of Vancouver

·         Shelly Penner, Principal of Penner & Associates Interior Design Inc.

Resource and Reference:

Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada - copy available at http://www.historicplaces.ca/nor-sta/request.aspx?req=index