Conservation Works

Conservation, in the context of built heritage, can include one or more of several processes including maintenance, restoration, reconstruction or preservation.

RBA has specialist skills in undertaking conservation works to a wide range of heritage building types and structures from the early/mid nineteenth century through to the 1970s. We take pride in sourcing and implementing both traditional construction methods and crafts, but also in developing innovative contemporary technical solutions where the traditional approach proves unviable.

Following our review of the heritage values which apply and our building condition assessment, appropriate conservation strategies and works are resolved in consultation with owners and authorities. These are typically prioritised and may range from doing very little in the way of physical interventions, undertaking sensitive and minimal repairs, through to recommending full reconstruction or occasionally demolition (a rare outcome but which would always include developing an archival record beforehand).

We work to the Burra Charter principle of ‘changing as much as necessary but as little as possible’ – an approach that has regularly generated economical restoration solutions for our clients, while also retaining the authenticity of the original fabric.

As Registered Architects, RBA have the demonstrated experience and capability to not only resolve appropriate conservation interventions, but to prepare tender and construction documents (detailed drawings in Autocad and Revit and Specifications), negotiate with specialist contractors, let contracts and administer same to see the successful implementation of sensitive conservation works