In an era of unprecedented climate change, the sustainable reuse and preservation of older and traditional buildings is more important than ever. Essential to achieving this is knowledge of the traditional materials, methods and techniques required to effectively conserve, manage and maintain historic structures.
These traditional skills will be the focus as some of the world’s foremost practitioners in traditional trades gather in Stirling today as the Engine Shed hosts the annual International Preservation Trades Workshop (IPTW), this year with the theme of ‘Crafting the Future’, run in partnership with the Preservation Trades Network (PTN).
Taking place outside of the US for the first time, the three-day conference will bring together building conservation specialists to share knowledge, skills and best practice across a range of fields, including stonemasonry, glasswork and woodwork.
Among the speakers and demonstrators taking part in the event is historic preservation specialist Leslie Price, who will be leading a session on conservation and climate change.
As part of the event, the Engine Shed will be opening its doors on Saturday, September 7th for a special discovery day, with family-friendly craft demonstrations and hands-on activities.
See live blacksmithing from the Ratho Byres Forge blacksmiths, while carpenters from the American National Park Service will be showcasing their skills. Meanwhile, at Forth Valley College, stonemasons will be going chisel to chisel in a carving competition, with visitors having the opportunity to vote for their favourite creative carving for the chance to win a day out at Stirling Castle.
David Mitchell, Director of Conservation at Historic Environment Scotland (HES), said: “We’re delighted that The Engine Shed will be the first venue outwith the US to host such a prestigious gathering of conservation professionals. Events such as these are a great opportunity to not only share expertise and knowledge, but also to showcase the importance of traditional skills to a wider audience. Scotland has an abundance of traditional buildings that require upkeep, making the skills to protect and preserve these historic assets more important than ever.
“Our Discovery Day is the perfect opportunity to get hands-on to learn more about the rich history of a wide variety of traditional skills and materials, from stonemasonry and sign writing to thatching and blacksmithing, and perhaps even spark interest in a future conservation career.”
For further information, including the full Crafting the Future programme, visit www.historicenvironment.scot/crafting-the-future
The Engine Shed is Scotland’s dedicated building conservation centre, based in Stirling. Part of Historic Environment Scotland, it serves as a central hub for building and conservation professionals and the general public. For more information, visit www.engineshed.scot
The Herald’s Climate for Change initiative supports efforts being made by the Scottish Government with key organisations and campaign partners. Throughout the year we will provide a forum in The Herald newspaper, online at herald.scotland.com and in Business HQmagazine, covering news and significant developments in this increasingly crucial area.
If you are interested in contributing editorially or interested in becoming a Climate for Change partner, please contact Stephen McTaggart on 0141 302 6137 or email stephen.mctaggart@heraldandtimes.co.uk
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article