Masterclass in Conservation and Architecture 02: Climate

The act of conservation embodies an ongoing negotiation between heritage values, aesthetics, and identity, and contemporary programmatic demands and functional needs. In our upcoming session, we will examine how to establish knowledge-based priorities that balance the duty to preserve heritage values with the need to reduce a building's energy consumption during the new life cycle granted to it by the act of conservation. This challenge is heightened by the current planning reality: while green building regulations for new structures are becoming standardized, the field of conservation lacks defined guidelines or regulatory tools for data-driven decision-making.

The discussion will focus on the importance of documenting existing climatic values as an essential foundation for any planning recommendation. We will ask how methodological tools developed for green building can be adapted for conservation, and whether tools designed to refine conservation practices can help identify and map passive bio-climatic planning qualities in existing buildings. Furthermore, we will discuss ways to integrate climatic needs with conservation ethics, identifying key areas where these interests converge.

The session seeks to move these dilemmas from the theoretical realm to the practical reality, by asking where is the line between material conservation and environmental responsibility? How are decisions made when regulation is still catching up? We invite you to join a dialogue on the transition from the conservation of objects to the conservation of qualities, and to examine how these considerations shape the future of our built environment - a discussion spanning the heritage of the cultural past and the climatic quality of life in the future.

Participants:

Dr. Arch. Jeremie Hoffmann, Head of the Conservation Department, Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality.

Aviad Sar-Shalom, Urban and Environmental Planner, expert in sustainability integration.

Arch. Rinat Milo, Senior Conservation Coordinator, City Planning Department, Tel Aviv-Yafo.

Curation & Moderation: Arch. Sharon Golan, Director of the Liebling House Research Lab.

Research Lab Content Production: Arch. Noam Sar-Shalom.

The event will be held via Zoom; a link will be sent upon registration.

The Masterclass in Conservation and Architecture series offers a broad perspective on architectural conservation as a field that bridges research, building culture, and urban foresight. Using examples from the urban landscape of Tel Aviv, we explore how buildings tell the story of society, climate, and ideas, while addressing current urban issues related to the conservation of the built environment. Inspired by the philosophy of the Liebling House Research Lab, this masterclass presents the craft of conservation not merely as an act of protecting the past, but as a tool for understanding the city in the present and a foundation for creative thinking about its future.