Donovan Rypkema on Sustainability and Historic Preservation

[NearlyAMusician]

I've met Donovan and spoke to him in person. Wonderful person

[pegobuilders]

Old building materials were rarely waterproof, instead they tended to soak up dampness, but were permeable enough to let it dry out later....which is how they defended themselves against frost attack and rot

[HRPSonline]

BRAVO! And AMEN!

[upandholden]

exactly.  this guy is great.

[jawday12345]

This is me is 30-35 years.

[loganberry30]

"...these old buildings do not belong to us only;...they have belonged to our forefathers, and they will belong to our descendants.... They are not in any sense our property, to do as we like with. We are only trustees for those that come after us." ~William Morris

[unterland]

Energy efficiency is important, and we DO need to find market solutions to the global warming problem. The ice caps melting may render the world uninhabitable, but do we really WANT to live in a world where our material history has been swept away in the name of "progress", and where every building looks like the Scottish Parliament?

[BCHeritageBuff]

I don't think that it's a question of one versus the other. Energy efficiency doesn't contradict heritage rehabilitation. A heritage building rehabilitated to green standards will always be greener than a newly constructed green building. Demolition and new construction require resources and energy that existing (and heritage) buildings don't require.

[BCHeritageBuff]

Not to mention the cultural benefits of heritage (which is not just buildings or material history, but the collective wisdom of our communities reflected in tangible and intangible culture; a wisdom necessary to propose alternative lifestyles that will improve our relationship with our environment, ex. high density of historic districts) towards a sustainable social community.

[lppreservation]

Great video. Great video to show to developers proposing demolition of historic buildings!

[ecogreenfirefly]

He is bang on. This should be required watching for all developers.