b'INDUSTRY ROUNDTABLEKeri Briggs (KG)Zlatan Jankovic (ZJ)Donald Luxton (DL) Vice President of Business DevelopmentSenior Heritage PlannerSenior Cultural Heritage Advisor Vintage Woodworks Inc. Planning, Urban Design & Sustainability,Donald Luxton & Associates City of VancouverINDUSTRY ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION Three experts discuss the importance and challenges of heritage conservationBy Matthew BradfordI n the push for a smarter, sleeker and more modern built environ- about options for heritage buildings that are available and should be ment, heritage conservation cannot be ignored. Here are threeexplored. The VBBL recognizes heritage building challenges and has heritage conservation specialists to share their perspectives. a built-in capacity to assist heritage conservation efforts by relaxing some requirements. BCBEC Elements: What are some of the biggest buildingDL: The way that code compliance and permitting are administered is envelope-related challenges encountered in heritagea lose-lose situation. There are many conflicts that have been set up conservation projects? by building codes and industry common practice. The expectation of KG: Vintage Woodworks has worked on more than 90,000 heritageour one-size-fits-all building codes is that all buildings will perform windows since 1980. After all of these years, we find the same chal- exactly the same way, which is impossible when dealing with existing lenge each time, which is there is a very real lack of knowledge andstructures, especially when we are trying to conserve heritage values understanding by multiple disciplines of how heritage buildings wereand character. There are currently no alternate compliance solutions constructed and how heritage fenestration works. Historic windowsfor heritage building envelopes, so every aspect of envelope retention and buildings were built to shed water and provide air circulation,must be negotiated and fought over. and they were built for longevity.Also, we cannot expect heritage materials to have a performance ZJ: The biggest challenge is probably meeting Vancouver Buildingsticker or warranty, even if they have lasted over 100 years. By-law (VBBL) requirements that often result in replacing existingAs a result, common sense is often jettisoned; we know that the historic fabric on the exterior of buildings. Many property ownersmaterials are sound, but a professional has to sign off on them and and some professionals are still reluctant or perhaps not informedtake liability.18 BCBEC ELEMENTSA BCBEC PUBLICATION'