The grand Parisian cathedral of Notre Dame is rising from the ashes. 800 -year- old woodwork practices are being revived to help in the rebuild. Closer to home, many of our heritage buildings also require traditional materials and techniques to survive.
This panel discussion will explore the art and value of the traditional skills and trades required to care for and maintain our heritage buildings, as well as their relevance to new construction. The panel will also look at how we ensure this knowledge and skills are being transferred to a new generation of tradespeople and design professionals.
This event is in partnership with the Heritage Council Victoria and is part of Melbourne Design Week.
Panellists
Samantha Westbrooke is the Executive Manager of Conservation and Advocacy at the National Trust. She joined the Trust in her capacity as a Conservation Architect in 2014 and has worked in the Executive team since 2016. Samantha is a registered architect with over 25 years experience of working in the heritage industry with involvement in all aspects of professional heritage architecture services including work in State and Local Government as well as private practice.
Rebecca Roberts is currently a Doctoral Candidate with the University of Melbourne. Drawing on over twenty years of built heritage conservation experience, including international fieldwork with conservator-restorer craftspeople in the United Kingdom, France and Australia, Rebecca’s research examines the role of tacit skills and embodied knowledge in maintaining enduring, adaptable, and resilient cultural identities through the conservation of historic built environments. Rebecca brings her experience as a Stonemason and a project manager to her academic work.
Ruth Redden is a registered architect and heritage consultant. She is the Alternate Architectural conservation/Architectural history Member of the Heritage Council of Victoria and principal at NBRS Architects. Ruth has worked as a conservation architect for 15years and is passionate about the environmental, cultural and economic sustainably of heritage conservation in Australia. Ruth notes that one of the best parts of her work is getting on site and learning from traditional trades people who are on the tools conserving historic buildings.
Glen Rundell is a master craftsman in Windsor chairmaking, a tradesman (master plumber and gas fitter) and co-founder of the very popular Lost Trades Fair. He has been instrumental in the advocacy for traditional trades and better teaching in the industry through his work at Lost Trades and as a patron of the Centre for Rare Arts & Forgotten Trades. He has undertaken many courses and taught overseas in heritage and traditional trades.
