NEWSLETTER

In addition to the formal meeting there will be a talk by Dennis Urquhart and Dr Ewan Hyslop of BGS, about the SSLG Glasgow Project. The Project was officially launched on the 19th November and it captured the interests of BBC TV Reporting Scotland, Good Morning Scotland and BBC TV Scottish News.

The talk will cover the aims of the project - to determine the skill level of the current workforce and assess the “health” of that built heritage in order to determine the skills that will be required in the future. It will also look at the techniques employed to assess the condition of Glasgow’s building stock.

The talk will commence at 5.30pm with a buffet to follow. Tickets are priced at £15 (including buffet and coffee on arrival) with NSI members attending for free. For more details contact Sarah Bailey on 0131 440 9473 or sarahbailey@nsiuk.org

The Building with Scottish Stone publication was aimed at those interested in making greater use of Scotland's principal traditional building material in contemporary design. We hope that professionals, practitioners and members of the public will find the web version of the publication as useful as the original. Building with Scottish Stone has been very well received in Scotland and further afield. Copies of Building with Scottish Stone are available to purchase from the NSI at a cost of £9.99 or £6.49 to NSI members, p&p is free.

Centre for the Built Environment lunchtime seminar series

On 17th November the NSI will be providing a seminar on Building with Scottish Stone, as part of the CBE lunchtime seminar series which covers topics relating to all aspects of the construction industry and built environment.

The event is open to all and will provide excellent networking opportunities. The whole seminar programme for 2005 is available to view at: http://www.cbe.org.uk

Details for each seminar are displayed at least a month in advance of the event. Bookings can be made by e-mail, fax or by telephone. Alternatively you can complete the online booking form. It is possible for organisations to make a block booking for these events. 10 bookings will cost just £200, a saving of £100. These can be redeemed in any combination against any seminar. Attendance at a single seminar is just £30.00. A confirmation e-mail with details of the venue, time etc. will be sent after a booking is placed.

You can contact the Centre for the Built Environment at: The Lighthouse, Mitchell Street, Glasgow G1 3NU. Tel: 0141 249 9888. Fax: 0141 249 9906. Email: info@cbe.org.uk

NSI Annual Lecture

Following the success of last year’s inaugural event, the NSI will again be holding an Annual Stone Lecture. This year the event will take place at the Merchants’ Hall in Glasgow, a beautiful landmark building just a stone’s throw from Queen Street train station.

The evening will begin at around 6pm and the lecture will be followed with a buffet. The event will be open to members of the public, with discounted tickets available to NSI members.

Further details of the venue, date and time for the event will be circulated soon. For further information contact Sarah Bailey on 0131 440 9473 or sarahbailey@nsiuk.org

Sarah Bailey
Education Officer, NSI

Carved stones provide a very real link to more than 5000 years of human activity in Scotland and are an important and significantly large proportion of the monuments and artefacts that survive from past times. Carved stones help to define the character of our environment and present-day identities, both local and national.

Carved Stones: Scottish Executive Policy and Guidance, published by Historic Scotland, draws on 120 years of their and their predecessor bodies' experience in dealing with carved stones and was the subject of a three month consultation period early in 2004.

The strategic & operational policy and guidance document covers legal protection, raising awareness, conservation strategies and practice (including intervention, research and information, and Historic Scotland setting the example of best practice). Hard copies of the publication can be requested by emailing: hs.conservation.bureau@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

11th May 2005
http:\\www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2005/05/11110433

Scotland’s New Audit of the historic environment

The Historic Environment Advisory Council for Scotland (HEACS) welcomes the decision by Patricia Ferguson, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, to introduce a heritage audit. The Minister's announcement follows the submission of a Report by HEACS which recommended the need for an audit and outlined a programme of action.

HEACS, established by Scottish Ministers in 2003 as an advisory Non-Departmental Public Body to provide informed and independent advice on issues affecting the historic environment, expects that instituting an audit process will address the absence of fundamental data within the Historic Environment sector, that the human and financial resources which are available will be used more cost effectively and that decisions within the sector will become more co-ordinated, open and transparent.

HEACS anticipates that the audit process will become mainstreamed into heritage sector operations and looks forward to the production of an Annual Report on the State of the Scottish Historic Environment.

The Minister has commissioned Historic Scotland to coordinate the heritage audit which will include the creation of a dedicated website and production of a regular 'State of the Historic Environment Report.'

9th May 2005
http://www.heacs.org.uk/newsreleases/2005/heritageaudit.pdf

Heritage counts

In England, the production of the third annual report on the state of the historic environment, Heritage Counts 2005, is well underway and will be published on 16th November 2005. This year the main theme for the national report is rural heritage.

A key headline will be the importance of the historic environment to the beauty and character of rural landscapes and the need for proper joined-up policy making in managing change sensitively.

If you would like further details contact Ben Cowell at: ben.cowell@english-heritage.org.uk

Heritage Link
20th May 2005

As the UK's built environment stock is expected to last between 50 and 100 years, it is essential for the industry to understand how projects can be designed to allow for unpredictable climate change.

Industry professionals and developers who ignore the risks posed by climate change could face higher insurance premiums and greater maintenance costs. There may also be costs related to contractual arrangements, if buildings fail to meet the design life.

The guide explains the possible consequences of climate change for the construction industry and provides designers and constructors with a method for assessing risk and how they should be managed. More information on the publication is available at http:\\www.ciriabooks.com

Scottish Construction News
13/07/05

In June the NSI held a successful weekend visit to Belfast. A varied programme included stone decay and repair issues in buildings in Belfast and Antrim, visiting an historic quarry, and new initiatives for conservation and repair in Northern Ireland.

On a beautiful, sunny Saturday the group were welcomed to Queen’s University where they enjoyed short presentations on ’The building stones of Northern Ireland’, by Joanne Curran and ’Pollution and stone decay in Belfast’, by Professor Bernie Smith. This was followed by a walking tour of the University area, including the Main University (Lanyon) Building, Fitzroy Church and the Theological College. The morning concluded with a tour of central Belfast, looking at the Customs House, Albert Memorial, St George’s Market and other landmark buildings.

In the afternoon the party were taken by car to Newtownards and Scrabo Quarry, source of Sherwood sandstone, much used in Victorian Belfast. The return journey along the North Down Coast provided the opportunity to visit some coastal exposures.

The following day the party set out by car along the East Antrim Coast. The spectacular coastline features rotational failures in Tertiary Basalt and Cretaceous White Limestone overlying Lias Clays. The group was able to see active mass movements and coastal weathering as well as a range of limestone and sandstone buildings.

A short visit was made to Bonamargy Friary at Ballycastle, where Stephen McCabe talked about a project to examine the role of inheritance and complex decay pathways experienced by medieval ecclesiastical buildings in northeast Ireland and southwest Scotland. A visit to Kenbane Castle ruins west of Ballycastle rounded off a marvellous visit.

The NSI would like to thank Prof. Bernard Smith of Queen’s University, Belfast and Dr Joanne Curran of Stone Conservation Services Ltd, for organising and leading a thoroughly enjoyable excursion.

On Friday 29th April the NSI held a very successful excursion to Watson Stonecraft. Around 30 architects and members of the NSI ventured out to West Calder to see stone being processed and to learn about the new build, conservation and restoration projects that Watson Stonecraft have been involved in.

Graeme Hadden, Managing Director of Watson Stonecraft, spoke to the party concerning some of the major issues regarding stone use in modern construction - from selection and procurement to budgeting and reporting. The company has over a century of experience in stonework restoration, stone cleaning and new build. The party was given the opportunity to ask questions about some of the company’s more recent projects before donning hard hats ready for a tour of the stone yard.

A most instructive tour allowed the NSI group to look at how stone is processed. Watson Stonecraft has experience of working with all types of stone including sandstone, limestone, granites, marbles and slates. The majority of these stone types could be seen in the yard. The group was able to see the rough quarry block being processed using state-of-the-art, automated machinery.

In contrast, the group was also able to view the more traditional skilled handcraft of the stonemason. Having observed the experts, members of the party were finally given the chance to experience working the stone themselves.

The NSI would like to thank the staff at Watson Stonecraft for an interesting and informative day.

The Scottish Stone Show has been launched to provide producers and manufacturers of stone and stone related products with the perfect forum to meet key professionals within the industry.

Focused on architectural and building stone and the use of stone in, on or around the building, the Scottish Stone Show is the event to promote and sell products into this increasingly important market place.

With the top producers and manufacturers showcasing the very latest trends and technologies that are now available to the continually evolving stone market, the show is the only place where professional end users of stone can source from the spectacular range of products on display.

The exhibition provides visitors with the opportunity to touch, feel and view products – something that cannot be replicated via the internet or by looking through a brochure.

The Natural Stone Institute and Scottish Stone Liaison Group are supporting the Scottish Stone Show and will be providing a seminar and networking opportunities for Scottish producers and specifiers of stone.

For further information please contact the organisers on:
t: +44 (0)1442 828173
f: +44 (0)1442 828568
e: info@thestoneshow.com
or visit http:\\www.thestoneshow.com

Conservation Management in the Built Environment
-an International Conference

6-8 September 2005,
University of Westminster
The International Conference on Conservation Management in the Built Environment provides a chance to influence policy makers and exchange knowledge on the latest ideas and techniques. The conference will bring together policy makers, academics, practitioners, clients and those in both the private and public sectors responsible for overseeing conservation areas and heritage sites.

The main theme of the conference is 'Conservation Management in the Built Environment'. There are five themes: sustainability; management; product and technological developments; heritage and tourism; and education, training and research.

For more information please contact Joy Gardner at info@cho-conferences.com.
http://www.building-conservation-forum.com

21st Century Conservation: Skills training and best practice

30th September 2005,
Morpeth, Northumberland
This one-day conference brings together leading practitioners in the heritage world – from within the North-East of England and beyond - to ignite the debate about the future of traditional skills and training.

The conference will take place within the context of a two-day North-East Heritage Skills Fair, running from 30 September to 1 October at Wallington, a National Trust property. The Northumberland National park Authority (NNPA) and the National Trust are organising the event in collaboration with Heritage Information. The conference will coincide with the regional launch of English Heritage and the NHTG report: ‘Traditional Building Craft Skills – Assessing the Need, Meeting the Challenge’.

For more information on the Northumberland skills fair and conference contact: info@heritageinformation.org.uk, or telephone Simon Chedzey on 020 7637 7744.

The 14th Annual Conference, AGM and Gathering will be held in Bergen, Norway on Friday 30 Saturday to Sunday 2 October 2005. The topic for the conference will be the use of lime in extreme conditions - Lime in a Cold Climate

For more information go to http://www.buildinglimesforum.org.uk where you can download the combined information sheet and booking form.