Buildings are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, responsible for about 40 per cent of these emissions according to the World Green Building Council. We know that to combat climate change, retrofitting and reusing existing buildings, be those heritage or not, is crucial. Adaptive reuse of existing structures, including substantial changes with minimal intervention, has been a key goal for heritage architects and consultants. As a heritage consultant, I believe the design and technical decisions involved in saving buildings are as important as the long-term environmental impact of the structures.
Being educated as an architect in Cuba, a country with limited resources, taught me the importance of creatively repurposing buildings.  In Cuba, my work spanned institutional, residential, commercial, and religious projects. In my work as a Principal and Heritage Specialist here in Canada at GBCA Architects, I have drawn on both my Canadian and Cuban experience to preserve a variety of buildings ? some of national iconic status, such as Massey Music Hall in Toronto, and Mackenzie Hall in Windsor, and some being simply old buildings. Architects, particularly heritage architects and their consultants, have a responsibility to advocate for a responsible process throughout. However, there are obstacles that have made the key goal stated above difficult to achieve. Some of the obstacles are technical, some are not.
The non-technical obstacles range from legislative challeng...