Making good decisions: avoiding alignment problems and maladaptation in retrofit and construction

ABSTRACT The current approach to retrofit has failed to deliver the promised reductions in energy use in the built environment, but it has exposed many historic buildings to maladaptation, and is threatening many more. This paper argues that the problem rests in a classic misalignment between the intentions behind retrofitting, and the means being used to assess retrofit options. Underlying issues include a poor understanding of how buildings were designed and operated before the Industrial Revolution radically changed our approaches to materials, construction, and use. This pre-carbon past still has much to teach us, with lessons that can be integrated with the best of the modern tools. But this requires careful planning for the long term, together with a much more flexible approach to modelling and assessment. This paper suggests a simple approach that might be used to unlock whole-life energy or carbon assessment, encouraging feedback and sharing of knowledge to achieve the rapid improvement needed to tackle the climate emergency.