A review of the engineering constraints and project management challenges involved in utilising Scot’s Church as a heritage asset through responsible adaptive reuse and conservation strategies

Abstract

In the field of structural building, there has been a rising popularity in adaptive reuse of older structures, which stems from a variety of stimuli. Apart from preserving built heritage, providing old buildings with new functions promotes sustainability while preventing and containing urban sprawl. Target 11.4 of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals Agenda 2030 explicitly outlines that “more efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage” are required (United Nations 2015). In order to valorise and regenerate obsolescent structures, intervention is often required. The dissertation provides a comprehensive overview of conservation engineering and demonstrates the importance of an engineer’s role on such projects, in order to understand, interpret, and manage the complexities involved. The project uses Scot’s Church as a primary case study to demonstrate the potential of such redundant historic buildings and sets out to encourage imaginative thinking towards utilising such existing structures. The phenomenon of ‘adaptive reuse’ has been examined throughout the study using Scot’s Church as an exemplar of responsible utilisation of Ireland’s cultural heritage. Through an appraisal of printed publications, fieldwork and desktop surveys of Scot’s Church, and comparison with the adaptive reuse of another historic church within Dublin City Centre, the study assesses the engineering constraints and compromises encountered on such projects and outlines recommendations for overcoming common barriers, and mitigating the typical risks involved.