On Monday, 18th November 2024 we hosted an online event with  UCL CAVE , following on our meeting on the Resilience of the Cultural Sector to Climate Change (GLA, Buro Happold, Arts Council England). 

Here are the main notes from the event and you can also catch up on recordings from the session.

Initial call to action to participants in the meeting:

• Do actions plans for climate adaption already exist within the external organisations present and can they be shared with us?
• What do those in attendance already know on this topic and what do they feel they still need to know?
• Would people consider joining a task and finish group to help CVAN and UCL CAVE move forward with this?

Presentation summaries:

Buro Happold shared an overview from their recent report into Resilience of London’s Cultural Sector to Climate Change. This included: 

• London has approximately 4,000 diverse cultural venues, including single glazing Victoria halls, warehouses, 1970s uninsulated brick extensions as well as new builds, that vary significantly in their Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings.
• There is a willingness from the community to adapt buildings but people requested additional advice and guidance and stable funding to enable them to do this.
• In addition to physical changes such as changing lightbulbs to LEDs there is a need for behavioural changes to ensure cost isn’t the primary driver behind these changes.

Full recap here

The Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering (CEGE) at UCL shared information about their work during the covid-19 pandemic in transport and for the Government’s Events Research Programme, the new Controlled Active Ventilation Environment (CAVE) laboratory and the work of the Disaster Engineering for Resilient Societies Laboratory (DE│RISC). 

• Covid-19 pandemic; this included a bus driver study that produced risk assessments and recommendations for how to protect the bus driver and passengers and further work to understand the comfort, energy, and sustainability elements that resulted from Covid adaptations.
• Controlled Active Ventilation Environment (CAVE) has been created to study the impacts of temperature, pollution and ventilation on people as numerical models can be validated. The lab produces real time data that can with global applications. 
• The Disaster Engineering for Resilient Societies Laboratory (DE|RISC Lab) at UCL delivers engineering-oriented research, education, and knowledge exchange to support people-centred decision-making for a safer, more resilient, and equitable future against the uncertain physical and social impacts of multiple natural hazards. It works at the intersection of civil engineering and other disciplines (natural-hazard science and social science) to facilitate multi-hazard risk- and resilience-informed decision-making for a better tomorrow’s world.

Challenges raised to be considered to support action planning for climate adaptation:

• There are current stringent guidelines for temperature, humidity and lighting that collections must adhere to in order to be shown or moved. These conditions limit the ability of national museums to loan out works to regional institutions due to compliance and reduces how may people can enjoy the work. 

How research at UCL can support action planning for climate adaptions:

• Research into more flexible, nuanced approaches to environmental guidelines for art conservation could address these challenges. UCL can model and test the impact of variations to standards impacts people and art and thereby create the data that the network needs to help make informed policy recommendations. 
• Suggestions include tailoring conditions within spaces, such as storing heat-sensitive items closer to the ground where temperatures are cooler.
• Developing realistic approaches to balancing conservation needs with environmental impact and building capabilities
• The development of more adaptable frameworks is an ongoing challenge requiring cross-disciplinary collaboration.
• Research into technical ventilation solutions: To understand how to heat and cool large spaces effectively and sustainably – large spaces have unique challenges and opportunities that need careful design. 
• Mainstream heritage in forward-looking, people-centred disaster risk management frameworks, climate adaptation strategies, and response protocols.
• Design risk tools and methodologies that can be used by multiple end users (academics, international heritage managers, etc.).
• Use an interdisciplinary approach to cross boundaries between different sectors, approaches, and expertise, and break down silos between quantitative and qualitative methods in both research and practice.
• Open access/source tools and datasets are essential to support these multi-scale efforts.