Lloyd Alter Becomes President of the ACO
June 6, 2009
It is a real honour to be asked to serve as President of the ACO. My particular interests and ambitions for the year are to get the message out:
Heritage is Sustainable.
Heritage buildings are actually more energy efficient than new ones, (not even including the embodied energy from their construction) and our cultural landscapes and small towns are the future of sustainable living. They were designed before the age of oil, and still work well after it is gone.
Heritage is Stimulus.
New construction is roughly 50% labour and 50% materials; renovation and reconstruction is more like 75% labour. Furthermore, the labour requires skills that can be taught to young people and in retraining programs; It creates good jobs that cannot be offshored.
Heritage is Hip.
We have to bring a new generation into the ACO, and convince them that heritage buildings are not just museum pieces, but places to live and work, invent and explore. As Jane Jacobs said, “New ideas need old buildings.”
Type of News Item: News; Announcements
