Assoc. Prof. Susan Ross delivers professional development session to Diamond Schmitt Architects
November 15, 2021
Associate Professor Susan Ross gave a presentation on modern heritage and sustainability to a group of design professionals at Diamond Schmitt Architects last month.
About 40 people joined the Zoom presentation, titled Scaling up the Retention of Material Values of Modern Heritage, on October 28.
Ross argues that the conservation of modern heritage could play a more significant role than it has to date in environmental sustainability. However, modern buildings and materials, and their associated values, represent specific challenges to plan for salvage and reuse.
She spoke in-depth about the transformative contexts of demolition, deconstruction, salvage, reuse, and adaptation. Through theory, technical analysis, and examples she explored opportunities to reinvent the discards of modern heritage in design, to scale up the retention of material values.
The event was part of an internal professional development program at Diamond Schmitt Architects, with offices in Toronto, Calgary, New York, and Vancouver. The session was eligible for credits with the Ontario Association of Architects and the Architectural Institute of British Columbia.
About Susan Ross
Associate Professor Susan Ross holds a cross-appointment to the Azrieli School of Architecture & Urbanism and the School of Indigenous and Canadian Studies, one of the Azrieli School’s partners in delivering the Graduate Diploma in Architectural Conservation.
She specializes in the sustainable conservation of the historic urban landscape, buildings, and materials. Ross is licensed with the Ordre des architectes du Québec (OAQ) and has worked as a registered architect in the private sector. Before joining Carleton University, she was a senior conservation architect in the federal government.
Her current research looks at the intersections of heritage, values and waste.