Sustainability
Green buildings don't have to be new
"The greenest building is...one that is already built" as architect Carl Elefante is so often quoted. We simply can not build or consume our way to sustainability. Preservation is about making good use of what we already have--buildings included. This is not to say that historic or older buildings can not be made even more efficient. But rarely is there a need to start from scratch. Since the late 1970s, the National Trust has been trying to help people make the connection between building construction and use and energy consumption. In 2007, we launched our Sustainability Program, guided by four principals: reuse of older and historic buildings, reinvestment in our existing communities, green retrofits of older and historic buildings to conserve energy and respect for our heritage buildings.
To learn more about sustainability and preservation, read speaches, view case studies, and find ways to save both energy and money, visit our Sustainability page.
To download a PDF Tip Sheet on why and how to repair your historic wood windows, click here.
The historic wood windows are a defining feature of the Olson House in Rockland, ME, former home of Christina Olson, subject of Andrew Wyeth's famous painting, "Christina's World."
Credit: Rebecca Williams
Curious about what is happening in your area related to preservation and green practice? A good place to start is by going to the website of your statewide or local preservation organization. For a list of organizations, click here.
For example, in New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance recently published "Green Guidelines" for state and local decision makers on how historic preservation--investing in existing buildings, neighborhoods, downtowns and historic landscapes-- is a key aspect of economic and environmental sustainability. This work was supported in part by a grant from the Richard and Julia Moe Preservation Fund for Statewide and Local Partners of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
