caroline engel purcell
PhD in Architecture &
MSc in Architectural Conservation University of Edinburgh |
Caroline joined Carrig in October 2018 as the Head of Research. She has doctoral-level research experience and knowledge of international policies and national regulations that influence conservation practice in Ireland, Europe and the United States.
Caroline’s doctoral thesis, Modern Movement Conservation: International Principles and National Policies in Great Britain and the United States of America, documented the heritagisation of modernist architecture and the discrepancy between views held on an international, national, regional and local level. The experimental nature of modernist architectural design combined with an increased focus on energy efficiency over the past four decades has meant the survival of controversial modernist architecture has depended largely upon sustainability arguments. Since moving to Ireland, Caroline has become an active member of the ICOMOS Ireland National Scientific Committee on Energy, Sustainability and Climate Change (NSCES+CC). With a small team of committee members, she was awarded a grant from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to research and prepare a compendium of the most current practice guidance and known risks associated with the energy renovation of traditional buildings. The report, Deep Energy Renovation of Traditional Buildings: Addressing Knowledge Gaps and Skills Training in Ireland, is now being developed into a pilot training course set to take place in autumn 2019, for which Caroline on behalf of Carrig is acting as the Lead Researcher and Course Developer. Carrig, along with a specially compiled team of experts, have been appointed via public tender by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to prepare Ireland’s first Climate Change Adaptation Sectoral Plan for Built and Archaeological Heritage, for which Caroline is currently acting as Project Coordinator. Caroline has presented her research at a number of international conferences including the annual Association for Preservation Technology conference in New York, the DOCOMOMO International conference in Seoul, the first international Society of Architectural Historians conference in Glasgow and most recently at the International Energy Agency conference and workshop in Dublin. She has been invited to speak as a guest lecturer at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University in New York and has previously worked as an archival researcher, tutor in architectural history, journal editor and grant writer. She has also worked as a conservation architect and researcher for the National Park Service in the Grand Teton National Park and the Adirondack State Park. |