Looking back to go forward- the philosophy of the conservation engineer

摘要

It may seem counterintuitive to advocate engineers turning to the past for inspiration, rather than concentrating on opportunities in future technologies - especially in these difficult economic times. However, Ivor AAcElveen argues that the protection and conservation of our built heritage is commercially, as well as culturally, vital. In this article, he makes the economic case for conservation and discusses the philosophy and discipline of the conservation engineer, who he believes has been much neglected within the engineering profession in IrelandrnOur built heritage is unique, and not just to us, but also to the visitors to our shores, some of whom comprise our 80m strong diaspora. It is rapidly becoming one of our major tourism revenue earners. Tourism contributed €6.3bn to the Irish economy in 2008, being 4 per cent of GNP. Some 3.4m tourists visited historical and cultural attractions and a quite staggering 76 per cent visited heritage houses and castles, with 60 per cent of all tourists visiting our national monuments.