Buildings 2.0
In this episode of Buildings 2.0, Jose speaks with Charu Chaudhry, Associate Principal at Thornton Tomasetti, to explore the fascinating world of historical building preservation. Charu shares her journey from working on 10th century Buddhist monasteries in India to tackling 18th century rowhouses.
Charu offers her insights into balancing historical preservation with modern needs, leveraging technology like scanning for accurate data collection, and redefining sustainability through durability and long-term building performance. Charu’s expert perspective provides a fresh perspective on how to honor the past while embracing the future in building design.
Topics discussed:
- How to maintain the integrity of historical buildings while incorporating contemporary requirements and innovations.
- Redefining sustainability by focusing on the long-term performance and durability of building materials and structures.
- Using analytics and a deep understanding of materials to enhance the performance and longevity of historical buildings.
- Discussing specific projects, such as 18th-century rowhouses, and the unique challenges and solutions involved.
- Conducting hydrothermal studies to understand the performance of building envelopes and improve their preservation.
- Methods to analyze stress concentrations in historical buildings and how this informs preservation strategies.
- The importance of working with various organizations and stakeholders to achieve successful preservation outcomes.
Guest Quotes:
#1.)
“So I'd say I'm an architect and architectural conservator. And that kind of sums me up in many ways on how I approach, how I feel excited about built environment in general. I'm very much an architecture geek, but I'm like a science nerd. I'm looking at building materials at a very microscopic level when I’m looking at buildings.” (3:27-3:52)
#2.)
“So those are the kind of issues that are very exciting for me because I love challenges. So looking at these archaic assemblies and seeing you know, how can I intervene? What can I possibly do to juxtapose these new elements that I want to put and enhance?” (11:28-11:47)
#3.)
“So I think creating, thinking creatively in how to inject those new materials into the assembly without disrupting too much of the surface of the assembly is how we think about. Older buildings don't give us a lot of redundancy in their systems. They're very honest, they're very open; so there is not too many layers to it, which is what I like, that honesty of expression.” (12:42-13:18)
#4.)
“These pursuits are meaningful in a way, because now I walk by that building. It's a school occupied by the school construction authority. I see little kids walking in and out of the building, and I look at it and I said, these little souls have no idea this building was falling apart, but I was there. So these are some of the, you know, meaningful aspects of my life.” (16:23-16:51)
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