Historic Preservation Association of Coral Gables Celebrates National Preservation Month On Tuesday May 24th With Event From 4 To 6PM

Karelia Martinez Carbonell

Martinez Carbonell is the president of the Historic Preservation Association of Coral Gables

The organization will be hosting an educational panel titled, “Preserving our Patrimony. Preserving our Planet” by welcoming National Trust for Historic Preservation spokesperson James Lindberg and Perkins + Will Regional Director Jose Gelabert-Navia.

**James B. Lindberg** is Senior Policy Director at the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He has more than 30 years of experience in preservation, planning, and sustainable development, including five years as director of the National Trust’s Preservation Green Lab. He has led nationally recognized preservation and sustainable development projects, including the adaptive use of a former dude ranch in Rocky Mountain National Park and the green rehabilitation of a historic school in Denver. Jim earned his BA in the Growth and Structure of Cities from Haverford College and his MS in Historic Preservation from the University of Vermont. He is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Colorado Denver College of Architecture and Planning.

This is a unique opportunity to hear from leaders in the field of preservation and sustainable development.

The venue is the 1934 landmarked building Sancturary of the Arts beautifully adapted from the former First Church of Christ Scientist right across City Hall.

A pre-talk reception will allow guests to meet and greet the speakers. Free admission with reservation. Goody bags. To reserve a spot, please email [email protected].

“Demolishing is a waste of energy, a waste of material, and a waste of history” [2021 Pritzker Prize Winners]

“Their thesis, as I recall, was focused on embodied carbon in the built environment, and building reuse as a resultant necessity. Of course, there is historical value to many buildings. But historic significance or not, all buildings (esp. modern ones) have tremendous impacts to create and erect. And when we take them down, far more goes to waste than the materials themselves, in ways most people don’t even consider.” [Greg Hamra, member Coral Gables Sustainability Advisory Board]

An excerpt from the National Trust for Historic Preservation puts in context how new construction adversely affects our planet:

“Arguments that promote a practice of disposable real estate are unsustainable at best and at worst environmentally catastrophic. [There is…] embodied carbon within existing structures, [and] the fact that it can take up to 80 years to offset the carbon debt that is incurred when an existing structure is replaced, even if the new building is highly energy efficient. New buildings…will likely never offset the carbon cost of their construction. We don’t have time to simply build our way to a sustainable future.”