Conservation
Explore Conservation
Repair what can be repaired.
Retain what can be retained.
Historic buildings accumulate evidence of their construction, alteration, use and weathering. Conservation requires an understanding of that evidence before intervention begins.
Spire's approach is informed by the principles of the SPAB Manifesto and the Australia ICOMOS Burra Charter: careful investigation, respect for significance, retention of original fabric, compatible repair and intervention only to the degree necessary.
We do not approach an old building with the assumption that everything imperfect needs to be made new. Age is not itself a defect.
For many buildings, the most effective conservation work is modest and regular: clearing gutters, attending to localised failures, monitoring known defects and repairing small areas before deterioration becomes a major campaign.
Specialist access can make this kind of planned maintenance practical on towers, spires, façades and roofs where conventional access would otherwise make minor work disproportionately expensive.
Building Fabric
Our conservation work includes:
STONE & BRICK MASONRY
LIME MORTAR POINTING & REPAIRS
LOCALISED STONE INDENT REPAIRS
MASONRY STABILISATION
CONCRETE REPAIR
SLATE & TERRACOTTA ROOFS
HISTORIC METALWORK & FLAGPOLES
LIGHTNING PROTECTION SYSTEMS
WEATHERPROOFING & MAINTENANCE
CONTROLLED HAZARD REDUCTION
Working within the conservation team
Significant buildings rarely belong to a single discipline.
Spire regularly works alongside heritage architects, structural engineers, conservators, stonemasons and other specialist practitioners.
Our role is clearly defined: to contribute specialist access, investigation, practical conservation experience and execution of works within the broader conservation framework established for the project.
That distinction matters.
Good conservation depends as much upon recognising the limits of one's role as it does upon technical capability.