My journey to SAHC
My Journey to SAHC
I am currently writing this blog post for the SAHC programme in the beautiful historic town of Guimaraes. I still have to remind myself of this fact regularly, as it has been a whirlwind couple of months completing my degree at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) and moving from the UK to Portugal.
My desire to enrol in SAHC has roots in several places. Firstly, when I was undertaking my industrial placement in London, a colleague of mine spoke to me in depth about the Society for Protecting Ancient Buildings (SPAB) and their scholarship programme. The thought of travelling up and down the UK working on historic buildings really interested me, and it was not an area of engineering I had been exposed to during my academic studies. From these conversations with my colleague and further research, I began to understand the importance of our historical structures not only from a cultural perspective but also for the potential savings in embodied carbon achievable through preservation and the use of old buildings.
When I found SAHC, I was so excited. Having the opportunity to undertake a qualification that will be a step towards becoming an expert (with many years of additional experience) in protecting culture and heritage excites me greatly. I want to make a positive difference in my career, and I believe the best way to do this is by protecting our built cultural heritage and using less embodied carbon.
The first month or so has certainly not disappointed. We have covered so much content already, and all of it has been very interesting and unlike anything I covered at QUB. I think the most significant change has been the appreciation of buildings as living beings, which consequently creates a need to diagnose and repair them without losing their intrinsic value.
I think in my previous studies, solutions were black and white, with little uncertainty, which is the opposite of what we learn in SAHC. I love that we have the opportunity to develop the skills to analyse gothic arches by hand in the same way ancient builders would have done (although I imagine they would have been grateful to have AutoCAD to help them).
I have had the opportunity to work practically with materials I haven’t used before. For instance, we have spent time mixing lime mortars and laying brickwork samples. We have spent time identifying defects on a church in the town centre and practically applying the work we do in class. I have also had the privilege of meeting many other like-minded and talented colleagues who have enrolled in the course with me. Our current cohort includes individuals from all over the globe, and part of the joy of SAHC is sharing ideas and approaches from our different countries to appreciate conservation worldwide.
I cannot recommend SAHC highly enough to anyone thinking of applying, and I am so excited for this adventure to continue!
SEE ALSO: What is like to be a SAHC student?
