ORGANISERS of the Green Home Festival have urged religious and community groups to attend their upcoming show next Friday, 18 August.
The event is designed to illustrate how Scotland’s abandoned churches can be transformed into energy efficient social housing that benefits whole communities.
In the show, architects Eamon McGarrigle and Jess Davidson will reveal details of the first social housing built to such standards in Glasgow and share their experience in developing retrofit plans for the conversion of existing buildings in sustainable, eco-friendly homes.
Organisers say that the event is the ideal opportunity for religious bodies to see how Scotland’s classic buildings can be saved for future generations – and the potential of transforming them into low-carbon homes that also benefit the environment.
The show will be followed by a presentation by James Anthony of Eco Congregation Scotland, who’ll outline the many issues found in church buildings while seeking to reduce carbon and give an overview of the body’s own ‘greening’ strategy for such structures.
The second Green Home Festival is organised by the Construction Industry Collective Voice (CICV) and will start on Monday 14 August, delivering 11 free shows on low-carbon living as part of the official Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Topics will include: how to reduce energy bills, preparing for heat pumps, community heating networks, creating sustainable kitchens, green garden rooms and offices, making retrofit projects eco-friendly and how the home of the future will be powered.
David Logue, Green Home Festival co-organiser, said: “Scotland has a large number of churches and other religious buildings that face a wide range of challenges due to their ageing infrastructure and exposure to the elements.
“Converting such buildings into energy-efficient social housing is already gaining traction and the upcoming Green Home Festival will give examples of how such ideas have already become reality.”
The festival – made up of 28 trade associations – is the latest in a string of practical and constructive initiatives launched by the CICV since its creation at the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
