Responsible Retrofit Knowledge Centre (STBA)
The Responsible Retrofit Knowledge Centre presents information to assist decision making and increase learning about the responsible retrofit of traditional buildings.
It is intended as a free resource to support a movement for responsible retrofit, both at an individual and a national level.
The Knowledge Centre and Guidance Wheel
The Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance (STBA) is a collaboration of not for profit organisations that aims to promote and deliver a more sustainable traditional built environment in the UK.
The Wheel has been developed by the Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance (STBA) following on from their report “The Responsible Retrofit of Traditional Buildings” published in September 2012 and funded by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
The Report identified significant challenges in traditional building retrofit because of the uncertainty of existing data and research, the complexity of interactions, and possible conflicting priorities and values.
The Wheel has been designed to address such issues by clearly identifying different benefits and concerns, by referencing the most relevant and accurate information, and by providing a systemic and holistic approach to retrofit design, application and use.
The Wheel is both an aid to decision making and a way of learning about traditional building retrofit. It is linked to the STBA Knowledge Centre where further information, case studies and retrofit advice is available.
The Wheel is free to use. Copyright of the Wheel is retained by DECC.
The copyright of any document referenced remains with its authors.
Contact: For further information please contact STBA: info@stbauk.org
The Knowledge Centre and Guidance Wheel provide information based on current research that can aid decision making on measures to improve the energy efficiency of traditional buildings.
They have been developed in their particular form to reflect the fact that there is not only uncertainty in much of the research data about traditional building performance and the effects of retrofit, but also complex interactions between measures and conflicting priorities and values. This context is explained in the STBA report The Responsible Retrofit of Traditional Buildings (September 2012, funded by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
The intention and desire of the developers and funders is that the Wheel and Knowledge Centre continue to be developed in response to and through interaction with professional and public participation in traditional building retrofit, an in the learning that accompanies this. In this way the risks accompanying retrofit can be reduced, the positive opportunities increased, and society can benefit from joint endeavour and understanding.
The development of both the Guidance Wheel and Knowledge Centre has been funded to this point by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
