This session will delve into the process of preserving a 300-year-old timber frame home in the Northeast. The project involves a high-performance envelope retrofit that meets the standards of preservation while improving energy efficiency and occupant health and safety. Key to meeting these goals is the use of expanded cork insulation, a circular, all-natural product with a history of use before foam insulation.
A recipient of AIA Connecticut's 2025 Elizabeth Mills Brown Excellence Award as well as state tax credits, this project fills an urgent need by serving as an innovative model of net-zero retrofits for existing buildings.
Learning Objectives
- Learn about the proven historical uses of cork in the building industry prior to the introduction of foam insulation.
- Explore the net-zero carbon life cycle of expanded cork insulation, including how it's cultivated, manufactured, installed, and recycled as a circular, deeply sustainable building material.
- Examine in detail successful renovation techniques to improve energy performance and occupant health and safety in a historic building.
- Evaluate the performance advantages of expanded cork and why it's a valuable material for other net-zero construction and sustainable building retrofits.