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Type
Conference

CARE conference 2025

Event organised by ICE

Date
20 March 2025
Time
09:00 - 22:00 GMT
Location
Macdonald Bath Spa Hotel
Sydney Road
Bath, BA2 6NS
United Kingdom
Add to Calendar 20-03-2025 09:00 20-03-2025 22:00 false Europe/London CARE conference 2025 https://www.ice.org.uk/events/latest-events/care-conference-2025/ Macdonald Bath Spa Hotel, Bath

Hybrid

Register to attend online or in person.

From £50.00

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Overview

The CARE conference 2025 will be a day full of specialist talks from those working in the conservation engineering field. Including a keynote speech from Professor Jamie Standing. It will be a fantastic opportunity for you to gain the latest updates and insights in the field, as well as to network with other industry professionals.

The conference will conclude with a dinner that will allow for further discussion and networking.

For those attending in person, we will be offering a range of site visits on 19 and 21 March, including a visit to Bath Abbey to view the recently completed Footprint project.

We actively encourage CARE members or those interested in the conservation field to attend. 

Prices

In person attendance

This rate includes access to the conference, a two-course hot and cold buffet lunch in the hotel’s restaurant, a three-course dinner with welcome drink on the evening of 20 March and the site visits.

Ticket Price
Member of ICE, IStructE or CARE registered £150
Non-members £183.33

Please note: For those attending in person we have secured a preferred room rate of £170 per night inclusive of breakfast. Bookings for rooms need to be made directly with the hotel by calling 03448799000 and quoting INST200325.

Online attendance
Ticket Price
Member of ICE, IStructE or CARE registered £50
Non-members £62.50

Venue

Macdonald Bath Spa Hotel 
Sydney Road
Bath
BA2 6NS 
United Kingdom

Presentations

Climate change hazards and adaptation

- By Joanne Williams

“Chaos theory proves that unpredictability is built into our daily lives. It as a mundane as the rainstorm we cannot predict.” Ian Malcolm, Jurassic Park.

Our changing climate is creating new challenges for those of us in the built environment. With its extreme weather events and a shortage of materials, it will require us to think differently, accept change and learn to adapt.

This talk will seek to highlight the issues we are going to face and the challenge this will have on conservation.

Assembly rooms project

- By Jim Percival and Dr Chris Gross

The National Trust recently took back the running of the Grade I listed Bath Assembly Rooms from BANES council who were long term lease holders.

In this talk, Jim will explore the reasons why the National Trust has taken back control of the building and their plans for it. Chris will then discuss the structural engineering challenges associated with the proposed plans and the solutions that have been developed to allow this fantastic building to be fully opened to the public once more.

The work is currently on site and there is a chance to visit on Friday 21 March.

A new connection to the past: Clore Learning Centre, Roman Baths

- By Margaret Cooke and Kim Rochard

This talk looks at the conversion of a series of listed industrial buildings into a new, award-winning, visitor centre for the world heritage city of Bath with education spaces to support the Roman Baths.

A new storey was added to the existing masonry building to provide a circulation core, service spaces and a new rooftop meeting space. The building is linked to the Roman Baths complex via the York Street undercroft which has previously unseen Roman remains. This new access required alterations to the existing fabric and archaeological investigation.

Margaret and Kim will talk about the challenges of this archaeologically sensitive, city centre site including working with the archaeology, using previous loads to justify new foundation loads and progressive collapse design in listed buildings.

There is an opportunity to visit on Friday 21 March.

Bath Abbey: Footprint project

- By Henry Pinder

Seven years in the planning and three years on site, Bath Abbey’s £20m “Footprint” project started with an ambition to remove the pews and install some loos, and ended up achieving much, much more.

The scope included: replacing the entire floor within the abbey, which was collapsing due to some 6000 burials beneath. Transforming the Georgian vaults outside the abbey to create a welcoming new Learning Centre below ground. Creating a new subterranean ‘Discovery Centre” beneath a 1920’s cloister. Carving out space for a choir school within adjacent the Georgian terrace. Installing a low-carbon heating system which draws its warmth from waste hot spring waters flowing past the site in the Roman Great Drain.

Project engineer Henry Pinder, of Mann Williams, will be giving a talk about the engineering challenges of the project on the Thursday, followed by guided tours to see the results for yourself on the Friday.

Clandon Park, National Trust Project

- By Jackie Heath

After a catastrophic fire in 2015 left only masonry walls standing, the National Trust decided to take the opportunity that Clandon now presented to explore how great houses were made. The project combines meticulous conservation of the precious remaining historic fabric with a new roof and walkways to create public access to the stunning views across Surrey.

Jackie will give an overview of the scheme, before explaining the methods of assessment of the masonry walls and the analysis of movement and defects in the structure. Based on investigation of the evidence revealed, it has been possible to justify less intervention than originally anticipated.

The historical underpinning of Winchester Cathedral: heroic or horrific?

- By Jamie Standing

Speakers

Jamie Standing

Jamie Standing

Imperial College London

professor of ground engineering

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Jamie Standing

Jamie Standing is professor of ground engineering at Imperial College London.

Professor Standing teaches Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering at MEng and MSc level. He is an active researcher who has supervised a large number of MSc and PhD projects and has published numerous papers mostly relating to ground and structural response to tunnelling and full-scale field monitoring, but his interests and papers also cover many other elements of geotechnical engineering such as field instrumentation, piling and ground strengthening, soil characterisation, unsaturated soils and engineering geology.

He has held a number of posts within learned societies and other academic institutions, including member of the executive committees of the British Geotechnical Association (2003-06, 2013-16) and British Tunnelling Society (2014-17); Geotechnique Advisory Panel (2006-2008); visiting professor at the Beijing University of Technology (2008-2011); editorial panel member and assistant scientific editor of the Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology (2013-2018).

He is currently a member of three technical committees of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (TC204 – underground construction in soft ground; TC220 – field monitoring in geomechanics and TC301 – geotechnical engineering of historic sites). 

Margaret Cooke

Margaret Cooke

Integral Engineering Design

director

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Margaret Cooke

Senior consultant and founder, Integral Engineering Design. Margaret is a conservation accredited engineer and a former director of Integral. She continues to work with the practice on projects and is cathedral engineer for Wells. She also teaches at the University of Bath, is a trustee for Clifton Suspension Bridge and Bath Theatre Royal and was the 2021 Milne Medal winner.  

Dr Chris Gross

Dr Chris Gross

Integral Engineering Design

director

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Dr Chris Gross

Director, Integral Engineering Design. Chris is a Conservation Accredited Engineer and leads Integral in the conservation and historic building sector. He has worked on numerous notable historic buildings including The Bath Assembly Rooms, Dyrham Park, Boston Manor and The Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways. 

Jackie Heath

Jackie Heath

Ramboll

director of historic structures

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Jackie Heath

Jackie is a Conservation Accredited Engineer and director of historic structures at Ramboll. She has worked within the historic environment since 1997, combining good conservation practice and major structural refurbishments of significant buildings and infrastructure including Chiswick House & Garden Restoration, Hastings Pier, the Iron Bridge in Shropshire, Westminster Hall at the Palace of Westminster, Horse Guards Parade, The Palm House at Kew Gardens and Clandon Park, near Guildford for the National Trust. 

Jim Percival

Jim Percival

National Trust

Senior Building Surveyor

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Jim Percival

Jim Percival Is a senior building surveyor for the National Trust working on the Bath Assembly Rooms Capital Works Project. Coming from a commercial surveying background, Jim joined the National Trust in 2019. In his role in the Trust, Jim has worked on the conservation, repair, protection and development of numerous historic properties and scheduled monuments including Lacock Abbey, Avebury Manor, Dunster Castle, Tyntesfield House and Clevedon Court. 

Kim Rochard

Kim Rochard

Conservation Accredited Engineer

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Kim Rochard

Kim Rochard is a Conservation Accredited Engineer with 17 years’ experience of working with historic buildings. After graduating from Bath University, Kim worked on a range of high-profile conservation projects with Integral Engineering Design before joining Historic England in 2020. Kim now leads the structural engineering team providing consulting engineering services to English Heritage and specialist advice and guidance to the regional delivery teams.