Speakers

Fiona Sinclair - Conservation Accredited Architect

Fiona Sinclair is a Fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, a conservation-accredited architect at Advanced level, and sometime author and historian. She has twice been elected President of the Glasgow Institute of Architects and has been a member of the Historic Buildings Council for Scotland. She is the author of Scotstyle – 150 Years of Scottish Architecture; co-editor of its successor publication Scotstyle 2016; co-author of the RIAS Architectural Guide to North Clyde Estuary, and the Penguin Buildings of Scotland volumes Argyll and Bute and Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire. Fiona serves on the Kilallan Kirk Preservation Trust, is a Trustee of the Scottish Civic Trust, and a Director of the Formakin Estate Garden Company. She has worked on the care and repair of a range of historic buildings, is passionate about traditional building materials and the teaching of craft skills, frequently collaborates with design-led architectural practices who do not have conservation accreditation in-house, and is currently External Examiner for Historic Environment Scotland’s MSc in Technical Building Conservation.

David Lindsay AssocRICS - Owner, Stoneworks Surveyors

David Lindsay began his career in the 1980’s as a time served architectural stone carver. In 1990 he formed Stoneworks and setup a workshop employing a small team supplying dressed and carved stone. In later years, the role undertaken by the firm would change to main contractor on many historic building restoration projects.

By 2014, in need of a change of direction, David accepted a position as traditional buildings inspector with Stirling City Heritage Trust. During 8 years with the trust, he continued to develop his understanding of traditional building construction and in 2019 the RICS accepted him as an Associate Member (AssocRICS).

Since leaving SCHT he has re-focussed his business solely on building surveying with the use of drones a vital part of that service. As a drone pilot he is qualified to General VLOS Certificate (GVC) standard and benefits from hundreds of hours recorded flight time using drones to inspect domestic, commercial, and public buildings.

Dr Lindsay Lennie - Trust Manager, Stirling City Heritage Trust

Dr Lindsay Lennie has an undergraduate degree in Geography from the University of Durham and then worked for many years in the public sector as a Chartered Surveyor in both England and Scotland. She completed the RICS Post-graduate Diploma in Building Conservation in 2001 and was then awarded a PhD in Building Conservation at Heriot-Watt University in 2006 for her thesis, ‘The Conservation of Historic Shopfronts in Perth and Perthshire’. Lindsay worked at Historic Scotland as a Research Fellow from 2006-2009 and the book, ‘Scotland’s Shops’ was published from this research. In 2010, she set up her own consultancy business. Historic Shop Conservation, and worked with communities and projects across Scotland supporting them to conserve their traditional shopfronts. In 2020, Lindsay became Trust Manager at Stirling City Heritage Trust having previously been a consultant with the Trust, including working on the King Street Funding Initiative. She also has an interest in historic tiles and has published articles about Scottish tile firm, James Duncan Ltd.

Vivien Thomson - Assistant Project Manager, former Heritage Project Officer, Renfrewshire Council

Vivien is an Architect and started her career over 30 years ago with a conservation practice in Cullen. She has worked as an Architect for many years with Renfrewshire Council’s Property Services on a wide variety of architectural projects including new builds and refurbishment projects, in housing, social work, education and leisure services.

In 2016, she moved to the Regeneration Team to be Heritage Project Officer with Paisley TH.CARS2, the second Townscape Heritage and Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme in Paisley Town Centre funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic Environment Scotland alongside Council funds. Vivien worked on TH.CARS2 for the duration of the project which completed earlier this year. 

Chris Stewart PPRIAS - Sustainability Accredited Architect, Founder, Collective Architecture

Chris Stewart is the Immediate Past President of the RIAS and together with his colleagues founded employee-owned Collective Architecture. He is a former Chair and Director of The Scottish Ecological Design Association, former Convenor of the Glasgow Institute of Architects Sustainability Committee and helped establish the RIAS Sustainability Working Group of which he chaired for its first three years.

Carl Baker - Architect, Collective Architecture

Carl is an Architect, Passivhaus Designer, and employee elected trustee at Collective Architecture. He is currently working on the energy-led retrofit of several 1960s towerblocks and has helped to develop Collective’s approach to retrofit which puts people at the heart of the process.

Dara Parsons - Head of Designations, Historic Environment Scotland

Dara Parsons is Head of Designations at Historic Environment Scotland, responsible for Listing, Scheduling, Inventories and Marine Designations. He has worked in HES since 2004, providing advice on heritage management in the planning system, and on heritage legislation, policy and practice.