Join RDH at the upcoming National Trust Conference 2026, Canada’s largest heritage learning and networking event. This event draws professionals and planners, non-profit workers, volunteers, craftspeople, industry representatives, heritage site managers, and policymakers. This years theme, Heritage Futures will bring together bold ideas, practical case studies, and solution-focused dialogue to chart a path forward.
Where and When
Location:
Crowne Plaza Kitchener-Waterloo by IHG
105 King St. E
N2G 2K8
Dates:
October 22-24, 2026
RDH Technical Experts
Will Banks
Consultant 2
Erica Barnes | MASc, P.Eng.
Associate Principal, Senior Engineer
Claire Kieri | MPH, WELL AP®
Project Consultant
Amy Montgomery | MASc, P.Eng., CAHP
Associate Principal, Senior Engineer
Where to Find Us
Field Session | Thursday, October 22 | 9:00 – 12:00 PM
Laboratory Perspectives on Heritage Conservation: Masonry Behaviour/Performance and Practical Petrography
Visit the RDH lab for a behind‑the‑scenes look at how building materials are evaluated to inform conservation and retrofit decision‑making. The session will highlight laboratory approaches used to characterize material behaviour and performance, with a focus on properties relevant to moisture response, thermal performance, and durability in masonry assemblies.
The visit will also include a practical hands-on session introducing the world of petrography and what important insights can be gained about common historic building materials when analyzed under the microscope. This session will give participants the opportunity to look at various polished thin sections of historic building materials using transmitted and polarized light microscopy in a benchtop lab setting. Samples will include granite, limestone, sandstone, cast stone, brick, terra cotta, concrete, lime mortar, and lime-cement mortar.
Main Stage Presentation | Friday, October 23 | 1:30 PM
Session 3.1 | Presented by Amy Montgomery, Pedro Giunti, and Will Banks
What’s Next for Toronto’s Strachan House? Updating a Previous Adaptive Reuse Project to Increase Housing Density
The building at Strachan Avenue and Wellington Street West, an 1880s lumber mill later converted into Strachan House supportive housing, is being redeveloped by CreateTO after structural issues forced its closure. The proposal retains part of the heritage facade in situ while adding a 20+ storey tower of affordable and market rental housing. This panel will feature presentations from the owner’s representative and key disciplines involved (architecture, structural engineering, heritage conservation), followed by discussion on density strategies, facade retention decisions, and material salvage opportunities.
Main Stage Presentation | Friday, October 23 | 3:15 PM
Session 4.1 | Presented by Claire Kieri, Erica Barnes, and Tymea Sarkozy
Interior Insulation Retrofits for Heritage Wood Buildings: Balancing Performance, Reversibility, and Risk
This presentation examines insulation retrofit strategies for the High Park Forest School (Toronto, c. 1932), a heritage listed building undergoing phased upgrades while partially occupied. Since heritage and cultural objectives precluded exterior alterations, two interior strategies, dense pack cellulose and stone wool insulation, were evaluated through hygrothermal modeling to balance thermal performance, moisture risk, reversibility, and preservation of historic fabric. Attendees will gain practical insight into how modern analytical tools can inform pragmatic, evidence based retrofit decisions that manage real risk while supporting heritage conservation and climate goals.