Debate - Should it be allowed to make listed buildings improve their energy performance at the expense of compromising the historic character?    Listed buildings being of special architectural or historic interest are protected to preserve the best of our heritage. But, these buildings are constructed using older techniques and are not energy efficient. Should it be allowed to make listed buildings improve their energy performance even if that means compromise needs to be made on the historic character? Or should we keep away from making any changes to the buildings and focus our efforts on efficiency in the new builds and offices?

Debate - Monorail vs Metro    Building a new mass rapid transit system in an established city is always difficult as it requires lot of existing buildings and trees to be demolished. While, monorails need minimal space, is usually less expensive to build, the tracks cannot be used for any other train service and also difficult to evacuate in an emergency as it is on an elevated track. Should a city use monorail instead of the metro? Given that hundreds of cities have implemented these systems, participants can cite advantages and disadvantages of both the systems with real life examples.

Debate - Who built the America's Stonehenge, Native American Culture or a migrant European population?    This maze of man-made chambers, walls and ceremonial meeting places in Salem, New Hampshire is believed to the oldest man made building in the United States. It is widely known as America's Stonehenge. Was it built by Native Americans or early Europeans? If it is the latter, Europeans have been to North America thousands of years before Christopher Columbus did. If the former built it, it is very different from other settlements they built, and also have a very in depth understanding of astronomy.

Debate - Is increased government spending the only way out of recession?    When the economy goes into recession, thousands of people lose their jobs and also corporate profits decline. This reduces both the income tax and corporation tax flow to the government. Because of high unemployment, there is increased use of government programs such as social security benefits. In this given situation, is it prudent for governments to increase their spending causing the deficit to spiral, thereby affecting the sovereign debt rating, and in turn causing further damage to the economy? Should not monetary policy actions such as quantitative easing, increased business lending, and reducing the interest rates be enough to stimulate the economy? Or is increased government spending the only way out of a recession?

Debate - Should modern buildings be allowed to be built near buildings of historical architectural heritage?    With the ever increasing population and need for more and more office space, we are building into the sky with modern skyscrapers being built all over the world. To preserve the architectural heritage of some of our existing buildings, should we stop building modern skyscrapers near historical monuments and buildings? Or will this create an artificial shortage of houses and office spaces and push the prices out of affordability? Is it an viable option to construct all new building only in sub-urban areas and build sustainable communities around them? Many of the city office workers commute from sub-urban areas already.

External Feed - Conservation of Building and Decorative Stone