Launching Our New CPD: Raising the Roof

Retrofit, Re-roofing and Conservation in the Age of Integrated Solar

We are delighted to announce the launch of a new CPD developed for architects, technologists, conservation specialists and construction professionals: Raising the Roof – Retrofit, Re-roofing and Conservation in the Age of Integrated Solar.

The idea behind the CPD began with a simple observation.

I still remember getting my first smartphone. Not because I was particularly interested in the technology at the time, but because of what suddenly disappeared from my life. Almost overnight, I stopped carrying a camera. My MP3 player became redundant. I no longer needed a sat-nav in the car. The calculator, diary, address book, torch and even my CD collection gradually vanished.

None of these things had been invented by the smartphone. They already existed.

What changed was that somebody finally brought them together into one coherent object that fitted in my pocket.

Looking back, that’s what fascinated me most. The smartphone wasn’t really a story about technology at all. It was a story about integration.

Once multiple devices became one, nobody wanted to go back.

Of course, there will always be enthusiasts who cherish vinyl records, mechanical watches or film cameras. There is a place for specialist analogue experiences. But for most of us, the idea of carrying a separate camera, MP3 player, sat-nav, calculator and mobile phone now feels faintly absurd.

Integration won because it was simpler, more elegant and ultimately more useful.

Architecture Evolves in the Same Way

Over time, I’ve realised that architecture tends to evolve in exactly the same way.
The best buildings are rarely collections of disconnected systems. Good architecture integrates. We coordinate structure, materials, insulation, drainage, services and performance into a coherent whole because that is what mature design looks like.

We don’t celebrate fragmentation. We work hard to resolve it.

Which is why I’ve always found our relationship with roofs so interesting.

Despite all the advances in technology and construction, the roof often remains one of the last places where we still accept a fragmented approach. We build the roof and then we add the technology. The architecture comes first and the energy generation arrives later.

In many cases, solar is still treated as something that sits on a building rather than something that becomes part of it.
This isn’t a criticism of solar. Quite the opposite. Conventional solar has played a vital role in accelerating the transition to renewable energy and reducing operational carbon.

But if integration has transformed almost every other aspect of modern life, why should roofs be any different?

Raising the Roof

That question became one of the starting points for our new CPD.

The title Raising the Roof works on several levels.

Most people know the phrase as a celebration. It suggests energy, optimism and momentum. Usually accompanied by loud music and somebody dancing with considerably more enthusiasm than rhythm.

But architecturally, it also captures three important shifts taking place across our industry.

Firstly, it is about celebrating the roof itself.

For decades architects have referred to the roof as the fifth façade, yet in practice it has often been treated as a largely technical element. Important, certainly, but rarely central to the architectural conversation.

Today that is changing.

In dense urban environments roofs are increasingly visible from neighbouring buildings, upper floors, aerial photography and drone imagery. The roofscape has become part of the public realm. It deserves the same design attention we routinely give to every other elevation.

Secondly, it is about raising aesthetic standards.

As architects we spend our careers resolving complexity. We coordinate systems. We refine details. We seek coherence.
The question is no longer whether renewable technology should be incorporated into buildings.

The question is how sensitively it can be integrated. Can environmental performance become part of the architecture itself rather than an addition to it? Can sustainability enhance the roofscape rather than compete with it? And finally, it is about raising the capability of the roof itself.

Historically roofs protected buildings from the climate. Increasingly, they are expected to respond to it as well.

The roof is becoming architecture, infrastructure and energy generation combined into a single coherent system.

Why This Matters Now

This conversation has never been more relevant.

Most of the buildings that will exist in 2050 have already been built. If we are serious about reducing carbon emissions, retrofit must become central to architectural practice.

The challenge is no longer simply how we design sustainable new buildings. The challenge is how we adapt, improve and extend the life of the buildings we already have. Viewed through that lens, reroofing becomes something far more interesting than a maintenance exercise. If a roof is already reaching the end of its lifespan, if scaffolding is already being erected and if replacement is already planned, should energy generation become part of that intervention?

Increasingly, the answer seems obvious.

The question is not whether we should integrate renewable technology. The question is how elegantly we can do it.
Paul Iddon RIBA

Join the Launch CPD

Our new CPD explores the changing role of the roof in architecture and examines how retrofit, conservation, sustainability, planning policy and integrated solar technology are reshaping the built environment.
The session is designed for:

• Architects
• Architectural Technologists
• Conservation Specialists
• Heritage Consultants
• Sustainability Professionals
• Estates Teams
• Local Authorities

Attendees will gain practical insight into retrofit-first thinking, heritage-sensitive reroofing, planning considerations, integrated solar technologies and the future role of the roof in architectural design.

Dates Coming Soon

Raising the Roof is officially launched, and session dates will be announced shortly, keep an eye on this page and our LinkedIn for the first available slots.

In the meantime, our first CPD series, There’s Always The Sun, is open for booking now, with sessions running through summer 2026. It’s a great grounding in solar roof specification ahead of Raising the Roof’s deeper dive into retrofit and conservation.

→ Book your place on There’s Always The Sun

Dates for Raising the Roof (CPD 2) will be announced soon.