The concept of Beyond Net Zero and propose Hi-SCOT research can be at the forefront of sustainable urban development, integrating advanced technologies with cultural preservation to address climate challenges. This project aims to raise awareness and explore practical solutions for integrating photovoltaic (PV) technology into historic and listed buildings in Scotland. It focuses on overcoming challenges related to aesthetics, regulations, and public acceptance. Despite Scotland’s strong commitments to sustainability and climate targets, the adoption of renewable technologies such as PV in heritage buildings remains low due to policy restrictions and concerns about visual impact. The initiative will include a pilot installation or supporting visual material, such as a visualisation of PV integration or an image-based poster, demonstrating the aesthetic integration of PV systems on a historic building. This will demonstrate how renewable energy can co-exist with architectural preservation. The selected pilot site will showcase best practices in visual sensitivity, using panel designs that complement the building’s original character. This visualisation material will serve as an effective tool for raising awareness among planners, conservationists, building owners, and users, illustrating that smart energy solutions can be compatible with heritage considerations.
Research will focus on how to mimic traditional materials like slate or terracotta, or apply non-reflective, texture-matching coatings that minimise visual intrusion aiming to produce guidelines and visualization material suitable for Scotland’s architectural context. The project will also engage with community of businesses and academics, clean technology entrepreneurs, local councils, Historic Environment Scotland, and stakeholders to address existing planning and policy barriers. By facilitating discussions around sustainable retrofitting, the project will support policy development that allows for more flexible, site-sensitive approaches to energy upgrades in heritage contexts. Ultimately, this initiative seeks to enhance the impact of existing innovations, increase public and institutional understanding, and provide a roadmap for expanding PV integration in Scotland’s historic built environment. The long-term vision is to align Scotland’s rich heritage with its ambitious climate goals by preserving the past while powering the future, including partnerships between governments, private sectors, and cultural institutions to share best practices, navigating the complexities of climate adaptation while honoring their historical identities.
This project aims to develop and evaluate visually sensitive methods for integrating PV systems into historic and listed buildings in Scotland. The core objectives are to:
- Investigate and demonstrate, through visualisation, how PV technology can be aesthetically and functionally integrated into heritage architecture.
- Investigate PV panel coatings and surface treatments that mimic traditional Scottish materials or serve additional visual purposes such as signage or discreet advertising.
- Identify regulatory barriers, aesthetic conflicts, public resistance, cost-benefit ambiguity, and interdisciplinary challenges, and propose recommendations in collaboration with stakeholders.
- Produce technical and visual guidelines to support future retrofitting projects and inform planning decisions in heritage contexts.