Retrofit vs Modern Construction

Module elements (Genially)

Historic England's mixed audience of heritage professionals, planners, and conservation specialists all work with the same buildings, but rarely with the same vocabulary. "Retrofit" means something different depending on who's in the room; for some it signals modern green technology, for others it simply means adapting what's already there. Before new training and webinars could be built, the foundations had to be laid. This module exists to establish that common ground.

TOOLS

Articulate RISE
Genially

PROJECT DETAILS

Instructional Designer & Developer

BRIEF

Creation of a foundational eLearning module to establish shared terminology and conceptual understanding around traditional construction and retrofit, as the basis for a wider programme of training and webinars.

TIMELINE

Completed in 3 to 4 months

My Response to the Brief

The audience ranged from seasoned conservation specialists to construction professionals whose knowledge of ‘traditional’ materials and techniques was not as in-depth. The immediate problem wasn't a lack of enthusiasm; it was a lack of shared language. "Retrofit" is a word that carries entirely different meanings depending on your background. In the heritage sector it often means sensitive adaptation; in wider industry it tends to signal something new being bolted on. Before anyone could learn how to act, they needed to agree on what things were called.

Beyond terminology, there was a deeper conceptual gap to bridge. Many learners didn't understand how traditionally constructed buildings were originally designed to work, why modern interventions so often cause them to fail, and why simply applying standard "green" retrofit solutions to an old building can do more harm than good.
The strategy was to build understanding from the ground up, rather than assume it.

Establishing a Shared Mental Model: Drawing on schema theory, I structured the module to first explain how traditional buildings functioned as systems, using breathability, moisture management, and thermal mass as the anchoring concepts. Only once learners understood the original logic could they meaningfully evaluate what goes wrong when modern methods are applied without adaptation.

Tackling Terminology Head-On: Rather than glossing over the language problem, I made it explicit. I used chunked, visual comparison blocks to draw clear distinctions between terms, giving learners a precise vocabulary to carry into future training and professional conversations.
The module combined Articulate Rise for structural scaffolding with Genially for deeper interactive exploration.

Visual Comparisons: Side-by-side interactive work-throughs of traditional and modern construction allowed learners to see the practical differences in fabric performance, moisture behaviour, and thermal properties, making abstract concepts tangible.

Decision-Making Scenario: The module utilised a branching scenario in which learners chose appropriate interventions for a given building type. This moved them from passive reading to active application, surfacing assumptions and reinforcing the module's core message: that the right answer depends on what you're actually dealing with.
By the end of the module, learners had the conceptual foundations and shared vocabulary needed to engage meaningfully with subsequent training and webinars.

Shared Language: Learners could distinguish between retrofit, adaptation, and modern green technologies, and understand why the terminology matters.

Conceptual Clarity: Learners could explain how traditionally constructed buildings were designed to work, why they sometimes stop working, and what a sympathetic intervention looks like.

Risk Awareness: Learners could identify the specific risks of applying modern retrofit methods to traditionally constructed buildings, and knew when to seek specialist heritage advice.

Programme Readiness: The module successfully laid the groundwork for the wider training programme, meaning subsequent sessions could build on a consistent foundation rather than starting from scratch each time.