Institute of Historic Building Conservation

The Institute of Historic Building Conservation is the professional body for building conservation practitioners and managers of the historic environment across the UK and Ireland. Membership — indicated by the post-nominals IHBC for full members and AssocIHBC for associates — is widely recognised as the professional standard for those practising conservation in local government, the private sector, and heritage organisations.

The Institute sets standards for the education and professional development of conservation specialists, accredits training courses, and maintains a directory of conservation professionals. It publishes Context, the leading journal for built environment conservation, along with technical guidance documents, practice notes, and research reports.

IHBC runs an annual School that brings together hundreds of practitioners for professional development and debate, and maintains the Conservation Wiki — an open-access resource providing technical and policy guidance used by practitioners at all levels.

History

The IHBC was established in 1997 as the successor body to the Association of Conservation Officers (ACO), which had been founded in 1978 to represent conservation officers employed by local planning authorities. As the conservation profession diversified — with practitioners increasingly working in the private sector, in national bodies, and in a wider range of roles — the ACO's scope was broadened and the organisation reconstituted as a professional institute open to all qualified conservation specialists.

The Institute has developed increasingly close relationships with other built environment professional bodies, including the Chartered Institute of Building and the Royal Institute of British Architects, reflecting the growing integration of conservation expertise into mainstream built environment practice.