Context 156 - September 2018

50 C O N T E X T 1 5 6 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8 acting as conservation architects to Bennetts Associates. So in five years time I hope to be enjoying a performance in the new events space and revelling in the achievement of bringing this great building, ravaged by successive layers of NHS alterations and neglect, back to a vibrant new life for the university and city of Edinburgh What is your favourite building? My own house – a ramble through history starting with a 17th century thatched planter’s house, extended and altered over four centuries to an eccentric family home of great character. If that’s cheating, then Queen’s University, Belfast, partly because I have worked on its care, maintenance and restoration for over 25 years but mostly because its mellowTudor gothic design still sets the character and tone of the university as a place of quality and refinement. Your favourite place? Nepal – the chaotic character of Kathmandu contrasting with the serenity of the Himalaya along with the rich culture of its resourceful and resilient people. I have visited Nepal around 10 times over the last 30 years, initially for mountaineering but more recently on behalf of the Irish Nepalese Education Trust, a charity supported by the walking and climbing community in Ireland that supports early years schooling in the remote mountain area of Solu Khumbu. Most recently I have been involved in reconstruction work after the 2015 earthquakes. It is great to be able to give something back to the people who helped me fulfil my dreams of climbing to the top of the world. Your favourite book? My reading tastes are catholic and eclectic, with tales of exploration and adventure never too far away, but of enduring memory is William Golding’s The Spire , charting the obsession of medieval cathedral building against the fragilities of human imagination and skill, jealousies and rivalries, lust and passion, all wrapped up in the context of a building site. Twenty- first century conservation practice is boring by comparison. What do you do in your spare time? Escape to the mountains – locally in the wonderful Mournes, but as much as possible to high and remote places. There are always new places to go and new adventures to be had, even close to home. I’m just back from the Alps, where I bivouacked out for a night on the west flank of the Eiger, as part of an ascent with two great, great grand nephews of the Irishman who made the first ascent in 1858, Charles Barrington. The experience of sleeping out under a clear sky full of stars, surrounded my mountains, brought back to me again the thrill of high and wild places I first experienced over 40 years ago. What organisations are you a member of? Built Heritage Conservation, Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, ICOMOS Ireland, EdinburghWorld Heritage, IHBC, Irish Lime Forum, RIBA, RIAI, AABC, National Trust, Mountaineering Ireland, Mountain Training UK, British Association of Mountain Guides, Alpine Club, patron of Irish Nepalese Education Trust, chair of Outdoor Recreation Northern Ireland, chair of the Mountain Training Board of Ireland, the Belfast Lieutenancy. Which one issue would you particularly like the IHBC to campaign on? Removal of VAT from listed building repairs or equalisation with new construction. It is an unfair tax on people investing in built heritage. Dawson Stelfox is a conservation architect with Consarc Conservation. In 1993 he became the first Irish climber to reach the summit of Everest. A Buddhist stupa adorned with prayer flags near Junbesi in the Solu Khumbu region of Nepal Recent restoration work at Queens Belfast