LIMINAL Studio | AIA Heritage Series 2026
Posted 17 September 2026
Heritage as Opportunity: Our LIMINAL co-director Peta Heffernan recently presented as part of the AIA's Heritage Series 2026, exploring how heritage is best integrated into the design and development process to enable smooth approval processes.
Heritage as Opportunity: AIA Heritage Series 2026
Our LIMINAL co-director Peta Heffernan recently presented as part of the Australian Institute of Architects' Heritage Series 2026 - a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program exploring how heritage is best integrated into the design and development process to enable smooth approval processes.
Peta joined Session 4, Demystifying Your Heritage Toolkit, alongside a Heritage Architect, former Queensland State Government Director of Heritage and architects experienced in navigating the complexities. The session unpacked the documents that make up a well-developed heritage toolkit - how to navigate statutory statements of significance, Conservation Management Plans, Heritage Impact Statements, Interpretation Strategies, and how to develop design concepts that draw out the narrative of place, acknowledging its heritage to guide a new contemporary chapter on Country. Both typical and atypical case studies were shared, showing how, done well, these tools support engaging and uplifting design outcomes while retaining a place's significance.
It's a topic close to home for us at LIMINAL. We see heritage not as a constraint but as an opportunity: a chance to weave contemporary adaptation into the stories already held within a site, and to let that history inform what comes next. Understanding where a place has come from is what equips us to make considered decisions and create outcomes that feel genuinely engaging.
Thank you to the Australian Institute of Architects for inviting Peta, and to the facilitators and fellow presenters across the four-part series for such a rich and generous exchange of knowledge:
Facilitators: Alice Hampson, Brian Hooper
Presenters: Fiona Gardiner, Michael Lavery, and Peta Heffernan
For information on the whole series, visit this link
