Global Building Conservation Conference 2026

David Humphreys FRICS

Director and Chair of RICS Building Conservation Advisory Group, ACP Group and RICS

David established the practice in 2000 following an overseas career in the UK and Australia. He has over 30 years experience in both public service and private practice in Ireland, the UK and Australia. David spent 8 years working as a Senior Professional Officer with English Heritage. He is a Chartered Building Surveyor, Chartered Building Engineer, Chartered Project Manager, and Chartered Landscape Architect/Manager.

David Hourihan FRICS

Commercial Property

David qualified as a chartered surveyor in Dublin, Ireland in 1994 under the mentorship of John Oliver Costello at Costello Commercial. He has over fifteen years of industry experience in office agency, shopping centre asset management and commercial property valuations in both Ireland and the United Kingdom. During this time, he worked with several leading real estate firms such as JLL and Colliers International and other firms which have since been subsumed into international firms such as CBRE and Deloitte. In 2011 David became a full-time academic at the University College of Estate Management (UCEM) specialising in property investment, valuation, property asset management and property agency in the commercial property sector. He is the programme leader for the MSc Real Estate. He is a knowledge expert at UCEM on the subject of ‘Ethics’ and a member of the institution’s EDI and apprenticeships working groups. UCEM is the leading provider of supported online education for the built environment. He is an APC assessor/chair for both the RICS and SCSI (Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland) and a member of the ‘Education and CPD’ standing committee at the SCSI. Between 2017-2020 he was an External Examiner for the BSc Auctioneering, Valuation & Estate Agency degree programme at the Technological University Dublin and an External Adviser for the BSc (Hons) Real Estate and MSc Real Estate at Liverpool John Moores University in 2022. David regularly runs a series of ‘Introduction to Office Investment’ webinars at Bayfield Training in which he and industry guest speakers review office investment dynamics in cities such as Budapest, Dublin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, London, Lyon and Paris. He has also provided webinars for the École Supérieure des Professions Immobilières (ESPI), France and Northern Business School (NBS), Germany in 2021/2022.

Samantha Organ FRICS

Associate Professor in Building Sustainability, University of the West of England

Samantha is a building surveyor, a fellow of the RICS and Associate Member of the ICE. She divides her time between academia and practice, and uses her expertise to provide advice and strategic guidance on sustainability for built assets. She is currently Associate Professor in Building Sustainability at the University of the West of England and Heritage Lead at Building Heritage & Co, enabling her to merge cutting-edge thinking with practice. Samantha previously worked for the National Trust, Europe's largest conservation charity as a building surveyor and in the directorate to provide national guidance on sustainability for built assets. In academia, Samantha lectures and supervises undergraduate and postgraduate students. Her research primarily focuses on sustainability and energy efficiency in existing buildings. She has written numerous publications for a range of audiences, including academic papers, reports, professional and newspaper articles. She is a current member of the RICS BCAG. She mentors early career surveyors, including through the Circle Partnership.

Richard Lawrence

Architect and Head of Design, PJ Livesey Group

Richard is an Architect and Head of Design at Manchester-based P J Livesey Group, a specialist property developer focused on converting heritage assets into distinctive new homes. With over 45 years of history, the company has built a national reputation for the sensitive transformation of listed buildings. Originally from near York, Richard is proud to be leading the design of The Retreat’s conversion and brings experience across hospital redevelopments, residential masterplans, and bespoke housing within Grade II and II* Listed Buildings. Prior to joining PJ Livesey, Richard studied at the Centre for Alternative Technology and worked with an environmental social enterprise and charity. This experience shaped his understanding of climate change, ecology and sustainability, with perspectives that continue to inform his approach to adaptive reuse of historic buildings.

Dr. Phillip Hartley MRICS

Senior Associate, Salmond Reed Architects

Verity Ramsden MRICS

Senior Historic Built Environment Surveyor, Member of RICS Conservation Working Group