A Vulgar Row of Footlights : Conservation, Temporality and The Golden Stain of Time Part 2 Dissertation 2023 Cameron Stebbing University of Huddersfield | UK In a world changing at unparalleled pace, the stability of architectural heritage provides both comfort and fascination for many. However, with the recognition of retrofit and reuse as primary methods of combating climate catastrophe, this piece asks not only what these structures can tell us about the past, but how they can frame an uncertain future. By examining not only technical considerations but the ontological characteristics of historic structures, it views architectural conservation as a series of conflicting temporalities, taking different perceptions of time as the catalyst for new ethical and ecological revelations.As an experimental text, it evokes John Ruskin’s seminal essay, The Seven Lamps of Architecture, as a conceptual framework for heterogenous discussions ranging from the nature of authenticity to the effects of geological time. Recognizing the highly personal and multitudinous modes through which heritage is consumed, it is accompanied by an investigational photogrammetry study of three ruined abbeys, favored subjects of Ruskin, exploring the theoretical propositions not through nominal documentary methods but as an exercise in speculative drawing.It approaches the subject not as a lamp which lights the way but a Vulgar Row of Footlights, dimly illuminating the seductive mystery of architectural heritage… Tutor(s) Nic Clear