Sir Donald Insall, Conservation Architect Behind Windsor Castle's Post-1992 Fire Restoration, Dies at 100

Sir Donald Insall, described as the doyen of conservation architects, has died at the age of 100. He drew a sharp line between preserving buildings and conserving them, remarking that preservation "is what you do for marmalade." Insall favoured an adroit conservationist approach over stodgy marmalade making, consistently identifying ways historic structures could be revived and adapted to new purposes. Following the devastating fire of 1992 at Windsor Castle — sustained during what the source calls the "annus horribilis" — he marshalled teams of architects, craftsmen and builders to bring the royal residence back from the brink. The exacting rescue scheme drew on a range of strategies, spanning complete restoration to renewal in spirit. Insall framed the task as more than keeping things as they were or putting them back as one thinks they were, an approach he called chancy and not the main aim; new solutions also had to be found for parts that had been irreparably damaged. He died at 100.