This is a speculative chapter that juxtaposes some recent research on British housing need with some of my own reflections on the challenges that seem likely to face the modern conservation movement as it enters its second decade of activity. I will refer to a particular project being undertaken by Avanti Architects, as a tentative example of my ‘thesis’, but my conclusion is not prescriptive, and given the peculiarities of British housing policy and history, its application is unlikely to be universal. On a more ‘generic’ or philosophical level, however, it does raise issues that may be of wider interest to others both inside and outside the modern conservation fraternity.