Mr Howard made the observation as guest speaker at the Southern Heritage Trust's annual meeting at the Dunedin Gasworks Museum yesterday.
He told the 50 people gathered it was important to continue fighting to keep historic buildings in good condition, but said problems started when building owners did not have a viable use for them.
If owners could not find viable uses, they would not provide an income which meant they would not be able to afford to do maintenance, and the building would fall into disrepair and be demolished, he said.
"The real issue is trying to find a viable use for historic buildings."
He said if a building was lost, it was important to make sure it was replaced with something that was of equally high quality - "something that improves the quality of our lives".
"It has to be something that reinforces and continues Dunedin's reputation of having high architectural quality.
"Dunedin is renowned for its architecture. It's got strong warehouses, churches - the buildings have a sense of looking to tomorrow.
"New buildings going into spaces [left by historic buildings] should be sympathetic and conscious of the buildings around it."
He used the former Otago Daily Times buildings as an example. They were demolished to make way for a hotel across from the Leviathan Hotel.
The plan fell through and the site is now a gravelled car park.
The annual meeting concluded with the launch of two books by Dunedin writers - Rising from the Golden Glow (Dunedin's Legacy of 19th Century Enterprise) by Allan Kynaston, and Writers' Dunedin: Three Literary Walks by John Barsby.
