Conservation in the Age of Sustainability

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Conservation in the Age of Sustainability

Mark Hines

A computer-generated view of the finished Broadcasting House

development, which is due for completion in 2012
(Photo: Hayes Davidson)

As Britain faces the challenges posed by climate change, economic austerity and
affordable housing shortages, it should be increasingly clear that we need to find
appropriate ways of upgrading existing buildings rather than constructing new
ones. Building less is an obvious way to preserve precious resources.
Grade I and II* listed buildings present major challenges for those attempting to
upgrade their environmental performance. However, they represent only a small
proportion of our overall building stock, so it is arguable that they should be left
well alone. Sustainability is about more than just energy consumption, and perhaps
the key challenge with these buildings is finding ways to keep them in use.

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On the other hand, there is a vast stock of unlisted 19th and 20th century buildings
that quietly contributes to the character of our towns and cities. These buildings
may be less architecturally significant than those that are listed, but they also offer
greater scope for reuse and environmental upgrading. Making the best use of this
excellent, if undervalued, resource means adapting these older buildings to the
demands of modern use, balancing in the process a sensitive and informed
appreciation of original fabric with an inventive approach to design.

BROADCASTING HOUSE
Back in 2000, at a time when climate change was becoming a mainstream issue, I
found myself running a substantial part of the 1.1 billion project to refurbish the
BBCs Broadcasting House in central London, for MJP Architects. The corporations
Grade II* listed headquarters were in a sorry state. The rumble of underground
trains could be heard in its radio studios. When the windows were opened to let in
much-needed cool air, the traffic noise from Portland Place came in with it. The low
ceilings were so crammed with wires that it was impossible to get a tape measure
between them. The original home of the BBC, completed in 1932, had been
described by the Royal Academy as hopelessly obsolete, no good for broadcasting,
and fit only for administrative operations.
Today, however, Broadcasting House is the state-of-the-art, environmentally
efficient new home of Radio 3 and Radio 4. The refurbishment saw new technology
sensitively installed, new studio floors laid, narrow office floor plans opened up and
four new floors added on the roof. Furthermore, the project achieved a BREEAM
(Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) excellent
rating.
The project proved that even in a building which is as technically demanding as
Broadcasting House, the 21st century can still be accommodated with minimal
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impact on historic significance.

The lesson was a powerful and uplifting one: if a you can save a building like
Broadcasting House in the digital age, you ought to be able to save anything.

TERRACED HOUSING
Large office buildings like Broadcasting House make a substantial contribution to
global warming, but the figure is dwarfed by the contribution made by housing. One
solution is to replace old houses with new, energy-efficient designs, and the
governments notorious Pathfinder programme of 2003 proposed the demolition of
90,000 homes, including thousands of Victorian and Edwardian terraces. Appalled
by the proposal, SAVE Britains Heritage commissioned Mark Hines Architects
(MHA) to explore the possible reuse of 500 houses in the centre of Manchester
which had been scheduled for demolition.
The original terraced houses in question were small, but the basics were right. The
houses were modest, two-up-two-downs, each with a private garden. In this study
for SAVE, MHA suggested a number of ways in which the houses could be improved
for less than 10,000 each. MHA proposed that the houses should be given small
extensions, using reclaimed bricks, hemp, and living (planted) walls. The extensions
would allow bathrooms to be placed upstairs while retaining good-sized second
bedrooms. This would make the houses much more flexible and attractive to the
market.
The proposals build on the social
opportunities that small terraced houses in
a narrow street can bring. They were
intended to develop close-knit
communities, with the new sites at terrace
ends becoming either family houses,
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Conservation in the Age of Sustainability

Proposed reuse of terraced houses in

central Manchester

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recycling points or small power plants

providing heating and energy for each

street.
There was no attempt to impose a grand vision on the area one that would have
been subject to the vagaries of changing economic fortunes. Instead, the proposal
was a simple, small idea that grew out of the specific context of the area, to help
build a small but self-sustaining community.
The project could provide a template for more widespread application. It
demonstrated that by creating an attractive vision for an area it is possible to save
houses and energy. It also showed how conservation skills and knowledge could be
used to solve technical problems.

THE 4C PAVILION
The regeneration of urban areas often requires new buildings to be constructed
beside old ones. The challenge of introducing new build and new design
alongside historic buildings lies in balancing modern aesthetics and performance
requirements with a respect for historic fabric and the existing streetscape. Meeting
strict sustainability criteria in the new elements is relatively easy; achieving a
successful integration of new and old can be far more demanding. The 4C Pavilion,
a new community building in Ashton-under-Lyne, Manchester, illustrates one
solution. Situated within the grounds of a Grade II listed church, it is a modern
design, but one that is rooted in an interest in conservation and historic building
materials. It is a building that combines traditional form and materials with 21st
century performance.
The pavilion was designed on a very limited budget, which is no bad thing in that it
ensures that all decisions are well thought through. The building has hemp- and
lime-rendered walls, and for much of the year will not need heating. The adjacent
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Victorian church will generate electricity not only for itself, but also for the new
building and even a surplus that can be sold. The solar panels on the huge roof of
the church will soon be making money as a power generator for the area.
The highly bio-diverse, grass-sewn pavilion roof helps to anchor the building in its
churchyard setting, but it also provides a habitat for insects, birds and local plant
species. This project will be one of the first A+ energy rated buildings in the United
Kingdom. Even though it is has not yet been completed, Sustain Magazine recently
called the 4C Pavilion one of the top ten best natural buildings in the country.

MATERIALS AND PERFORMANCE

When we build, when we invest our precious resources, it is important that we build
well. A buildings aesthetic is linked to its performance. At the 4C Pavilion, the
objective was to make a building that would feel like it was built to last; the fact that
it uses little energy is a bonus. To put it another way, sustainable building design is
not just about performance, but about how users respond to the building. The
quality of the direct emotional impact they have on us (soft to the touch, warm and
able to grow old gracefully) are living, human qualities.
Traditional materials tend to be environmentally friendly: high quality local
materials generally last. But we should also be creative, and try to use these
materials in new ways. Materials such as lime mortars and renders which were
rediscovered and developed for conserving historic buildings are slowly entering
use in the wider construction industry. The Building Conservation Directory has
long been an invaluable resource for those working in conservation, it may well
prove to have a wider readership in the mainstream construction and
refurbishment industries.

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Design for the 4C

Pavilion, an ambitious
new community
building planned for
Ashton-under-Lyne,
Manchester

But we also need to be careful. Architecture may be a practical art, but it is also a
science. I seem to spend an awful lot of my time explaining why a damp-proof
course in a building may not be necessary, and might just do more harm than good.
At a technical level, there is huge potential for misunderstanding the implications of
increased insulation levels and the requirements for buildings to be ventilated
effectively. For those of us on the front line, there is very little written information
about these implications.
Energy calculations can be time consuming and complex. While we are familiar
with the technology in the design of new buildings, this technology is often not
sophisticated enough to deal with historic buildings, or to help predict how the
buildings will be used. Mark Hines Architects has produced its own software to help
make these increasingly complex decisions. There are currently no software
companies advertising in The Building Conservation Directory, but I predict there
soon will be.

LOOKING FORWARD
The conservation community is full of people who believe passionately in the
buildings they work on. They fight their corner, demand that the right decisions are
made and ensure that historic buildings can be enjoyed for generations to come. As
traditional roles in the industry change, there is a new and ethical role that heritage
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professionals can play. They have had to become guardians of historic fabric, and
their power to persuade others of the significance of that fabric has become even
more important.
The conservation sector can also bring real value in helping to cut carbon emissions.
More conservation professionals should be using their skills and knowledge to
improve the sustainability of our existing building stock. We should be trying to
find new and better ways to recycle these buildings while also finding new
applications for traditional methods and materials. In short, we need to be less
dogmatic and more flexible in terms of how we think about the historic
environment, to be both creative and conservative.
It is clear that many political, social, economic, cultural, and technical challenges lie
ahead. Undoubtedly, there are conflicts inherent in any discussion about
sustainability and the historic environment. But I do think a sideways shift in
thinking is happening. New areas of work, well beyond the field of individual
buildings, are opening up. Understanding how we can upgrade our historic building
stock sits alongside a growing interest in the importance of places and of sensitive
urban design. Master planning, and estate management (especially in relation to
sustainability and energy consumption) will continue to increase in significance.
Never have conservationists been so well placed to carry their work into the future.
The pioneering phase of their work done, there must be a new generation of
specialists ready to work on the buildings that urgently need their skills. They
should be ready to expand their ideas about how we define conservation, and to
help fight one of our ages most important battles: the fight against climate change.

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