New Design for Old Buildings

Roger Hunt, Iain Boyd

• Publisher: RIBA Publishing
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781000701425
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: Architecture General

This book is a celebration of good new design for old buildings and the SPAB philosophy that good new architecture can sit happily alongside old and is preferable to pastiche. Endorsing the value of architects who are engaged to work in the historic environment, this book explores design, materials and technical considerations in creating the best low energy, ecological and sustainable retrofits. It has never been more important to understand how old buildings can be adapted to make them useful and sustainable in the future. Showcasing the best examples of imaginative design and best practice, this book illustrates how old buildings can be made sustainable through the best new design and puts these design exemplars into a historical and philosophical context. With illustrative case studies and interviews throughout, including formal buildings, churches, domestic buildings, commercial, industrial and agricultural from all periods in the UK, New Design for Old Buildings provides essential guidance on good, imaginative new design for old buildings.

Chapter 1:

Embracing Good Design

Figure 1.00 Glass‑and‑steel staircase at the Royal Academy of Arts’ Sackler Galleries

Much is at stake when working with old buildings. Once lost, fabric, history and character can never be replaced and, if there is a failure to respect the old, the overall design solution is unlikely to be satisfactory. Introducing good design in the historic context relies on understanding, respect, good manners and skill.

Good design is perceived, not defined. While appreciation of architectural quality is in the eye of the beholder, the origins of good design are deep, complex and subtle, particularly when related to the historic environment. There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution and it is dangerous and presumptive to prescribe a formula. But there are powerful and understood ingredients that feed dynamic, contextual and ultimately successful projects when steered by an experienced hand.

The historic built environment is frequently composed of an amalgam of accretions, eclectic styles, mixed and matched materials, varying roof lines and irregular forms that come together to create a wonderful and harmonious whole, softened by the passage of time. Contributing to this is the inevitably transformative process that results from change of use and adaptation to meet the needs of succeeding owners and occupiers. This allows buildings to live on.

Figure 1.01 The 19th‑century Granary, Barking, with a bronze‑clad extension completed in 2011

Many architects would rather start with a blank canvas, a scheme where they can express their ideas and creativity, and apply the experience of their long training. In reality, the vast majority of architects spend much of their time working with existing buildings, adapting and reinventing them through intervention and extension. The best and most successful examples retain the building’s integrity and give new life to its essential parts. Design does not stand alone; conservation and sustainability are the other vital elements that form the triumvirate of disciplines that come into play when working with old buildings. New work that is added should neither confuse the expert nor offend the casual observer. It should be possible to understand what has happened to a building over time and, when viewed, the form and detail of alterations or additions should seem both clear and harmonious.

‘If you can grasp the essence of the building you’re approaching, then you have a basic framework from which to build a scheme of architectural design.’

Julian Harrap, Harrap Architects

The Nature Of Design

William Morris enjoined his clients to ‘have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful’. What constitutes beauty and, by inference, good design is subjective. Writing in 1624 in The Elements of Architecture, Sir Henry Wotton interpreted the words of the first century BC Roman architect Vitruvius: ‘In Architecture, as in all other operative arts, the end must direct the operation. The end is to build well. Well building hath three conditions – commodity, firmness and delight.’

These simple words embrace both pitfalls and potential when making additions or alterations. Seeing the various phases of a building’s evolution over time is appealing and instructive. Central to the idea of readability is that new work should be of today and reflect the very best that can be achieved in terms of materials, quality and design. This approach speaks of truth and honesty rather than seeking to mimic the past – something which is often referred to derogatorily as ‘pastiche’.

Figure 1.02 Red House, Kent, designed by Philip Webb for William Morris in 1859

Pastiche is a frequently used but misunderstood word in architecture, particularly when working in the historic environment. Many architectural styles that are now highly regarded have evolved through imitation, but attempting to blatantly copy or create a pastiche of an earlier age is rarely successful and there are nearly always some concessions to modernity in the detailing and materials. More correctly, the words ‘poor pastiche’ better interpret our meaning when describing the poorly detailed, superficial and badly executed facsimiles of past architectural styles that are often seen today, both in new‑build work and extensions to old buildings.

Often the term is applied to the ‘identikit’ method of styling which sees the random application of historic elements to the exteriors and interiors of buildings in an attempt to invoke the past. These include cornices and string courses that have little regard for craftsmanship, proportion or historic precedent. One of the most commonly seen offenders is the ‘slipped’ fanlight, where a traditionally separate architectural element (the fanlight: a fan‑shaped glazed opening above the door, infilling the structural arch and providing light to the hallway) becomes instead an integral part of the front door. This represents an inept version of the original, typically Georgian, feature.

‘One seeks not to impose on a building, but to help it grow as it wants to. That isn’t pastiche - pastiche is very often about imposing a preconceived set of ideas.’

Sir Donald Insall, Donald Insall Associates

Such approaches respond to a view that new building work in historic settings should seek to replicate and match the appearance of existing structures. Skilfully done, ‘good pastiche’ may be appropriate in certain circumstances – for example, where part of a larger architectural composition has been lost – but, in general, new work should complement rather than slavishly imitate the old. New buildings do not need to look old nor ape the past in order to create a harmonious relationship with their historic surroundings and allow the primacy of older buildings to be clear.

Writing in 1892, Hugh Thackeray Turner, the SPAB’s first secretary, noted that ‘new parts should be as plain and unostentatious, though as sound and good, as possible and should clearly tell their own tale of having been erected in the nineteenth century, to harmonise with, but not to imitate, the earlier work’.

Figure 1.03 Compton Verney, Warwickshire, with a contrasting wing in stone added in 2004

Figure 1.04 Modern and Victorian gables at Gorton Monastery, Manchester.

A twenty‑first century example of this thinking is the work carried out at Compton Verney in Warwickshire by Stanton Williams alongside conservation architects Rodney Melville + Partners. The transformation of the Grade I listed mansion into a major arts venue included the construction of environmentally controlled galleries within the house and a new education centre and offices set among renovated historic outbuildings, the new extension acting as a foil to the existing house.

Figure 1.05 The barrel‑roofed extension at Binham Priory, Norfolk.

The success of such additions results from the fact that they consider the use of the building over the longer term rather than being a response to a short‑term need. Carefully executed modern design suggests honesty in execution and confidence in the architecture of today while adding a fresh layer of history to be valued by future generations.

Good Manners

‘Well‑mannered’ is the description best suited to new design that succeeds in a historic context with alterations and additions made in a form sympathetic and complementary to that which exists. These schemes have seen new work fitted to old, rather than requiring that the old be adapted to fit the new. The new structures do not compete unduly with the old building in form or position, but equally do not ape the original or pretend to be historic; instead they fulfil modern needs in a modern style. Put simply, while not necessarily ‘quiet’, they are mannerly rather than ‘rude’.

Exemplifying the well‑mannered approach is the work by Donald Insall Associates at Binham Priory in Norfolk, founded in the eleventh century. This project, completed in 1990, saw the creation of a new porch providing level access into the church for people with disabilities. Adjacent WCs for visitors to the priory ruins are within a self‑ effacing barrel‑roofed extension, inserted on the site of the ruined north aisle of the historic building. This structure is kept deliberately low to avoid obscuring the sight lines through the windows from within the church and is undoubtedly modern in its design, despite the use of flint and stone to blend new with old.

‘If one goes from the starting point not of what architects and conservationists normally do, but what a designer working in the built environment should now be aware of, that designer would find themselves being both a creative artist and highly sensitive to and respectful of the existing structures around them. You’d end up with somebody who was both a conservationist and a creative designer and you’d find it very hard to draw a line between the two.’

Paddy Dillon, Haworth Tompkins

Much bolder, but still mannerly, is the work undertaken to revive the Grade II* listed Gorton Monastery (the Church and Friary of St Francis) in east Manchester. Built between 1863 and 1872 and designed by Edward Pugin, son of AWN Pugin, the building suffered the indignity of appearing on the World Monument Fund Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites after it was vacated by the Franciscan order in 1989.A major campaign to save the monastery and give it new life resulted in a scheme by Austin‑Smith:Lord, completed in 2007. This included extensions and rebuilt sections which acknowledged the overall plan and form without fighting the High Victorian Gothic architecture. The building is now functional, popular and an inspiring venue for corporate, social and cultural events.

Figure 1.06 The Investcorp Building at St Antony’s College, Oxford, abuts its neighbour

Figure 1.07 A London warehouse loading door tells a story from function to redundancy

One building that arguably falls into the ‘rude’ category is the Investcorp Building for St Antony’s College, Oxford, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and completed in 2015. While the design is brilliant, innovative and makes good use of modern materials, the junctions with the older buildings appear ill‑considered and ignore their forms.

The Desire to Retain the Old

Old buildings and the history and character they embody engender colossal interest and support both among building professions and the public. The past understandably conjures up nostalgia, romance and fantasy. Peeling paint, the broken window and the shabby doorcase of the urban terrace are potentially just as evocative as the ivy‑clad ruin standing forlornly in the mist. As life becomes increasingly virtual, architecture’s capacity to curate meaningful, physical experiences that go beyond style is ever more important. The fabric of old buildings is not only visually appealing but retains information about how people lived, how they worked and what they valued; it also has an amazing capacity to evoke memories. The relationship between an individual building and the city, town or village in which it stands is equally important. Giving new life to old buildings has the capacity to lend rootedness and continuity to a place while also reviving economic and community wellbeing.

Valuing Change and Additions

The introduction of new design elements tends to be thought of as an additive process. In reality it is also subtractive as, through necessity, some existing elements are invariably affected. Good designers do not...