Architects Datafile (ADF) – June 2019

4NEWS

WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK ADF JUNE 2019

FROM

THE EDITOR

The momentum for putting efforts to address climate change at the top of the agenda is showing no signs

of ebbing. This continued sense of urgency is the least we need in order to make some inroads; the UN

recently estimated that we have 11 years to prevent the damage to the planet caused by climate change

from being irreversible.

A group of 17 Stirling Prize-winning architecture firms have joined forces to form the ‘Architects Declare’

initiative, which is predicated around the idea that while research and technology exists to transform

construction towards low impact, what’s been missing is “collective will.”

Along with the usual statements around raising awareness, advocating for faster change and Government

funding, and establishing best practice via knowledge sharing, is something that’s more challenging to the

profession. As part of the move towards “more regenerative design principles,” the group advocates

“upgrading existing buildings for extended use as an alternative to demolition and new build whenever

there is a viable choice.”

The traditional model of architecture could perhaps be described as creating a unified and even hermetic

vision for a particular need on a particular site, whose proportions ultimately need only be governed by its

own form, in the most distilled interpretation. However, if we are to look at a much greater emphasis on

re-use, reinvention and sometimes, extension of existing buildings, a much more multi-layered set of

aesthetic and structural criteria come into play.

Of course, a lot of great architecture has come about as an adjunct to existing forms, but many of the most

celebrated works create their own new language – or dialect at least – relating to nearby buildings but not

depending on them, and normally not connected to them. Adaptive reuse projects such as recent standouts

by Heatherwick have received worldwide architectural acclaim, but the notion of them being seen as on a

par with something like Gehry’s Guggenheim seems hard to imagine.

With the debate on climate change moving into a high gear of ‘must do now,’ rather than ‘needs looking

at,’ approaches that address our existing structures in an exciting way need looking at through a new,

carbon-first prism. However, driven by momentum such as that crystallised in the Architects Declare

initiative, such projects should be judged on their own terms too. It could soon be a world less about new

statements and more about preserving and enhancing the best of the past.

James Parker

Editor

ON THE COVER...

BDP’s new Community Hub in Bath is a shining

example of how an enlightened client can

maximise community capital, with the help of a

like-minded architect.

For the full report on this project, go to page 30

Cover image © Hufton+Crow

06.

MULBERRY PARK COMMUNITY HUB, BATHHow BDP worked with an enlightened client to extractmaximum social value from a cantilevered community centre

INTEGRA HOUSE, TYRIE, ABERDEENSHIREOne architect’s affordably simple timber self-build model

Annual subscription costs just £

for 12 issues, including post and

packing. Phone 01435 863500 for

details. Individual copies of the

publication are available at £5 each

inc p & p. All rights reserved

No part of this publication may be

reproduced or transmitted in any form

or by any means, electronic,

mechanical, including photocopying,

recording or stored in any information

retrieval system without the express

prior written consent of the publisher.

Although every effort is made to

ensure the accuracy and reliability of

material published in Architects

Datafile, the publisher can accept no

responsibility for the claims or

opinions made by contributors,

manufacturers or advertisers.

Editorial contributors to this journal

may have made a payment towards

the reproduction costs of material

used to illustrate their products.

The manufacturer of the paper

used within our publication is a

Chain-of-Custody certified supplier

operating within environmental

systems certified to both ISO 14001

and EMAS in order to ensure

sustainable production.

Printed in England

netMAG

publishingmedia– vertical search

Managing Editor

James Parker

[email protected]

Advertisement Manager/

Joint Publisher

Anthony Parker

[email protected]

Editorial Co-ordinator

Shelley Collyer

Editorial Assistants

Roseanne Field

Jack Wooler

Editorial Contributor

Sébastien Reed

Studio Manager

Mikey Pooley

Production Assistants

Georgia Musson

Kim Musson

Sales Executives

Suzanne Easter

Ian Fletcher

Kim Friend

Steve Smith

Audience Development

Manager

Jane Spice

Managing Director

Simon Reed

Advertising &

Administration

t 01435 863500

[email protected]

http://www.architectsdatafile.co.uk

Press Releases

[email protected]

Subscription circulation

enquiries

[email protected]

netMAGmedia Ltd

Cointronic House

Station Road, Heathfield

East Sussex, TN21 8DF