A Future for Northern Ireland's Built Heritage

VOLUME 7 ISSUE 2 Environmental Fact Sheet March 2009 A Future for Northern Ireland’s Built Heritage Foreword Northern Ireland’s built heritage is one of its prime assets. From stately homes cared for by the National Trust and open to the public, through those whose private owners have lovingly restored and care for their own homes to the excellent work being done by Building Preservation Trusts to rescue buildings which would otherwise be lost, many people and organisations are playing their part in keeping our heritage alive for current and future generations. Preserving our built heritage is about much more than just protecting the sheer beauty of the buildings. It is a significant contributor to our efforts to combat climate change through recognising and realising the embodied energy in these venerable buildings. It is about retaining a tangible record of life in former times. It is also about recognising and passing on a respect for our past and our heritage, and realising that life in the past was very different from life today, and using that knowledge to recognise the importance of change in all our lives. This document brings together papers from a wide range of those involved in the built heritage to provide a broad perspective on the issues. There are some clear themes running through the document, chief amongst them the intrinsic, cultural and aesthetic value of the built heritage and the need to preserve it. There are many means of protecting that heritage, and all need to be encouraged and delivered in the most appropriate ways to ensure that this record of our past continues into the future as a real and living part of our landscape and townscape. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report was compiled and edited by Sue Christie with layout and design by Karen Nicholson and David McCann. We would like to thank all of the authors for the time and effort they put into producing their articles. Many thanks to Marcus Patton for the cover illustration. Every effort has been made to acknowledge all copyright owners. Articles may be reproduced by acknowledging the authors and NIEL. Northern Ireland Environment Link (NIEL), March 2009 NORTHERN IRELAND ENVIRONMENT LINK ENVIRONMENTAL FACT SHEET Contents Section One: Sustaining the Built Heritage 2 Sustainability and the Built Heritage Lydia Wilson, Architectural History Practice 4 The End of the World Isn’t Nigh for our Historic Buildings Andrew McClelland, Ulster Architectural Heritage Society 6 Homes from Heritage - Yes We Can! Martin Carey, Mourne Heritage Trust 9 Learning from Experience on Orkney Michael Coulter, Northern Ireland Environment Agency Section Two: Skills and Techniques 10 Conservation in Practice Dawson Stelfox, Consarc Design Group 13 ‘Home and Dry’ for Owners of Historic Buildings Rita Harkin, Ulster Architectural Heritage Society 14 Honing Skills Rita Harkin, Ulster Architectural Heritage Society 15 Raising a Glass to the Cathedral Quarter Rita Harkin, Ulster Architectural Heritage Society Section Three: Heritage in Action 16 Northern Ireland’s Building Preservation Trusts Primrose Wilson, Northern Ireland Association of Preservation Trusts 17 Breathing New Life into Old Buildings Diane Ruddock, The National Trust 19 Revolving from Derelict to Desirable Marcus Patton, Hearth Housing Association 21 Compulsory Acquisition of a Listed Building: The Stable Block at Sion Mills Michael Coulter, Northern Ireland Environment Agency Section Four: Stone Under Threat 23 Mapping, Monitoring and Visualising Built Heritage John Meneely, Queen’s University Belfast 25 Background to Urban Stone Decay Bernard Smith, Queen’s University Belfast 28 The Impacts of Changing Pollution and Climatic Regimes on Stone Buildings Bernard Smith, Queen’s University Belfast Recommendations 32 Recommendations Northern Ireland Environment Link March 2009 1 Northern Ireland’s Built Heritage NORTHERN IRELAND ENVIRONMENT LINK ENVIRONMENTAL FACT SHEET Sustainability and the Built Heritage GE A Lydia Wilson, Architectural History Practice ERIT H Introduction buildings than to demolish them and buildings should be paramount. In a Sustainable development is a build new ones. far-sighted example of sustainability phrase used to convey a multitude in practice, Northern Ireland’s UILT of meanings – from growing the Embodied Energy Assembly members opted to repair B economy to managing consumption. All buildings contain embodied Stormont rather than construct Its recognised international energy, which is the energy used a new parliament building. Apart THE definition is ‘development which to produce the materials that make from the saving in new construction meets the needs of the present up that building (or the energy that materials, the restored building and without compromising the ability would be wasted if the building its green surroundings now act as a INING A of future generations to meet was demolished). Existing buildings magnet for walkers and sightseers. their own needs’ (Brundtland represent a huge investment in UST Commission, 1987). The challenge embodied energy: research by Cost S lies in limiting development to English Heritage estimates that Some cite the cost of repairing levels that could conceivably allow the energy wasted in demolishing an old building as prohibitive, the planet to replenish its finite one Victorian terraced house is but detailed research counters resources. equivalent to filling a car with this argument. A 2004 study 15,000 litres of petrol and driving it commissioned by Dublin City Council Realistically, living sustainably around the world five times. compared the cost of reusing a means taking every opportunity to variety of existing buildings with reuse or recycle resources, having Heritage bodies and developers the cost of demolishing and building an awareness of how our actions who work with historic buildings anew. It found that constructing affect our environment, and trying agree that much of the UK’s new buildings on brownfield sites to minimise the negative impact of historic building stock is robust and was more expensive than retaining those actions. highly adaptable and, with regular and reusing existing buildings, maintenance, could survive almost except where the extent of building Buildings are vitally important – indefinitely. If a ‘waste not, want repair and refurbishment needed everyone needs shelter and warmth. not’ approach to development is was extremely – and unusually – However, buildings – in construction adopted then repair of existing high. Recent research in the and use – also have the potential to hungrily consume resources and energy. In the simplest terms, the best way to minimise such harmful effects is to reuse the buildings that already exist, and make sure those buildings are insulated to minimise carbon emissions. Reusing existing buildings brings a number of benefits, but in environmental terms the biggest advantage lies in reducing waste and embodied emissions in demolition and construction. Construction Around a quarter of the UK’s yearly landfilled and incinerated waste is generated by the demolition and construction of buildings. Only 4% of the 70 million tonnes of building waste produced in the UK each year is recycled. The production of new building materials – 6 tonnes for every person living in the UK every year – accounts for 10% of national energy consumption. Reusing existing buildings saves waste and reduces the need for new building materials. A 2004 House of Commons paper issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister stated: It is simply better in sustainability terms to use and recycle old St George’s Market, Belfast Northern Ireland’s Built Heritage 2 March 2009 NORTHERN IRELAND ENVIRONMENT LINK ENVIRONMENTAL FACT SHEET The cost of maintaining a building the loss of green space if the over its lifetime should also be a new building is constructed on a key decider in whether an existing greenfield site, or – in the case of building is adapted or demolished. brownfield sites – the embodied S A 2006 report for English Heritage energy wasted by demolishing an UST found that older houses cost less existing building in favour of an A to maintain and occupy over their ‘environmentally friendly’ new one. INING long-term lives than more modern housing. Maintaining a Victorian Conclusion Our houses – in construction Scroggy Road, Glenavy terraced house costs £1,000 THE less per year than maintaining a and use – are responsible for a similar-sized building erected in the large share of greenhouse gas B northwest of England found that emissions, and it is indisputably 1980s. This is largely due to the UILT the cost, over 30 years, of repairing fact that older buildings tend to be the responsibility of all of us to do and maintaining a typical Victorian whatever we can to reduce the constructed of durable materials terraced house was between 40% H like brick and timber, rather than burden on the planet. Reusing and 60% cheaper (depending on ERIT modern materials like concrete existing buildings is key to reducing the level of refurbishment required) blocks and PVC. waste and our carbon footprint, but than replacing it with a new home. it also has the positive side effects A GE In Northern Ireland, Coleraine of encouraging traditional skills and Council and Hearth Revolving Fund Building Anew maintaining the distinctive character gave a lead in sustainable building While it may be tempting to start of our towns and rural landscape. practice by opting to restore rather afresh on an ‘eco-project’, every It is time to stop thinking about old than demolish Portrush Town Hall, new build must necessarily incur buildings as stumbling blocks, and a fine grade B1 listed example environmental costs apart from show that Northern Ireland can take of Victorian public architecture, those associated with manufacturing a sustainable approach to building solidly constructed in red brick. new building materials: either for the future. The building was closed in 1997 after falling into disrepair. A plan to knock it down and rebuild in a similar style was proposed in 1999, at an estimated cost of £1.75m.

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