C O N T E X T 1 3 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 4 5 A marketing suite has been installed on the roof of the annexe to Grade II* listed Battersea Power Station. Around 254 apartments will be created within the existing facades of the western and eastern flanks of the power station and on top of the central boiler house.The master plan by architect RafaelViñoly provides for more than 3,400 new homes, offices, shops, restaurants, bars, cafés, hotels, community and leisure space, and 18 acres of open space. The home of former prime minister Edward Heath has reopened to the public. Arundells in Salisbury, where Heath lived until his death in 2005, contains a collection of artefacts relating to his interests in music, sailing and politics. The 18th century Grade II* listed house, parts of which date back to the 13th century, has a two-acre medieval walled garden.The house shows six distinct architectural periods, including black portcullis windows from the 14th century, a Queen Anne facade, a Jacobean wing and a Georgian staircase window. determined other than in accordance with the development plan…’ I am indebted to Mike Harlow of English Heritage for alerting me to this appeal, and to Liam Jones of the Pembrokeshire National Park Authority for providing the photographs. Jones writes: ‘Following the appeal decision the owner removed the cladding… The insulation was installed at the front and rear of the property. Given that our only concerns related to the front elevation, we allowed the retention of the insulation on the rear elevation, finding that further action would not be expedient. The rear elevation of the Letters The quality of conservation courses From John Fidler, Los Angeles Readers of IHBC’s online NewsBlog on 25 April 2014 will have seen a glowing announcement about a new master’s course at Birmingham University School of Architecture. Good for Birmingham: I wish the programme well. But why not have new conservation courses in every university in the UK and the rest of the world. There is infinite demand, isn’t there? Not at all. When I was a lad, there were six courses:York and Heriot Watt, plus Leicester, Liverpool, the AA and Bristol. Few were fully sustainable even then. Now the COTAC website lists 19 postgraduate courses, not including Sheffield School of Architecture and UCL’s Centre for Sustainable Heritage). Who writes the business models for these courses? Few of them are fully attended. The number of specialist faculty to do the rounds is diminishing. Fewer and fewer architects are being trained in the field, despite the courses being mostly based in schools of architecture (shame on the RIBA for this). Hardly any architect-planners (the long-lost and lamented back-bone of the former county council conservation teams) now exist. And the ‘generalists’ emanating from the programmes leave much to be desired. It is all very well for the IHBC and COTAC to recognise a plethora of courses and whoever signs up to the ICOMOS Guidelines for Education and Training but does anyone actually believe that standards are retained or increasing? Why doesn’t the IHBC combine with the RIBA, RTPI, RICS and Icon and formally validate courses? Simply badging them discredits all involved. I hear a deafening silence from English Heritage, Historic Scotland, Cadw and others on this issue. So much for strategic delivery in straitened times. Will nobody reel in free-market interests in so-called higher education? And the situation is as bad here in the USA. John Fidler property was characterised by a singlestorey flat roof extension. Various larger neighbouring extensions such that the cladding caused no harm to visual amenity at the rear.’ The planning inspector dealt with this appeal purely in terms of the planning issues and policies, not technical aspects. It is not clear what happened as regards building regulations: the special consideration for breathable buildings under Part L would surely have been relevant. John Preston, vice-chair of IHBC policy committee, is an artist, consultant and lecturer.
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