Context 159 - May 2019

34 C O N T E X T 1 5 9 : M A Y 2 0 1 9 effectively up the building at these nodal points, augmented by fireplaces in individual rooms. Waterhouse’s design for the Town Hall was as pragmatic as it was beautiful. The next step was establishing the level of need with regard to building services, resulting in investigations and reports to facilitate a robust understanding of the current condi- tion of services, and the precise requirements of the public uses within the building. This work provided a detailed understanding of what services were required, down to the ventilation requirements for individual rooms. Armed with this information, the proposals were developed with continual testing against the established significance of the building. In collaboration with the wider team, Purcell developed a number of heritage-led principles early in the design development process. These are specific to the unique significance, challenges and requirements of this public building. The design was developed to reinforce Waterhouse’s original distribution routes as much as possible. This has been achieved through the consid- erable effort and expertise of the designers, enabling services to be largely distributed along Waterhouse’s original service routes from the lower-level plant areas. At present, the piecemeal addition of ser- vices to the building causes areas of visual clutter which both detract from the visual clarity of Waterhouse’s design and result in new openings to historic fabric. The project team has taken great care to coordinate and future-proof the services distribution to avoid the use of surface- fixed services, including a strict limit to surface- mounted cabling and avoidance of chasing. Another important principle was to reflect and respond to the specific significance and charac- ter of different rooms within the Town Hall. As a Victorian civic building, it accommodates a wide range of historic uses, from simple offices and police cells to highly ceremonial banqueting and reception spaces. The servicing strategy has responded to these characteristics room by room, depending on their particular significance, original design intent, the capacity for integra- tion of services and contemporary use demands. The resulting design reinforces original ser- vicing strategies, supplementing power and data distribution appropriately for each space. The outcomes of these interventions will be the removal of modern services clutter, which detracts from the ability to appreciate the build- ing, and a services system that supports the viability and local engagement with the building. Christina Sinclair is senior heritage consultant (Purcell), Rebecca Stone senior architect (Purcell) and TomWaterson senior electrical engineer (Arup), all on the Our Town Hall project. Glass for period windows The London Crown Glass Company specialises in providing authentic glass for the windows of period buildings. This glass, handblown using the traditional techniques of the glass blowers, is specified by The National Trust, the Crown Estates and indeed many others involved in the conservation of Britain’s heritage. Specify authentic period glass for your restoration projects. THE LONDON CROWN GLASS COMPANY 21 Harpsden Road, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire RG9 1EE Tel 01491 413227 Fax 01491 413228 londoncrownglass@gmail.com www.londoncrownglass.co.uk Context goes out five times a year to 2,600 individual IHBC members plus other conservation professionals on subscription. The IHBC also sends out 1,400 copies of each issue to other selected organisations, course providers and exhibition organisers based on the issue themes. Contact Cathedral Communications to get your message out to the right people this year. Cathedral Communications Limited 01747 871717 ihbc@cathcomm.co.uk www.buildingconservation.com The home of the conservation professional