Context 164 - May 2020

C O N T E X T 1 6 4 : M A Y 2 0 2 0 3 context of climate change and the need for urgent action? Meanwhile, we are still waiting for the government’s response to the 2018 EPC Call for Evidence, for the consultation on the private rented sector trajectory to 2030 for domestic buildings, and on the revisions to Part L of the building regulations for existing buildings. The draft Future Homes Standard (Part L for new buildings) has been heavily criticised for failing to aim high enough; watch out, when the existing buildings Part L consultation comes out, for deletion or watering-down of the special consideration for historic and traditional buildings. Above all, we need to be ready to tackle simplistic government retrofit targets which assume that almost all buildings can and should be improved to a specified EPC rating.What is needed is appropriate repairs, followed by retrofit measures and/ or renewables as appropriate and feasible for the particular building, all in the context of decarbonisation of the grid. John Preston, heritage chair, STBA Towards an atlas of traditional paving Richard Guise writes: There is a well-established literature on vernacular buildings in Britain, chiefly thanks to RW Brunskill, Alec Clifton-Taylor and various learned societies. However, very little exists in any similar systematic form regarding the vernacular surfaces of the public realm that contribute so much to the distinctiveness of our inherited townscapes. True, the first edition of Streets for All (2005), commissioned and published by the former English Heritage in a series of volumes covering the regions of England, provides a good start, with its introductory chapters on the paving traditions of each region, covered in different ways. There are also websites on the geology of paving. Nevertheless, this fascinating and complex topic would benefit from an analytical and consistent study which identifies local paving traditions throughout the UK, stone types and sources, the craft details and techniques involved in the laying of paving, and the role played by non-stone materials, including clay pavers, woodblock and cast iron. In the mid-1990s, while at the University of theWest of England, I ran a series of traditional paving workshops at various locations throughout England, with speakers from the stone industry and a master street paver giving lively demonstrations on laying techniques. These workshops were well attended, especially by conservation officers and landscape architects.They showed that there was considerable interest in the topic and interest in gaining knowledge and relevant skills. A couple of years later, two of us carried out a survey of conservation officers at the time, which yielded some further insights into local traditions. After a long hiatus, I was approached by Robert Huxford of the Urban Design Group and Rob Cowan, editor of Context , to see if I was interested in the idea of producing an Atlas of Traditional Paving. Initial scoping meetings with them, David Harrison and the British Geological Survey further excited my interest and confirmed the conviction that such a project was worthwhile; even though the task, on further reflection, is considerable and would require the input of a number of contributors. This briefing is intended as an important step towards defining the need for such a resource and its scope. Successfully undertaking such a task as this would require funding or sponsorship to cover the contribution of a researcher and project costs. Initially we would look to set up a dedicated website. This would serve as a database largely populated by information submitted by contributors referring to specific locations throughout the UK. It is envisaged that the contributors would be conservation officers and consultants, landscape architects, designers and highway engineers, academics and observant enthusiasts. Proformas would be completed under headings designed to identify predominant local traditions of materials for pavements, kerbs and gullies, crossovers, carriageways, lanes and yards. Further refinements would identify laying patterns and detailing, and the hierarchies of paving such as the use of fine-grained precisely cut large flagstones for formal places and the coarser rough-cut stones used for rear yards and Elements of traditional paving (annotated sketch by Richard Guise) from Streets for All (SE England volume) by Richard Guise, quoted in Characterising Neighbourhoods .