Context 170 - December 2021

C O N T E X T 1 7 0 : D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 1 3 The Scottish Government has also published a roadmap to net zero, which a STBA (Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance) colleague has described as a breath of fresh air in comparison to the approach by the UK Government and others like the Construction Leadership Council, whose National Retrofit Strategy does not even identify traditional buildings issues. The Welsh Government’s Optimised Retrofit programme is also well ahead of the UK approach. We await the UK Green Building Council’s Roadmap to Net Zero, which in its consultation stage also overlooked traditional buildings, and was totally unconvincing in terms of the feasibility of scaling up retrofit to meet government targets. Perhaps inevitably, given industry self-interest, it has a much stronger emphasis on ‘fabric first’ than the Climate Change Committee. A strong and helpful counter view was expressed in oral evidence given in July to the Environmental Audit Committee’s Inquiry into Sustainability of the Built Environment, notably by Tia Kansara. ‘The fastest way to retrofit a building is behaviour change,’ she said. ‘Between 20 and 35 per cent of energy can be reduced inside a building primarily with use. That means that when you switch the building off, that is a saving. If you can implement these behavioural campaigns, that is your first attempt. The second is to look at the alternatives of retrofitting buildings.’ Given the urgency of climate targets, and industry’s slowness to change, the shift to behaviour change is ever more urgently needed. More radical and holistic change is promoted in Nigel Griffiths’ paper for STBA ‘From retrofit to regeneration: a blueprint for post-Covid recovery’. I urge all Context readers to investigate this for a refreshing, challenging and visionary approach. Griffiths highlights the importance of cultural heritage as part of sustainability (the fourth pillar was added in 2010, although far too few people know that, and culture does not feature in such things as environmental assessment for local plans, or strategic projects). John Preston, heritage chair, Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance Conserving St Lawrence Jewry Julian Harrap Architects has been commissioned by the City of London Corporation to undertake a comprehensive programme of repair and conservation work to St Lawrence Jewry. It is the first time since 1957 that any major works have been carried out to the building, and the project is the largest and most ambitious restoration of a Wren church for many years. The exterior works include specialist masonry cleaning and repair to the Portland stone elevations, and the restoration of 11 stained-glass windows originally made by Christopher Rahere Webb (1886–1966). All roof finishes will be renewed, including the lead-clad hipped roof over the nave, which will be structurally reinforced. The internal works involve the repair, structural restraint and redecoration of all the church’s fibrous plaster ceilings, full electrical re-wiring, replacement of all water pipes and heating system, and fire-safety upgrades. The medieval church of St Lawrence Jewry was largely destroyed in the Great Fire of The Oglesby Centre, an extension to the Grade II listed St Peter’s Church, Ancoats, Manchester, has won three RIBA 2021 awards. Deconsecrated in 2013, the former church provides recording and rehearsal space for the Hallé orchestra and choir. The extension is designed by Stephenson Studio, which describes the external expression of the main rehearsal space (a weathering steel box with vertical fins) as an allusion to the water tanks of industrial buildings. Siemens provided the integrated digital systems that automatically adjust temperature, air quality and lighting to minimise energy use.