CONTEXT 180 : JUNE 2024 65 degree in architecture about the magical properties of lime. But greedy people are rightly destined for the fourth ring of the inferno when it comes to ripping generations of love and skill from a building for a quick buck. What would you like to be doing in five years’ time? Inspiring people to look again at the heritage around them and to see it with new understanding. What is your favourite building? The Richard Dunn Sports Centre, Bradford, designed by Trevor Skempton of Bradford City Architects Department with consulting engineers White, Young and Partners, and completed in 1978. I know it is contentious, but if buildings are meant to do more than provide shelter, this building has it in spades. As a child it was like seeing a circus, but visible from miles around and made for giants. On entering, you were transported by a slender bridge over the swimming pool and badminton courts. People below were like ants, but rather than working they were enjoying themselves. It was the best advertisement for sports and activity I could ever imagine, and by the time I landed like a traveller to a new planet into the heart of the building, I could hardly contain myself. The design is so clever and its effect so extreme that it is difficult to understand why the building now lies unused and in danger. Your favourite place? Geneva: it has every component that should be part of a fascinating city. It works, visually and practically and has that uncanny European talent to always look tidy and clean. It melds historic buildings with new without tantrums or fanfare, making me feel like floating between the two without discord or jolt, but when you look closely you see the fine detail and the way it sits within its spectacular landscape. Your favourite book? Dedicated: the case for commitment in an age of infinite browsing by Pete Davis. A lifechanging perspective that grants you permission to be a nerd. What do you do in your spare time? I walk my two smooth-haired fox terriers, Marvin and Sindy, and tackle the ironing. What organisations are you a member of? The IHBC, Milestone Society, Water Tower Appreciation Society, Town and Country Planning Association and Cloud Appreciation Society are some of my favourites. Which one issue would you particularly like the IHBC to campaign on? Apprenticeships for traditional trades. I am in constant wonder at the incredible skills of craftspeople on display all around us. How can we not see the benefit to our future generations by teaching today’s learners how to make beautiful things or, at least, how to look after them so they can last as long as possible? Jennifer Leadbetter is heritage and conservation officer with North Warwickshire Borough Council. Welcome to new members The following members were voted in at the April 2024 IHBC trustees meeting. Welcome to you all. Full members David Buckley (SE), Lucie Clark (SE), Richard Coleman (LO), Domenico D’Alessandro (EA), Tom Goodwin (LO), Brilliana Harley (LO), Nicholas Jackson (EA), Scott McGibbon (SC), Ruth Mitchell (SE), Eva Papakonstantinou (EM), Nicola Pickering (LO), Anna Webster (EM) Associate members Rachael Purse (SC) – Associate: Intervention Affiliates Natalie Aldrich (SW), Kate Andrew (WM), Naomi Archer (SW), Oluwatito Arowobusoye (LO), Sera Baker (EM), Jana Bartschova (SC), Jon Bell (EA), Victoria Bellamy (LO), Jonathan Biggadike (EM), Kirsty Braes (LO), Alison Bunning (SW), Sarah Caradec (LO), Alison Dickens (EA), Sophie Edwards (SW), Diane Ellis (NW), Helen Ellison (SW), Michael Garber (EA), Michael Harris (SE), Michelle Harvey (Z), Jill Himsworth (SW), Sarah John (SW), Chris Jones (LO), Jennifer Leadbetter (EM), Zoë Maclennan (LO), Ross McCleary (SC), Judith Miller (NO), Amy Murray (LO), Cosmo Phillipps (LO), Alfred Plant (NW), Dan Raymond (SW), Sarah Richardson (SW), Michael Stubbs (LO), Emma Sweeney (LO), Jonathan Thompson (LO), Jenny Timothy (EM), Jonathan Vine (NW), Emily Wapshott (SW), Bethan-Marie Weir (LO), Sally Wilson (NO) Supporters Olivia Atkinson (NW), Jamie Barnes (SW), Kevin Bashford (SE), Aaron Bazler (NW), Hannah Blackmore (SE), Nia Borsey (NW), Jonathan Buckland (WA), Darron Carver (SE), Pragna Chandrakumar (OV), Marcus Clark (NO), Geraint Coles (EM), Jessica Dill (OV), Michael Dobbs (YO), Aidan Dobson (SW), Sean Dudley (EM), Henry Eyres (LO), Alex Farnell (SW), Michael Frost (EA), Elizabeth Giannini (NW), Rick Gilroy (SW), Emma Gledson (NO), Ruth Gray (EM), Rebecca Greenhill (WM), Duncan Gregory (LO), Jodie Hadlow (SE), Laura Harrison (SC), Dominic Holding (NW), Christian Howard (EA), Kerry Kerr-Peterson (SW), David King (RI), Florence Lendon-Montrose (NW), Michael Lobb (EM), Poppy Malcolmson (NW), Hector Martin (SC), Bryher Mason (SW), Rachael McMurray (SO), Sam Miller (SW), Andre David Morkel (OV), Tara Murphy (LO), Elizabeth Murray (NW), Ilma Nafees (YO), Rosalind Orlando (SE), Caitlin Osborne (WM), Rob Palmer (SW), Catherine Renfrew (YO), Isabelle Richards (EM), Kathryn Selby (NW), Robert Sharples (YO), Charles Smith (SW), Richard Snell (SE), Tiffany Snowden (YO), Florence Spaven (NO), Anna Starkey (SC), Robert Sutton (WM), Hannah Taylor (WM), Millie Totman (LO), Maria Viciana Martinez (WM), Emma Wells (YO), Amanda Westcott (EM), Lynn Wheatley (EA), Fraser White (EA), Harry White (EM), Duncan Woolsmith (SO)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgyMjA=