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INSIGHTS SITE LINES A renewed focus on resilience
With demolishing structures being a carbon-intensive pursuit, Trevor Morriss, principal at architects SPPARC, explains why buildings must be constructed to stand the test of time as we race to reach carbon goals
T
he embodied carbon released when a building is demolished can total nearly one-third of its total emissions. However, the usefulness of a building is constantly changing as society
evolves. While the best buildings remain essential for centuries, the more misguided in form and function are scarcely occupied once needs change and often remain empty until one day, they are replaced with what is perceived to be the ‘next new thing.’ When buildings – whether it be residential or commercial – are no longer fit for purpose, the societal implications are stark. The cost of erasing mistakes and the scars that obsolescence leaves behind are felt in their environmental damage as well as in the wallet.
Construction, demolition, and excavation generate around 60% of total UK waste, while the embodied carbon released when bulldozing a building can total nearly one-third of a building’s total emissions.
Often when a building ceases to be useful or its all too short specified design life has expired, it is because of a process known as ‘creative destruction.’ In simple terms, innovation leads to the replacement of old ways of production. For people, this generally means better products and services, but for buildings which are unadaptable, creative destruction comes with casualties and costs. The urgent need to decarbonise means that vast swathes of real estate are at risk of becoming outmoded in the coming years. Data
from Rightmove shows that just under 1.7 million homes (across England and Wales) do not have the potential to improve higher than an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of between D and G. With the Government’s current aspiration to have as many homes as possible reach a C rating by 2035, we need to dramatically shift the way we look at building so that new homes can easily incorporate the latest sustainable technology. On the office and retail front, McKinsey estimates that as many as 40% of these building assets could be stranded by 2030, in the wake of incoming legislation. Technological change and the rise of e-commerce has already deeply compromised much-loved buildings and hollowed out high streets, resulting in neglected sites sitting in the middle of communities. Take Debenhams, the historic British department store that occupied many of the most beautiful buildings on high streets across the country. The chain struggled to adapt to changing consumer tastes and online shopping. Nearly a year after Debenhams collapsed, almost 90% of the buildings they once occupied remain empty.
While these voids make clear that greater flexibility in the planning system is needed to repurpose existing buildings to suit other uses, the complexities of retrofitting or recycling existing structures is a reminder that the buildings we design today must stand the test of time. This is imperative.
OLYMPIC FEAT SPPARC’s ‘reimagining’ of the Victorian events venue Olympia in west London includes a new glazed roof garden/mezzanine level. The masterplan “optimises wide, open spaces to allow for reconfigurability as the buildings age, along with contemporary uses”
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK
ADF JUNE 2022
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