Urban Conservation and Rehabilitation.
Urban Conservation and Rehabilitation
What Urban Issues Have Made Urban Conservation Seem More and More Important in Terms of Town Planning Practice in The United Kingdom?
Tate Modern stands at the heart of London, linked to St Paul's Cathedral by the new millennium footbridge. The building is a remarkable combination of the old and the new.
The original Bankside Power Station was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott who was also the architect of Battersea Power Station, the Liverpool Anglican cathedral and the famous British red telephone box.
The building consists of a brick-clad steel structure, constructed from more than 4.2 million bricks. The height of the central chimney was limited to 325 feet (99 metres) in order to be lower than the dome of St Paul's Cathedral.
The building has been converted by the leading Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, whose plans have highlighed the building's new function while respecting the integrity of Sir Giles Gilbert Scott's original design. The most noticeable change to the exterior of the building is a new two-storey glass structure or lightbeam spanning the length of the roof which not only provides natural light into the galleries on the top floors, but also houses a stunning café offering outstanding views across London.
Illustrated Report
8th November 2003
5000 Words
What urban issues have made conservation seem more and more relevant in terms of town planning practice in the UK?
It is widely known that all of the cities in the world have to evolve to cope with the new demands that contemporary life creates. While it is now understood that cities have to change, it is important to ask at what cost? One of the main problems for urban form in the UK, as in many other countries, is how to deal with changes while retaining older areas and structures that past generations have devoted so much thought money and effort to.
An important point to understand is that the future is inevitably influenced by the past. It is therefore important to have an understanding of the past in order to plan for the future. Our visual surroundings are fundamental in aiding our understanding of previous generations as they provide the most accessible examples of how the past lived. The built environment around us tells a thousand stories, the older buildings and ancient monuments perhaps even millions.
It is a responsibility for each new generation to decide which, if any buildings, monuments & physical attributes to preserve. Should we only add to the past without demolition so that the future can compile as complete a picture as possible? Should we attempt to stop the natural degradation of particular features/buildings by preservation methods? Should we concentrate on re-building to show the original form of buildings? Or should we demolish the old altogether making way for entirely new stories to be created?
These questions have troubled politicians, planners and some of the more concerned among us for generations. This report illustrates the issues that have reaffirmed the importance of urban conservation, a component of the preservation debate that has particular relevance in the UK, a country with a high proportion of urban dwellers.
Urban conservation is now controlled by statutory rules. Conservation areas can now be found in every city in the UK however its important to understand that the term 'urban' applies to more than just cities and that change in the built environment occurs in suburbs and villages too. There are still many towns and villages that do not have such designated conservation areas.
Modern day ethos is to rehabilitate rather than demolish but this was not always the case. This report seeks to determine the issues making urban conservation ever relevant in the UK, beginning with a look at the movements conception in order to understand its importance in town planning practice today and even construct a view of its relevance in the future.
Issues that brought Urban Conservation to light in the UK
The origins of urban conservation as a concept are difficult to trace as it is now widely known that man is naturally a conservative animal, and that we dislike change for the sake of it. It is in our natural programming to cling to our surroundings, as familiar to us as the protection of our loved ones and ourselves, but is that to say that it is correct? This section acquaints us with the earliest recorded issues that paved the way for the urban conservation movement.
In the year 1660 it became apparent that the Civil War had brought with it a noted change in attitudes towards the built environment. It was the first time that a new sensitivity for historic buildings could be detected. This was marked by a change trends for the writers of the age. Before this time authors and columnists had focused on places and events, but now their attentions had turned to focus on architecture. In particular there was certain enthusiasm for Gothic architecture (later to inspire many 18th and 19th century buildings). Merit had been awarded to buildings for the first time and although there was no desire to conserve old buildings this era can be pinpointed as a watershed for thinking.
The 1700's society was one of antiquaries, 1717 saw the foundation of the Society of Antiquaries and the Society of Dilettanti in 1773 which acted to forward the theme of the gentleman scholar. Scholarship was a trend set to escalate, and while it was never universially made popular attention was again focusing on architecture and the way that society (particularily the more wealthy portion) viewed the past.
The early 18th and 19th centuries saw the Romantic Movement take hold and there was a new attention given to Picturesque, however again with no real conservation element. The emergence of this type of thinking played considerable part in strengthening the affection for built structures of artistic merit. Gothic Architecture, particularly in the more imposing ecclesiastical buildings, was now beginning to be looked at as a source of pride rather than scorn.
As will later be discussed, one of the major forces affecting conservation and its adoption has undoubtedly been the state of the economy. Most western cities are creations of the capitalist order, when investment furthers the economy and is an integral part of the cycle of wealth creation. This phenomena is set on the same basic principles as the profit motive upon which mans success is driven. An example of the ruthlessness of this motive can be found by looking to a time of great capitalist investment during the Industrial Revolution.
At the time of the Industrial Revolution the philosophy of 'comprehensive redevelopment' was dominant. This meant the demolition of vast quantities of the original built fabric. It was considered too expensive, and a hassle to retain the older buildings appearance and convert its internal use for a new purpose. In some cases the buildings owned were just not big enough to accommodate the new machines, leaving no quicker alternative than demolition. This was an era with little regard for buildings and their merit across the land. A common trend of demolition making way for industry swept over the urban nation with nearly crippling results on the urban heritage stock.
The Industrial Revolution did make additions in a small capacity to our built heritage today. The era brought with it more wealth to already affluent factory/land owners and in turn the homes they constructed and improved for themselves feature extensively on the contemporary lists of historic buildings. Although an appreciation for Georgian architecture had been noted and there had been a common trend for appreciation of aesthetics in the Picturesque movement, there had been no effort made to retain these structures in any form.
837 saw the official beginning of the Victorian Era, in terms of urbanity ...
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The Industrial Revolution did make additions in a small capacity to our built heritage today. The era brought with it more wealth to already affluent factory/land owners and in turn the homes they constructed and improved for themselves feature extensively on the contemporary lists of historic buildings. Although an appreciation for Georgian architecture had been noted and there had been a common trend for appreciation of aesthetics in the Picturesque movement, there had been no effort made to retain these structures in any form.
837 saw the official beginning of the Victorian Era, in terms of urbanity this meant vast 'restoring' a trend which saw the destruction of masses of fine interiors in order to emulate what was felt to be the Georgian style, This high Victorian style, some say vandalism is now preserved as an architectural form of its own.
The penny began to drop by around 1870, when an intelligent elite realised the effects that the excesses of industrialization had brought to the face of Britain. Britain was now such a great power there came an interest and affection for the beginnings of its success. 1877 saw the founding of the Society For The Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) William Morris, polymath and socialist, the influential force behind the foundation. The incentive to create such an organisation arose from Morris's disgust at the proposed restoration of Tewkesbury Abbey. This society not only ensured that buildings of such great merit were retained but also took steps to ensure that the materials used in any restoration would be as close to if not the same as that of the traditional materials used. For the next 50 years this was the only body that was dedicated to the preservation of such historic buildings.
William Morris Pic From
Tewkesbury Abbey (Pics from: www.tewskburyabbey.org)
The year of 1882, five years since the first public electric lighting was introduced, Britain saw the beginning of the Law stepping in to aid the conservation of the historic fabric. As will be discussed later legislation along with success of voluntary bodies can be used to trace the issues that were most important to the public. The Ancient Monument Protection Act was the first piece of conservationist legislation in Britain, it protected 29 monuments in England and Wales and 21 in Scotland. These were set out in the schedule to the act and an interesting by line is that this is why they are today still referred to as scheduled ancient monuments. Even the first legal step to preserve the historic came up against opposition in Parliament.
894 saw the first attempts to identify ancient buildings, first undertaken in London. Robert Ashbee, a leading figure from the Arts and Crafts movement, and a disciple of Morris's set up a committee for the survey of the Memorials of Greater London. The purpose of this was to watch and register what was still remaining of the beautiful and historic work in Greater London and retain it from further destruction. Its first aim was to compile a list of most important buildings and produce a series of monographs on the most important among them. This survey was taken over by The London County Council, and they in 1898 (a year before the first motor bus in Britain) gained the powers from Parliament to buy historic buildings or to provide funds for their restoration and maintenance.
895 saw the most successful voluntary society in all of the conservation field established; The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty was founded by Octavia Hill, and in 1907 the trust was given the right to hold land inalienably. For the first 40 years of its existence the trust concerned itself with land more than buildings.
904 saw the establishment of Victoria County Histories (VCH), this was a focus on subjects as diverse as geology and natural history but was a sign of a methodological approach to looking at the way of the nations heritage.
908 saw the foundation of the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments of England (RCHM), this was the biggest step to date to conserve not only monuments but also constructions that were connected with or that were illustrative of: English culture, civilization, and conditions of life of early England. Changes in public taste were noted by the focus on different types of architecture. Interestingly Georgian architecture that had then been revered was now condemned as ugly. The RCHM focused on architecture since 1714 at its inception and then in 1921, changed focus to 1700, in 1946 the commission changed focus again to 1850, but a little too late after many of the Georgian buildings had been lost in the inter- war period, it was not until 1963 that the date was removed altogether.
The World Wars put whole new strains on the Built Heritage. There were not enough voluntary bodies and pressure groups in existence to curb the tide of destruction. Those that did exist struggled on, and in some cases were victorious. The main problem was with lack of public support, minds were presumably on the more pressing issues of the War.
The Church of England in 1919 brought about one of the most serious threats to conservation with a proposition put forward to destroy 19 churches, including many built by the great architects of the time such as Hawksmoor. The argument used to back this proposal was that the churches were not paying their way. Seven years passed before the proposal was defeated. Bodies such as the National Trust, The London Survey Commission and SPAB gained support from 'The Times' and some prominent architects such as Sir Reginald Blomfield. The conservationists resources were small, and despite growing public support the churches proposals were passed by the House of Lords by 71 votes to 54. The good sense of the commons was the only thing that saved the churches with 124 votes against to 27 votes for the development.
Unfortunately victories were not always possible for the conservationists. The London County Council demolished John Rennies Waterloo Bridge and replaced it with a new one that was later to be destroyed in the Blitz anyway. The Commissioners for crown lands were also responsible for the loss of urban fabric, with their demolition of Nash's Regent Street, they also proposed to replace Carlton House Terrace with a Portland Stone Façade. This caused such concern that there was formation of yet another voluntary body 'The Georgian Group'
John Rennies Waterloo Bridge
http://www.victorianlondon.org/thames/waterloobridge.htm
The introduction of the Town Planning Act 1947, brought with it the right to develop. Planning permission was granted by the local planning authority, and one could appeal to the secretary of state against a refusal of permission or unduly onerous conditions. This act brought with it the concept of listing as we know it today. Owners were given no right of appeal in this case, and were simply told that their property had been listed. It was a significant advance on what had preceded this legislation. This time also saw the establishment of Building Preservation Orders, which could empower the local authority to have the building restored to its original state. The first national survey of historic buildings also began at this time. The survey was conducted by a mixed team of 'Investigators' unsurprisingly a whole 22 years later, after the examination of thousands of towns the survey was complete.
Euston Arch : pic from www.geocities.com/treiziste/Euston_Arch.html
Height72ft/21m
Built-1837
Demolished - 1961
957 saw the establishment of the Victorian society, membership increase brought about by the demolition of the entrance to Euston station. Public backing for this conservation can be illustrated by the rise in membership under 600 members in 1961, 1700 in 1968 and nearly 3000 by the end of 1978.
969 saw the end of the first survey with almost 120 000 buildings having been given statutory protection.
In 1965 William Morris founded the first national buildings conservation body, The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. In retrospect, however it is possible to see that a change in public attitudes was not really noted until the mid 70s.
Another landmark development in town planning legislation against urban destruction was the introduction of the Civic Amenities Act. This Acts main concern was the protection of the historic environment, arising from issues associated with the time of planning themes of growth and technology based modernisation. This Act assumed major significance as it addressed the question of what was of real importance as the pace of urban change speeded up. The Act essentially extended the concern with the historic environment, beginning with the level of individual monuments and buildings to wider areas. This act saw the introduction of Conservation Areas. Authorities quickly took up this instrument of policy and by mid-1974 there were over 3000 conservation areas throughout Britain.
In 1970 the change of government brought with it the establishment of the Department of The Environment. Nearly exactly a century after William Morris's body had been created it began to emerge that public backing to defend buildings and the built environment from post war planning policies was increasing. The most successful approach to re-educating the masses was the creation of European Architectural Heritage Year in 1975.
EAHY was a success in that it captured the imagination of the public and was a large factor in creating a general enmity for the results of the post-war planning and housing policies. EAHY highlighted the most noticeable and disliked visual aspects of planning policy at this time such as demolition, comprehensive redevelopment and high-rise flats as wholly unsustainable and promoted reuse, conservation and preservation instead. It appeared that the way forward could now be a much more peaceful one, preservation of historic buildings, conservation and reuse of older disused properties was promoted and it soon became apparent that much more attention was needed to secure a future for what was becoming our Heritage.
While 1975 might have marked another turning point, it also coincided with a climate of destruction exemplified by applications to demolish listed buildings at the rate of one a day. Furthering disgust at the planning authorities was an astounding exhibition of destruction; 'The Destruction of the Country House' at the Victoria & Albert Museum, this was a ferocious visual assault on the government at the state of planning policy at that time. The creators of this exhibition went on to create yet another conservation group called SAVE Britains Heritage. Many modern publicity methods were used this time to bring attention to and re-awake the public to the continuing loss of potentially useful and engaging buildings. SAVE issued over 400 press releases and 100 reports of varying topics within the conservation remit, it became successful in overturning legislation and even some policies of private organisations such as the CEGB and British Rail. This audacious group were also responsible for assembling practical solutions for great problem buildings including: Billingsgate Market and Battersey Power Station (pic previously), All Souls Church, Halifax and Barlaston Hall, Staffordshire.
All Souls Church Halifax: Barlaston Hall Staffordshire
Pic from: www.genuki.org.uk Pic from: www.poshcoffee.com
Battersea Power Station: pic from: www.thamespathproject.co.uk
Battersea power station was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott who also designed the Tate Power Station building, the second Waterloo Bridge, Liverpool Cathedral and the red telephone box. The Power Station ceased operations in 1982. In November 1996 Parkview submitted plans for the redevelopment of the Site and received outline consent in May 1997. Detailed planning consent for the majority of the site was granted in August 2000 and the remainder, in May 2001.
SAVE was certainly encouraging to others who wished to tackle major developments such as Liverpool Street Station, Smithfield Meat Market and Little Britain, Temple Meads Station, Bristol and Central Station Manchester.
Save are still campaigning today to prevent the demolition of Smithfield Market. A direct threat of demolition and redevelopment hangs over the empty general market (by Horace Jones) as the Corporation of London seeks to maximise its income from the site through the creation of yet more office space.
Smithfield Meat Market Inside and Out Pics From: www.cityoflondon.gov.uk
This Group has undoubtedly been one of the most influential bodies since the early days of SPAB, also launched amid much campaigning publicity. The SPAB has enjoyed increased membership, strengthening of its technical capacity and engagement in campaigns to reuse farm buildings for example.
The Georgian Group and the Victorian Society have too made their voices heard in more recent years, they have campaigned to maintain architecture like St Pancreas Station and Georgian Bath: the latter is represented not only by its successes such as the sacrosanct Circus and Royal Crescent, but also by its contextual foothills such as Walcot street. The charm of the practically ordinary however less easy to define than the quality masterpieces has become the attention of much of the conservation effort in more recent years.
This examination of the history of urban conservation in Britain has made it possible to see the issues that were driving the movement much more clearly. It is apparent that The image of the city, changing fashions in architecture, changing fashions in Town Planning, The state of the economy, the education of society, general British attitudes and Financing all play an important part in the conservation debate. Now that these issues can be placed in context a more focused look at each of them will follow.
IMAGE OF THE CITY
Britain is a multicultural society, meaning that perceptions of place and conservation mean different things to different groups of people. 'Planning problems arise when townscapes age and the social and economic conditions under which they were created change'.
The regeneration of a city does not necessarily mean the acceptance of the past. It is an interesting point that the image of city is unavoidably associated with the well being of the society that lives in it. The state of the economy is understandably measured by the public as a reflection of the condition of the industrial heartland of the country. This is a notion that although understandable has no real grounding in actual practice, as the industrial townscapes that we associate with being the nucleus of our economy are reminants of an older generations economic success. Today the cities that are actually generate the most wealth are not comprised of such visually appealing images as the factory chimney, rather they are comprised of high-rise buildings housing communications and electronics companies.
The new commercial centres continued to grow and regenerate themselves in the industrial age but with that an apparent shift of populations from the cities to the suburbs it was becoming more obvious that our smug satisfaction at the wealth of these cities was being counteracted by industrial artefacts that people had no desire to see in their daily lives. There was a strong reaction amongst architects to re-establish the concept of urbanism and a desire to build national communities to combat ill-considered sprawl.
There was however a new interest in modern building technologies and powerful architectural ideologies imported from Europe. Due to Post War planning and the economic situation in Britain there was a need to provide housing to the masses. The attraction to the ideas imported from Europe and new modern building technologies coupled with this need to provide housing for the masses resulted in the creation of new communities, unfortunately often by changing an English mans castle into his apartment. These apartments came in the form of Tower blocks, now a much despised side effect of the time due to the sheer austere quality of these constructions. The failure of these buildings to house the masses satisfactorily was apparent even then. They gave no sense of identity to families and there was no built in responsibility of the people that lived here to preserve them to ensure their long term survival. Again due to the poor detailing in design and more importantally conceptually these schemes were simply not adequate.
ARCHITECTURE
Architecture is the force driving urban conservation, but it was beginning to become apparent that perhaps the architects had a different ideal of urbanism and that it was possible now their taste was also questionable. The greedy profit motive rears its ugly head again, and this can be demonstrated by the example of architects attitudes over bungalow provision. Although there was a significant section of society who would benefit best from this one story building type, it did not fall in line with architects built form objectives and were in the main discouraged and frowned upon.
The developments in architectural design itself can be related to the need for conservation of the urban areas of Britain. It was now necessary to incorporate car use into the city. Architecture trends at the time, particularly those praised by Corbusier meant more accommodation on less land. This was a design guide that allowed architects to incorporate the space needed for car use easily and redevelopment often saw concrete slabs and towers that would incorporate parking and servicing, again moving away from the ornate and visually exciting buildings of the past.
American cities (particularily the larger ones) have always seemed economically successful to the British, their monumental skyscrapers indicating a sense of great well being, that sections of our society sought to emulate. Architects attempted to bring a similar image of prosperity to Britain. The skyline in Britain adopted a different look, the ornate domes and tall spires making way for geometric tall blocks of housing, and offices. It has been regarded that the ideals of architects, particularly the image of design is seen as over supportive of the modernist movement. Council building began to become a thing of the past as cities began to flourish, and with that there was a change in developers to private companies as society began to change to a property owning one. Architects were reluctant to accept that their design ideals had been rejected by society and there was now a need for an alternative, most likely a more traditional expression of contemporary tastes. The issue of who would create the design quality arose, were the critics, the architects or the public to decide? Surely in designing an urban society, there should be no elite, should it not be the role of everyone in that society to say how things should look?
ECONOMIC ISSUES
As discussed earlier Economic pressures were very influential in how urban society evolved. Energy conservation was not something that developers considered when construsting cities after the war, the focus on quantity of building was a political move, tied in with the publics association of well being, but this now meant that buildings were encountering the problem of sustainability. The cost of maintaining these new buildings had not been taken into consideration. The oil crisis illustrated the oversight on financing of these buildings and as the cost of energy rose so too did the need to put aside more funds for making buildings more energy conscious. The rehabilitation of the older building stock began to be emphasised, especially in light of the short life span of the new builds.
Economic forces demanding a more conservationist approach to building design, with some solution to be found in rehabilitation and yet more converts to the movement of the physical conservation of the heritage made these two forces quite compatible. Architects began to design from a more artistic viewpoint once more, in a reponse to the energy conservation demands and also to the criticisim of the appearance of buildings constructed in the last 20 years.
LEGISLATION
Legislation and examining the growth and influence of bodies connected with the urban conservation movement can also be used to trace what issues were most relevant at any given time and reflect fairly adequately public pressure, given that legislation usually follows behind an change in public opinion. As was mentioned previously the first relevant legislation in Britain was the Ancient Monuments Protection Act of 1882, followed by the Royal Commissions on Historic Monuments 1908. The listing of buildings as is known today began under the 1944 Planning Act, although revisions and additions occur frequently the full resurvey began in 1970.
This resurvey proceeded very slowly until Michael Heseltine became secretary of state for the environment in 1982, a specially funded exersise to complete the relisting by 1985 began. The requirement of relisting of these buildings was indicitave of changing attitudes to older buildings, tastes changed again, dictating that buildings that had been originally overlooked were now valued in a different way that would have been foreign to the concepts of conservation 40 years previous. It became apparent that education of the masses to the merits of conservation was starting to take effect (the project most successful in creating this new awareness was the European Architectural Heritage Year detailed below). Today good vernacular buildings of the 18th century would definatley be listed, and probably from mid 19th century, after these dates the decision to list lies with the quality of the given building. It was now realised that listing was subjective, and should therefore be constantly reviewed and scrutinised.
Listing depends on subjective values and is therefore more controversial than ever, as it is again a grey area as to what is perceived to be in the best interests for the country to list. conservationists see listing as a great step forward and relish in the opportunity to bring listed building applications to public inquiry to ensure community awareness.
EDUCATION
BRITISH ATTITUDES
FINANCING
CONSERVATION IN PRACTICE
Bibliography
Larkham, P. J (1996) Conservation and the city, Routledge London and New York
Haughton G & Hunter C (1996) Sustainable Cities, Routledge London and New York
Ross M (1996) Planning and the Heritage E&FN Spon, London
Roberts P & Skyes H (2000) Urban Regeneration a Handbook, Sage Publications London
Ward S.V(1994) Planning and Urban Change, Paul Chapman Publishing limited
Pearce D (1989) Routledge London and New York
Prestwich R & Taylor P, (1990) Introduction to regional and Urban Policy in the United Kingdom, Longman London & New York
Tarn J N, 1985, Urban Regeneration, The conservation dimension, Town Planning Review 56 (2)
Mc Allister A, Mc Master R (1999) Scottish Planning Law (second edition) Ch 12 'The Built Environment' Butterworth
www.defra.gov.uk Crown Estates
www.scotland.gov.uk Planning and The Historic Environment NPPG 18
www.scotland.gov.uk Archaeology and Planning NPPG 5
www.savebritainsheritage Online site for SAVE Britains Heritage
www.georgiangroup.org.uk Online site for The Georgian Group
modern versus old- St Marys Thames Path Project
20) 15.46 - St Mary's and Modern
I love the setting of the church with the new office building in the background and the house boats nestling around the trees
'We are all no more life tenants of our heritage and we have a moral duty to pass it on in as good condition as that in which we received it' Margaret Thatcher PM
970's saw a climate of vast destruction
Think Tanks such as the 'policy studies institutes' publish reports such as one that detailed that the 'Heritage' brought more money in to the country than the motor industry.
Prosperity leads to imaginative conversions
Reductions in personal taxation
Special provisions for outstanding houses and collections
Art prices ( facilitates conversions
New argument for conservation that has come into its own since 1975, is that concerning the need to preserve buildings as documents of social history, as evidence of the way of life of those somewhat patronisingly labelled 'ordinary people'. Few criticise this idea, excepting those like John Summerson who actually established modern conservation just before and after the Second World War. For these people an old buildings architectural quality was the main justification for preserving it.- though they did grudgingly admit another criterion 'historic interest'. This essentially covered places where some very great person lived or died, or where some great historic event occurred, but is of course almost infinatley flexible and
Conservation:
The Historic Environment relates to the tangible built heritage, historic buildings and townscapes, parks and Gardens, designed landscapes, ancient monuments, archaeological sites and landscapes and also includes the wider settings of these features and areas as well as places, important for their historic associations.
The Historic environment also serves as a framework for the evolution and development of our built environment, has vast visual appeal, provides inspiration and enjoyment and helps to reinforce identity on regional, local and national levels.
The Historic environment is now seen as immensely important for education, tourism, recreation and leisure
Post War Period saw a climate of destruction, this was followed by many successive governments putting conservation at a high priority.
Care of the countrys heritage is a fundamental element of environmental stewardship and a high priority of the governments along with sustainable development being at the heart of government policy.
NPPG 5 Archeaology and Planning, sets out the role of the planning system in protecting ancient monuments and archaeological sites and landscapes.
NPPG 18 deals primarily with listed buildings
