The Beauty Of Historic Buildings

by Rob Hankey

We have long since worked with historic and Listed buildings all over the south west but the opening of our Devon office has certainly increased the number of projects that require specialist heritage input. The nature of these projects means that a tailored approach and design solution, common across all of our projects, is even more essential. Telling the story of the project is critical to gaining support for whatever changes we're proposing. These stories are important for weaving in meaning; connecting the building to its place and history, and justifying the intervention in terms of a continuation of this connection (appropriate for now and the future). 

(Alterations to Grade II Listed Barn Conversion)

(Alterations to Grade II Listed Farm House and Annex)

Working with a Listed Building or in a sensitive historic setting, doesn't mean that a contemporary intervention, extension or new build is not appropriate or possible - indeed, our process would often lead us to a proposal that is unashamedly new and different. We tend to adhere to a 'new is new and old is old' philosophy that is honest and transparent about the 'story' of a place and the technologies of today (rather than copying the old and creating a pastiche of what the world used to be like).

(Contemporary redevelopment of a property adjacent to a Grade I Listed Building and Scheduled Ancient Monument)

Celebrating our heritage surroundings and facilitating their continued use and viability is really important to us as a practice, and indeed, we believe, to our society. Historic buildings link us to people of the past; the craft, labour, time and love that went into making them; and the material richness that time augments through weathering and human touch. These are things that cannot be replicated. They are valuable to our souls and are irreplaceable! 

(Creation of a cohousing scheme from a historic farmyard adjacent to several Listed Buildings)

I think contemporary design can also learn lessons from our historic buildings - the longevity and care that is imbued in them is cultivated, in part, by the inherent qualities of their materials, structures, manufacture, and decoration. Many architectural critics and philosophers, from Pallasmaa to Heatherwick, call for contemporary buildings to embrace richness, diversity and complexity - to enliven all the senses. 

As spring unfolds I am reawakened to the energy and complexity of the natural world and reminded that these qualities are also somehow captured within historic buildings - we embrace our role to help celebrate them and to create new growth/chapters in their rich lives.