Sustainable Futures Wright & Wright - Flipbook - Page 33
Transforming historic estates
Edward Clarke
‘Through the
sensitive
transformation
of existing spaces,
rationalisation of
services and careful
choice of materials,
each phase of
development is low
in embodied carbon’
As the pressures of the climate
emergency intensify, a key challenge for
the nation’s historic institutions is how
to reconcile the demands of modern –
and still evolving – standards of
sustainability within highly sensitive
settings. How can historic buildings and
estates be made fit for the future?
Home to the Archbishops of
Canterbury for 800 years, the buildings
of Lambeth Palace are resonant with
history and a Scheduled Ancient
Monument. Wright & Wright and
Arup’s masterplan for the Palace estate
augments and extend this continuum
through a programme of repair,
remodelling and new interventions.
It also responds to the wider strategic
goal set by the General Synod for all
parts of the Church of England to work
to become carbon net zero by 2030.
Although Lambeth Palace is only one
part of an extensive global portfolio of
buildings, it is seen as a powerful
exemplar for the management and
redevelopment of other sites and
buildings. In view of this, Arup and the
client agreed to demonstrate that it is
possible to develop and deliver a net
zero strategy on a project of such
historic significance.
The physical state of the Palace
presented a number of challenges.
Composed of buildings from different
eras, spanning the 13th to the 19th
centuries, the Grade I listed complex
had languished for some time,
necessitating a comprehensive
programme of repair. Little had been
done to the buildings since the Second
World War, and the basic infrastructure
for heating and electrics, which were
found to be embedded in asbestos,
failing badly, difficult to control and
required replacement.
Based on a fabric-first approach,
upgrading the existing building fabric
has been prioritised, reducing the
energy required to heat and cool internal
spaces. Complex, inefficient services
were replaced with more streamlined
energy efficient heating and electrical
systems, and the thermal envelope was
also upgraded, with improved loft
insulation and, most significantly,
double glazed windows.
The works are not a simple like for
like replacement; for instance, a new
lighting scheme has been developed to
improve both the display of the artwork
within the Palace and also provide
greater flexibility of use when the Palace
hosts wider events.
The creation of a new Energy Centre
will enable a move away from current
reliance on fossil fuels. Housing the
three air source heat pumps, these are
key to the decarbonisation of the Palace.
Ultimately, the entire Palace will be
served by this Energy Centre,
augmented by on-site renewables.
Increased public access is a further longterm ambition, with works planned to
the Great Hall, guard room, chapel and
crypt chapel to improve access to the
Palace’s historic core. The project is
on track to achieve a BREEAM rating
of ‘Excellent’.
Through the sensitive transformation
of existing spaces, rationalisation of
services and careful choice of materials,
each phase of development is low in
embodied carbon. Close collaboration
between the client, design team and
contractor enabled a complex set of site
logistics to be resolved and planned
around significant milestones, such as
the ten-yearly Lambeth Conference,
with 2000 guests. It also instilled the
necessary resilience to plan around less
predictable national events, such as the
Royal Funeral and Coronation.
Opposite:
The Great Hall at Lambeth
Palace, now refurbished
through a fabric first approach
Transforming historic estates
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