Conversion and Adaptation of Buildings - Essay Example

Conversion and Adaptation of buildings By: History of the building The town centre of Brentwood is currently a mature settlement that is fully built up with little open spaces. The backlands, as a result of the continued construction practices have almost been fully occupied too. The ample spaces available around the buildings on Shenfield and Ingrave Roads are in existence only due to their presence on the conservation areas and more efforts are being placed so that it is not encroached upon or compromised by infilling by the general population of Brentwood District Old House located on the Shenfield Road, Brentwood, documented from 1748, is a building with brick flared headers, and is grade II* listed. After its construction, it existed under the Brentwood District Council (BDC). Major renovations and reconstructions had since taken place on the building including the construction of an additional single storey canted bay that was built to the left of the building’s front door. On its eastern side, there was a separate long six window bay unit that also had incorporated the timber-framing of the 16th century that it got enjoined with. The building, like the other Georgian buildings in the area, was formerly used as part of the Brentwood School. From 1973, it has been used as an Arts and Community Centre that is run by Brentwood Council, and as such has been very busy and well utilized (KITCHING, 2007, pg 104). The front elevation of the Old House The Old House has however undergone a number of degradation over the years; the flowerbed by the front door for instance looks like it needs better edging and particular attention from its owners. Other areas of concern include its rear elevation, the curtilage, and its general setting that has been severely derogated by legal changes and a supposed lack of appropriate landscaping. A careful analysis of the structure reveals that some of the signs that are attached to it and the presence of the free standing board in its front needs to be improved on to depict a building of the current century. The quality of the internal floors is also in a questionable state and in order to convert the building’s purpose, these have to be substantially worked on KITCHING 2007, pg 137). The Legal restrictions In the conversion of the Old House to multi use, for restaurant and residential purposes on its top floor, a lot of factors have to be taken into account. The restaurant and the residential purpose would help serve the commercial and the residential schemes of the public respectively. When doing any reconstruction or putting up new structures, particularly in such conservation areas, it is a requirement to acknowledge the surroundings of the structure and the character of the location involved and considering these in the proposed approaches. Due to its location, in the High street, it would be prudent to inculcate some of the modern styles of architecture and construction in the conversion of this particular building (KINCAID 2003, pg 65). In circumstances where a building is listed or falls within the curtilage of a Listed Building, the Listed Building Consent would be required for any work that impacts on the character or appearance of such a building. An application for such would be needed in this case, accompanied by an application for the planning permission. The listed building usually represents significant heritage character and thus must be safeguarded under the terms of the Planning (Listed Buildings & Conservation Area) Act 1990 (KINCAID 2003, pg 74). The principles of conversion The fundamental principle of the conversion of this building would heavily rely on the design of the original building. In judging its potential, it is important to note the existing primary and secondary elevations of the building. Primary elevations represent the elevations that face the public areas and contribute majorly to the character of the buildings. This elevation has extremely significant architectural features and/or characters that should be subjected to minimal changes (POWELL1999, pg 84). With regard to the Old House, the original openings in this elevation should be left unblocked and newer openings should be restricted. The stone arches and the old stone mullioned windows should be carefully preserved. The conversion of the top floor to be partly a restaurant would require a refurbishment of these parts to create a feeling of openness, creating more space and flexibility. In the conversion of the building space to a restaurant, the project will invariably be budget driven with the main task of achieving an optimum balance between the visions of creating the restaurant itself and the constraints that would be imposed by the budget, timescale and the condition of the existing building. A set of well arranged tables and chairs should be arranged in place to create the restaurant environment and a cosy atmosphere. The creation of a unique and innovative ambience should be a major design objective in order to create a large clientele base. This refurbishment plan would be an expensive to carry out due to the various pay outs and expenses that would have to be incurred. Portioning some of the top floor space to residential units would require a lot of integration in the overall design approach. It would be necessary to blend the design of the restaurant to that of the residential units. This conversion would need more partitioning requirements with additional facilities to be used by the people who would be living in the units. The public access of the building would also have to be reviewed by the authorities in this sense. The lighting system would need to be improved for the top floors to allow for a comfortable living. The integrity of the floors would have to be restored too. This too would be expensive but would be able to increase the utility of the building. To allow for safer dwelling, then; Alteration to the existing entrance and internal doorway should be improved to facilitate access for people The thermal insulation of the building has to be taken into account With reference to the materials to be used and on the different building sections, the original roofing and walling materials should be retained and repaired. The window frames to be replaced should be carefully chosen so that it respects the character of the building. Simple dark framed windows would be an appropriate choice to help in giving a character of dark open recess in the façade. Doors used should be fully glazed to help in emphasizing their shape and scale of the building. In areas with poor quality repairs especially on the brick walls and the building floors, replacement should be done with materials that would closely match with those that were used when the building was initially constructed (POWELL1999, pg 96). Workable Access and Party wall issues The party walls represents dividing partitions between adjoining buildings shared by different residences or business owners of separate building units. Different units within buildings also utilize party walls as partitions. In the former cases, the builders use the walls along property lines to divide flats or a row of houses, with one half of each wall thicknesses lying on either side of the property. Such walls are often structural in their sense of purposes. In the Brentwood Old House conversion, these party walls would be utilized in the separation of the different units proposed for the top floor of the building. In this case the walls would not be structural units but would be designed to meet the established criteria for sound and/or fire protection (KINCAID 2003, pg 101). A further proposal to work on the access and the architectural soundness of the building would be to do away with the extensions of the building’s flat roof. This is because of the fact that this portion compromises the quality of the rare façade of the building structure. As a result, Brentwood Old House would be left with an elevation that would be covered in internal finishes which would not be aesthetically pleasing. The remedy could be by constructing a minor single storey infill in the form of a bay window but similar to the other bay details. This should be flanked on each side by lightweight structures rendered to distinguish this part from the original building. This adjustment would create some more accommodation and ensure its financial viability; it would also act to improve the poor developments in this section of the building. Internally, use would be made of the existing party walls and additional ones to provide the partitions required for the different purposes of the building. In converting the building’s top floor for multiple use purposes, some internal partitions would be retained while others will have to be bolstered since they could be utilized as party walls (WILKINSON, REMØY & LANGSTON 2014, pg 48). Non- combustible material could be used in the bolstering and the upgrading of these walls. They could also be effectively built and used as fire walls in the building, as various building codes would require. In such circumstances the walls would be continuous from the foundations to create structurally independent units on either side of each other (WILKINSON, REMØY & LANGSTON 2014, pg 57). Building Regulations These building conversion and adaptability measures have to adhere to the provided building regulations. In the areas that they hadn’t been adhered to, appropriate measures have to be taken in order to ensure that the building conforms to the required standards. These Regulations are made under powers provided in the Building Act 1984 and apply in all the UK countries. They exist to ensure the Health and Safety of people in and around all the types of buildings being built or refurbished. In order to carry out this construction exercise, all the procedures have to be subject to existing building regulations and this should be controlled by the local authorities (POWELL & KENNETH 2005, pg 52). In adherence to the building regulations Part B that ensures for fire safety measures, the building should be fitted with fire alarms and an appropriate means of warning and escape incase of a fire outbreak. Exits and escape routes should be well designed, placed to be easily sighted by people using the building. An escape lighting should be implemented on the stairway in the central core and in the open restaurant space as the area exceeds 60m². According to the regulation, the extent of the spread of fire would be a concern because of the building’s close proximity to hard vegetation. This risk can be minimized through the use of sheep’s wool and Rockwool insulation mechanisms for the building. The selection and design of the fire fighting equipments should also be carried out in a way that ensures that access to such equipments and personnel is within the acceptable limits. The building should have fire main hydrants and their locations and placements be clearly indicated. The main road and the service roads existing in the precincts of the building would help in providing the ample room for fire service vehicles as provided for by the regulation. In relation to the building regulation Part F, which allows for the adequate provision of a means of ventilation to the people residing in the building, the structure uses the glazed windows to serve this purpose throughout the whole building. The provided windows however should be improved to provide the air tightness required by these regulations. Building regulation Part L deals with the insulation of building elements. That is, the regulation controls the allowable area of windows, air permeability of the building, doors and other openings, the insulation and controls for heating appliances, the heating efficiency of boilers and the lighting efficiency. The fact that The Old House is existing and to be used for commercial purposes, the building regulation L1B must be adhered to specifically. In this regard, Energy Performance Certificate must be acquired it must meet the required standards for carbon dioxide emissions. It is worth noting that carbon dioxide emissions and energy ratings is calculated using National Calculation Methodology. Building regulation Part M that relates to access and use of the building should also be adhered to, and reasonable provision should be made for people to acquire and gain access to and use the facilities that are proposed within the building including the sanitary conveniences. There should be an additional provision of such with improved access. The provision and the existence of these Construction Regulations would help in improving the health and safety of all the people involved in the construction and provide for an effective planning and management of risks usually involved on site. These regulations, particularly The CDM 2007 places legal duties on virtually everyone involved in construction work and outline them as duty holders (POWELL & KENNETH 2005, pg 52). For these purposes the client must; Ensure that there is a suitable management arrangement for the project in question Check on the competence and resources of all the appointees Provide the sufficient time and resources for all the stages involved Provide clarity for the building purpose and its design Provide information for the Health and Safety remedies to the construction authorities. These building regulations would ensure that the construction project is safe to build, use and safe to maintain and delivers good value. It would further help in the reduction of paperwork, bureaucracy and would simplify the integration between designers and contractors thus raise the standards of the project (WILKINSON, REMØY & LANGSTON 2014, pg 71). Reference KITCHING, C. J. (2007). Archive buildings in the United Kingdom, 1993-2005. Chichester, West Sussex, England, Phillimore KINCAID, D. (2003). Adapting buildings for changing uses guidelines for change of use refurbishment. London, Spon Press. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=93254. POWELL, K. (1999). Architecture reborn: converting old buildings for new uses. New York, Rizzoli. POWELL, KENNETH. (2005). Architecture Reborn The Conversion And Reconstruction of Old Buildings. New Line Books. WILKINSON, S., REMØY, H. T., & LANGSTON, C. A. (2014). Sustainable building adaptation: innovations in decision-making. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=687721. Read More