Blog by Catherine Cosgrove, Associate and Sustainability Champion at Austin-Smith:Lord. Chair of the Scottish Ecological Design Association.

When it was announced that COP 26 was coming to Glasgow I thought that this would be an amazing opportunity to meet with and learn from people from all over the world about sustainability and climate change. Alongside my role at Austin-Smith: Lord, I’m also currently the Chair of the Scottish Ecological Design Association (SEDA). We were advised that the UN were encouraging groups from all over Scotland to apply for observer status at COP 26. A year and many, many forms later, SEDA were awarded observer status and five delegate places for each week. I chose to attend in the second week, which includes themes on resilience, transport and the built environment.

So what have been my first impressions? The scale of this conference is enormous. Not just in terms of how long it takes to walk through the event campus but also in terms of the subjects covered and the amount of people who are attending. It’s like rush hour in Central Station all the time. There are so many people with really interesting contributions. Everywhere you turn people are blogging, filming, making announcements and pledges. Earlier today I happened to be standing in Zone E, just beyond the television cameras from the international news feeds, and there was what looked like a walking scrum of people, lights and cameras that passed in front of me. Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives was on her way to an event and was surrounded by the media every step of the way. This sort of thing doesn’t usually happen at any of the other sustainability conferences I’ve attended.

There is a buzz, a willingness to make things happen and to come together to make a difference. How to get more people involved is a common topic. It’s also interesting to hear government and business leaders admitting that they are much better informed that they were even three years ago and that many have identified what actions they can take to make an immediate impact.

But another theme that is also clear is that we’re not even close to meeting the climate pledges that have already been made, let alone set even more ambitions targets. Progress is too slow. Those nations who can afford to spend more on climate mitigation are reluctant to commit more funds and smaller nations are focussing on surviving the impact of climate change already. Just and equitable transition to low impact living are common themes of many presentations.

Many delegates also seem to have a lack of urgency and focus. In the Blue Zone there’s an area set aside for exhibition pavilions from many countries, organisations and interest groups. There are dozens of presentations happening at any one time and its common to hear applause or cheering breaking out across the arena. But there are also many people using laptops, on phones, answering emails and catching up on messages while sitting in these presentations. They aren’t giving them their full attention, they aren’t invested and make no contribution. It’s hard not to see this as part of the reason that we’re not making progress on our climate commitments.

There are moments that give cause for hope. In the exhibition zone there are some pavilions that are full of people and excitement. The indigenous peoples pavilion and the Nigerian pavilion sit side by side, are full of life and colour and a joy to be around. I loved the bamboo bicycle and the Pavegen technology that can generate electricity from walking over it – now there’s something to install in Central Station. I loved the presentation from Just Diggit (www.justdiggit.org), a Dutch Organisation working in Africa, and their way of linking story telling and technology to increase public involvement in their sustainability initiatives.

Everyone was exited anticipating Barak Obama’s speech. His session was ticket only and few delegates had the opportunity to be there in person. It was available on the COP 26 Platform and via You Tube, with most people watching or listening to the livestream. I ended up sharing my phone with six others so we could all hear him at the same time. His talk was both inspiring and a reminder that pledges are easy to make but hard to put into practice. What I took from it was his encouragement for people to take their own action to help change their local communities, not to wait for governments to do something. It’s the same conversation that we’ve been having in Austin-Smith: Lord. Everyone has the power to make positive decisions that can help the environment and we can do that every day.

I’m looking forward to the next two days of COP 26 and what opportunities that might bring. Sharing knowledge and collaboration are key to making progress and I’d like to think that Austin-Smith:Lord and SEDA can help on both of those subjects.

Name
Emily Harper

When did you join Austin-Smith:Lord?
August 2016

What is your role within our Creative Collective?
Architect, WELL AP and Mental Health First Aider. I like to think of myself as an unofficial wellbeing champion in both design and practice.

What are you working on at the moment?
Woodchester Convent; Refurb of a Grade 2 listed convent into a luxury hotel and wellness centre (dream project!)

What inspires you most in your work?
Change. I enjoy materials that evolve over time, and spaces that can adapt. I think that’s why I love working with existing buildings so much.

What aspects of your work are you most proud of?
I believe I design with empathy; I’m not often very outspoken, but think I advocate for building users in what I design.

Which designers / projects do you most admire and why?
I’m sure I’m expected to pick an architect for this question but I’m going to side step into fashion and say Iris Van Herpen. Her work is so structural and sculptural but with a kinetic and fluid quality, it’s all beautiful.

What is your favourite Austin-Smith:Lord project and why?
Probably the Carmelite Monastery. Odd, because I’m an atheist, but I do admire the ability to harness spirituality and faith in architecture. Plus, who doesn’t love bricks?

What fictional place would you like to visit?
Neverland (the ‘Hook’ version)

What’s the best advice you’ve ever heard?
“Holding onto anger is like swallowing poison and expecting someone else to get sick.”

Complete the following – “I couldn’t get through the week without…”
Cheese, mostly.

Blog by Thierry Lye, Architect, Austin-Smith:Lord

Many of us have been receiving an exceptionally high amount of digital content regarding the climate crisis the world is facing, thanks to the COP26 conference that took place in Glasgow. Every major news outlet was covering daily news from the Blue Zone of the SEC Campus, intended to provide thorough coverage of political news and world leaders. Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) also hosted a Built Environment Summit in partnership with Architects Declare a week before COP26. The Summit highlighted the high percentage (38%) of global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions associated with the built environment, whilst Architects Declare emphasised the twin crises of climate breakdown and biodiversity loss and its consequence if we don’t act immediately. We are now much better equipped with vital facts and figures. The burning question is – what can we do, both as individuals living on this planet, and as a collective will within the built environment – before it is too late?

The first word that came to my mind about climate crisis is decarbonisation. It is commonly used to describe the process of removing and reducing carbon dioxide output from our economic activities. During the RIBA Built Environment Summit, I was particularly interested in the panel discussion entitled “Who Is Responsible for Decarbonisation: Industry or the Government?” The straightforward answer is BOTH; everyone working in the construction industry is in this together trying to solve the crisis. I was also surprised to hear that only a handful of architects within RIBA are taking on the lobbying role on behalf of the profession across the UK. This is negligible in comparison to other industries such as the green and renewable energy sector. Shouldn’t we be communicating and influencing policymakers on decisions to be made for the built environment?

In terms of grass-root activism about the climate crisis, I have experienced COP26 first-hand in my home city. It is inevitable that most communities and media are not optimistic about the outcome of COP26. Greta Thunberg already called out the event as a ‘failure’ to tackle the climate crisis as an emergency, which then led to the trending of hashtag #blahblahblah on social media.

While the key discussions were taking place inside the highly secured SEC Campus, the public took to the streets expressing concern on the lack of actions from government. I also took part in the ‘Global Day of Action for Climate Justice’ march organised by the COP26 Coalition group, marching under the banner of Architects Climate Action Network (UK level) and New Glasgow Society (City level) with fellow architects from all over the UK. We met, we shared, and we got inspired by what everyone is doing regionally. These initiatives have been going on for years, and many have been campaigning relentlessly about built environment topics such as building retrofit, circular economy and the use of natural materials in the construction industry.

Architects are slowly breaking away from their silos across the industry, but it took a big event like COP26 to strengthen ongoing conversations between all groups. The overall consensus that I gathered is the lack of top-down incentives from the government, leaving the responsibilities to grass-root initiatives within the industry to move things forward.

Many architectural practices, including Austin-Smith:Lord, possess the creativity, technology and knowledge required to decarbonise the construction industry. But as a service provider, the design professions are limited without all stakeholders sharing sufficient amount of ambition, commitment and investment on policies. In my opinion, the next step for the design profession is to keep the momentum going after COP26 on the discourse with all parties developing practical and impactful ideas. The discourse will include stakeholders of all levels; government, local councils, clients and communities, so that we can secure the necessary commitment for change in decarbonising the built environment and wider economy.

It is time to act!

By Graham Ross (Austin-Smith:Lord), with Jeroen Zuidgeest (Studio for New Realities)

Graham and Jeroen have been working closely together, and in collaboration with many others, to consider a future strategy for Districts in Glasgow City Centre. The next four draft District Regeneration Frameworks for Glasgow City Centre will soon be published for public consultation. It is intended that these Frameworks become user-friendly and practical ‘Handbooks’ for change in the city.

 Bringing together local and international perspectives here the team consider the future of Glasgow city centre in the context of COP26 and the call for action.

 

Glasgow and COP

COP26 is well underway here in Glasgow. World leaders have come, spoken and departed the scene, leaving delegates, scientists and diplomats to broker targets and pledges in an attempt to secure the political will, commitment to action and investment necessary to “keep 1.5C alive”.

As delegates and activists arrived in Glasgow for COP26 the sense of anticipation and apprehension was palpable as proceedings got underway. Would this be a good COP or a bad COP? Would proceedings get beyond “blah, blah, blah” and translate in to meaningful climate action? Time will tell; though when it comes to the climate emergency time is evidently not on our side.

Whatever pledges are made, whatever global targets are set, COP26 should prove to be a pivotal moment for the city of Glasgow. In hosting the UN Climate Change Conference Glaswegians will now be very aware of the climate emergency agenda. However, in common with folk across the world, what climate change mitigation and adaptation and what a fair transition to net zero means for them and their family, their everyday quality of life, their communities and neighbourhoods, their town or city, is less clear.

A New Approach to Place-Planning

Co-designing what that future looks like, and delivering the necessary change urgently and equitably, presents a huge challenge and a big opportunity for local communities, working alongside planners, specialists, entrepreneurs, investors and others to reimagine their place; not least here in Glasgow. Spatial design provides the ability to translate goals and promises into physical interventions; Design = Action.

Improving the way in which we plan places is fundamental to achieving fairer, healthier and more sustainable cities (towns and neighbourhoods). This goes beyond physical interventions to encompass the social, economic, health and environmental dimensions, and the new processes required to get the right things done. If we are to achieve a fair transition, minimise waste (resources, energy, time, creativity), restore biodiversity and habitats towards climate neutral places we need a holistic, collaborative and integrated approach that aligns with Scotland’s Place Principle.

Sustainable Glasgow

Glasgow has already navigated a transition from an industrial to a post-industrial city with a diverse creative, knowledge and service economy. But how can it now achieve a fair transition to a circular economy within a decarbonised city region?

In recent years Glasgow City Council have published numerous ambitious strategies and policies to transform the city’s buildings, infrastructure and transport networks, transition to a circular economy and redefine the urban open and greenspace network. Key documents include the City’s Strategic Plan 2017-22, the Connectivity Commission, the Circular Economy Route Map, the Climate Emergency Implementation Plan, the Open Space Strategy and, most recently, a Transport Strategy (which is currently out for consultation). The existence of these strategies is augmented by tiers of planning policy that includes the current City Development Plan and Strategic Development Frameworks (notably for the City Centre and River), in anticipation of Scotland’s emerging National Planning Framework 4.

This policy and strategic framework has started to reposition Glasgow to respond to the global issues of our era, including the climate and biodiversity emergencies. However, translating policy in to action at a local level (as well as at the city scale) will require leadership, a clear sense of purpose and the means of providing user friendly guidance, capacity building, engagement and funding to support and empower local communities.

District Regeneration Frameworks : Case Study

Glasgow’s City Centre Strategy (2014) identified 9 Districts; each one requiring a Regeneration Framework to establish a future vision and outline what should go where, and why. The 9 Districts cover the full extent of the centre of Scotland’s largest, and only metropolitan, city. Evidently the environmental, social, economic, cultural and civic health and performance of these Districts, now and in the future, is therefore of national as well as local and city regional significance.

Crucially the 9 Districts also consider the City Centre’s relationship to neighbourhoods along, and beyond, the River Clyde, M8 motorway and High Street providing an opportunity to extend the benefit of City Centre regeneration beyond central Glasgow and to better connect citizens to their City Centre so it is truly a place for all Glaswegians.

Glasgow City Council appointed multi-disciplinary teams to develop District Regeneration Frameworks (DRFs) for the City Centre’s 9 Districts in 3 phases, with a pilot first DRF for Sauchiehall and Garnethill undertaken by a team led by Gehl.

It’s (Y)our City Centre : a collective effort

Austin-Smith:Lord have had the privilege of leading multi-disciplinary teams for the subsequent second and third phases of the DRFs, covering 8 of the 9 City Centre Districts. We deliberately combined local and international expertise into a gloriously diverse multi-disciplinary team committed to working with local communities, local and national agencies, experts and stakeholders from all sectors of society and the economy to reimagine Glasgow City Centre.

The most important experts guiding the process have been the Glaswegian community – those that live, work, study, visit and invest in Glasgow City Centre. It is not Our City Centre it is (Y)our City Centre! Glaswegians have identified the priorities and urgencies in each District; from the micro to the macro, from tactical ‘quick wins’ to long term strategic transformation.

City Urbanist, Prof. Brian Evans, called on the DRFs, alongside other planning interventions, to simultaneously consider the role of the City Centre as contributing to Glasgow – the International City, the Metropolitan City and, most especially, the Everyday City – reinforcing that need to enhance quality of life for all, everyday.

Using a pioneering, innovative and interactive process of sustainable urban planning the DRF approach is;

• • Community-led with co-design and participatory planning
  • Evidence-based urban data analysis, fieldwork and observation
  • Human-centred urbanism to develop future vision, plans and projects (micro to macro) to enhance quality of life for all
  • Action-driven approach to enable partnership working, delivery, monitoring and evaluation against KPI metrics

The second phase, led by Austin-Smith:Lord with MVRDV and Space Syntax and a multi-disciplinary team, prepared DRFs (now adopted) for Broomielaw, St. Enoch, Central and Blythswood. This work, undertaken in 2016 and 2017 and co-designed with more than 5,000 contributions from Glaswegians, sought to lock in best practice in sustainable urbanism. This involved extensive on-street and online engagement, including community animation work undertaken by WAVEparticle.

These DRFs provided evidence to the Connectivity Commission, championed the repopulation of the City Centre (with associated community infrastructure) and the adoption of a compact mixed-use city concept. The DRFs called for the restoration of built heritage and incentivised retrofitting of existing buildings, the need to alleviate severance caused by the M8 motorway, reallocate the over provision of road space to create streets and spaces for pedestrians, active travel and civic life and advocated an extensive programme of ‘greening the grey’ – notably along the Clyde to create a continuous River Park.

It has been heartening to see subsequent progress (in part super-charged by the Covid response) to boost City Centre living, advocate for 20 min neighbourhoods, reallocate road space through the Avenues and Spaces for People programmes, progress public transport investment and promote the River Park concept and nature-based solutions alongside early community action to improve key locations and connections such as at Anderston Cross.

Handbooks for Change : enhancing quality of life for all

The third and final phase led by Austin-Smith:Lord and Studio for New Realties, in collaboration with Urban Movement and WAVEparticle and a wider multi-disciplinary team, was appointed in March 2020, immediately prior to the Covid pandemic, to prepare DRFs for Cowcaddens, Townhead, the Learning Quarter and the Merchant City.

These DRFs will be public documents, to be adopted by the Council and used as ‘Handbooks for Change’ by communities, the Council and partners to deliver local regeneration with maximum focus on the everyday quality of life of Glaswegians in the City Centre. Each DRF ‘Handbook’ seeks to address the climate and biodiversity emergency, tackle Glasgow’s health, social and economic inequalities at a local level, develop an appropriate post-Covid response, and boost quality of life for all with a hands-on approach. The DRFs are local in focus but with a national significance and potential to influence best practice elsewhere in Scotland and further afield.

Regeneration for Who?

The DRF Handbooks aim to provide practical place-based guidance that can help inspire and drive community-led action, partnership working and secure funding and investment to guide regeneration of the 4 Districts in the north-eastern half of central Glasgow. A NE Districts Strategy that outlines overarching goals, principles and strategic projects will accompany these DRF Handbooks and seeks to coordinate action across all 4 Districts.

Progressed throughout the pandemic these DRFs have utilised a range of online participatory planning techniques devised to engage with hard to reach and under-represented groups in each District. This has resulted in over 4,000 contributions via over 200 meetings, 54 workshops, 44 online community events and webinars, 20 no. 1 to 1 interviews, 3 Freephone line sessions (to minimise digital exclusion) and 2 dedicated project websites capturing issues, ideas and solutions from Glaswegians.

Glasgow Started Here. Future Glasgow Starts Here!

The DRFs for Cowcaddens, Townhead, Learning Quarter and Merchant City cover a fascinating part of Glasgow that has suffered neglect and a sense of disconnection but presents an opportunity for the city to rediscover and reposition itself. Many communities in these Districts don’t self-identity as being in the City Centre and some areas exhibit stark contrasts in quality of life. However these Districts also have immense potential, talent, energy and appetite for change.

In combination these 4 DRFs encapsulate 280 hectares of central Glasgow and are home to over 20,000 people, over 2000 businesses employing over 55,000 people as well as hosting and knowledge cluster comprising 5 leading HE/FE institutions (University of Strathclyde, Glasgow Caledonian University, City of Glasgow College, Glasgow School of Art and the Royal Conservatoire Scotland) with over 65,000 students and Scotland’s first climate neutral Innovation District. This half of Glasgow City Centre is also home to world-renowned cultural and creative institutions, venues and practitioners. This combination of assets and talent is remarkable and the potential synergies very exciting.

Significantly this is, of course, where Glasgow started – with the Cathedral and the High Street linking to the Clyde and Glasgow Green – the foundation of our Dear Green Place. The history of the place is apparent in its intricate, layered and complex built and social heritage.

In contrast to the ‘core’ City Centre to the south-west, the north-east half of the City Centre presents an opportunity to fundamentally transform the City Centre, and by extension the communities towards the North and East. This ‘yin-yang’ interplay can help provide a powerful paradigm for Glasgow whereby the north-east can develop a positive and distinctive identity that fuses and reconciles the history of the place with a progressive, dynamic, healthy and thriving contemporary urbanism, to strongly contribute to the functioning, performance and quality of the City Center as a whole.

Glasgow started here. Glasgow’s next chapter should also start here!

Delivering the DRFs

The DRF Handbooks are intended to be user friendly and action-driven. They should enable citizens, communities, city leaders and stakeholders to define priorities for action – from ‘quick wins’ and hyper local projects to major strategic infrastructure of national significance requiring multi-agency partnerships over the next generation.  The DRF Action Plans identify potential partners, funders and investors from public, private and third sectors. Community empowerment and capacity building, community asset transfer and social enterprise are an integral part of delivering the circular economy and community-led ambitions of the DRFs.

The North-East DRF ‘Handbooks’;

• • Define an ambitious and appealing vision for the NE City Centre and each District to guide future development
  • Enable a mind-set shift in the way to plan, procure and deliver regeneration and development
  • Embed ambitious and practical sustainable urbanism in an holistic way
  • Develop a strategic framework at City Centre and District scale; focussed on creating a well-connected city, with great streets and spaces, thriving Districts and identifying drivers and enablers for change
  • Implement an action-driven, projects-focussed development strategy with ‘quick wins’ and priority projects evaluated against outcomes
  • ‘Get the basics right’ as a precondition to successful regeneration

Key Moves and Drivers for Change

The DRF Handbooks outline a range of projects across all four Districts to contribute to the following key moves and themes;

• • Working with What We Have : by recognising the available space for change and alignment of existing policies, identifying positive uses for vacant and derelict land, prioritising retrofit and repurposing of under-occupied buildings and optimising performance of existing infrastructure.
  • Distinctively Glaswegian Approach : seeking to fuse the city’s creativity and ingenuity with its gallus ‘can do’ spirit to restore and reinterpret the city’s incredible heritage, encourage innovation and support community-led local action.
  • Repopulating the City Centre : improving quality of life for existing communities, whilst accommodating 20,000 new residents in the next 15 years to create compact, mixed 20-minute neighbourhoods in the City Centre with convenient access to community facilities, amenities, services, jobs and city life.
  • Creating a Dear Green Place : with clean green-blue infrastructure and nature networks connecting between the Clyde, the Canal and the Kelvin by improving existing parks and open spaces, transforming vacant and derelict land, enhancing biodiversity, access to water, nature and places to play, relax, cultivate and enjoy.
  • Well-Connected City : with slow and low traffic neighbourhoods – let’s call them (S)low Traffic Neighbourhoods! – safe child-friendly streets, continuous active travel networks for walking, wheeling and cycling and an integrated bus-subway-metro-train transport system to create an inclusive, accessible and liveable City Centre for all.
  • Great Streets and Spaces : extending the Avenues and restoring historic arterial ‘Great Streets’ across the City Centre and connecting surrounding communities by dissolving the severance caused by the M8 and High Street to create qualitative streets and public spaces that bring the city together. Starting with a focus on rejuvenating the High Street and reducing the impact of the motorway on the City Centre.
  • Thriving and Productive City Centre : with a diverse day and night economy that supports existing businesses, new enterprise and ways of working, championing the globally renowned creative economy, the climate neutral Innovation District and transforming underutilised areas to an urban production zone to sustain a productive and increasingly circular economy.
  • Reinforce Alliances : between the major and leading educational, cultural and healthcare institutions clustered in NE City Centre to collaborate as a unique global alliance, share ideas and resources and be enablers for change and drawing upon knowledge and expertise to have real and practical impact in partnerships with local communities.
  • Climate Neutral : extending the ambitions of the climate neutral Glasgow City Innovation District to develop City Centre-wide energy, smart infrastructure and digital networks to decarbonise the City Centre, draw-upon renewable energy sources (eg. water-sourced heat pumps in the Clyde).

Ideas to Action

The 4 DRF Handbooks have been developed in collaboration with local people and various stakeholders. They will be published online in early 2022 for final public consultation. Together with an overarching NE City Centre Strategy Document, the DRF Handbooks bring together 100+ projects; from XS, S, M, L to XL.

Measuring and Monitoring Outcomes

Key measures of success and benchmarks to assess the city’s performance and to monitor project implementation and impacts were developed into a DRF Scorecard. These draw together international (incl. UN Sustainable development Goals), national and local policy alongside themes inspired by Doughnut Economics and metrics developed by the team’s lead sustainability advisers, Useful Projects to cover the following topics;

• • A Thriving Economy
  • A Vibrant City
  • A Healthier City
  • Better Connected Places
  • Climate Neutral
  • Resource Efficiency
  • Restoring Nature
  • More Resilient Communities

Each of these outcomes is defined against indicative qualitative and quantitative measures and the DRF proposes KPIs that should be honed to create a City Centre Performance Monitor that can help develop and deliver agile policies to implement change and assess impact.

Considered collectively the DRF Handbooks may present a daunting prospect. Delivery requires partnership, commitment and focus. The Outcomes listed above provide a framework against which to identify priority projects and actions to have most impact. To assist next steps, each DRF Handbook identifies quick wins and suggests coalitions to progress urgent projects in a practical way that intends to be user friendly, impactful for citizens and communities whilst addressing the climate emergency by thinking globally and acting locally.

In the meantime, if you’ve a great idea to help make (Y)our City Centre better, don’t hold back. Get in touch via the email below and discuss how to progress (Y)our Ideas.

Let’s start tomorrow!

About the Authors

Graham Ross is a Glasgow-based architect, urban designer and planner and CEO of Austin-Smith:Lord who has led the multi-disciplinary team preparing 8 of the 9 DRFs for Glasgow City Centre (Phases 2 and 3), providing local Design leadership and facilitating conversations with Glaswegians, local and national stakeholders to inform the final DRF Handbooks. Graham presented the progress of the DRFs to date at the RIAS Convention “Draw Together” held in September 2021. You can watch his presentation here.

Jeroen Zuidgeest is founder of Studio for New Realities, strategic planner and architect, responsible for the Urban Strategy / Design Lead for the Phase 3 DRFs (6-9) for Cowcaddens, Townhead, Learning Quarter and Merchant City, and co-responsible for the Phase 2 DRFs (2-5) for Broomielaw, St. Enoch, Central and Blythswood in his previous position as Partner at MVRDV.

(Y)our City Centre info / contacts

Further info available at; www.yourcitycentre.com

Commonplace website; https://yourcitycentre2020.commonplace.is/

(Y)our Place Map website; http://www.yourplacemap.org/

 

Email; citycentrestrategy@glasgow.gov.uk

 

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(Y)our City Centre Team – Phase 3 (2020-21)

Glasgow City Council City Centre Regeneration: Client

Austin-Smith:Lord: Lead Consultants / Local Urban Design (Urbanism, Landscape, Architecture)

Studio for New Realities: Urban Strategy / Design Lead

Urban Movement: Urban Mobility, Transport Planning, Active Travel

WAVEparticle: Creative Community Engagement

Stantec: Economic Consultants

Ryden: Property Advisers

Useful Projects: Urban Sustainability

Space Syntax: Spatial Economics / Data Analysis

Civic Engineers: Sustainable Engineering

Blog by Emily Harper, Architect, Austin-Smith:Lord

As restrictions ease and people head #BackToMuseums, what can they expect? How are museums, and more broadly, the cultural sector, evolving? Over the past year the Museums Association has produced a webinar series called Coronavirus Conversations and these have been a fascinating insight into the events of the pandemic, their impact on the sector and how museums have reacted. Most discussion however has focussed on how the sector moves forward.

The covid-19 pandemic saw a vast increase in the number of grants awarded to museums to bring forward or speed up the digitisation of their content and collections. This is obviously an advantage for accessibility and outreach, but where does the pandemic leave the physical spaces museums inhabit? This is of particular interest to us given our experience of working on Museum projects and in particular due to our current involvement in the V&A Collections and Research Centre; a bold new building typology for accessing collections independent of the pandemic which is pushing the sector to rethink the exhibition model.

Digitisation is vital for archiving collections; our experience on the CRC shows just how much museums have in storage that the public have never seen, and it opens up collections to so many more people globally. There is also a place for digital material within museum exhibitions themselves; the design for the CRC incorporates interactive digital explorations of the collection within the store, and integration of digital interpretation into design will be ever more prevalent. However, digital isn’t the whole answer to accessibility and it’s no substitute for experiencing the real thing. Museums are fully aware that after months of working from home, Zoom meetings and the increasing occupation of social media by our parents, many people are disenfranchised with the digital world. More seriously, digital poverty affects approximately 10% of the UK.

So how do we work with museums to design the real thing and provide new, safe spaces?; indoor social distancing, if not legislated then a cautious choice, and ticketed entry will inevitably limit visitor numbers for some time; a reduction in international tourism will increase reliance on local interest and, given the current pressures, a cultural day out isn’t a priority for many people.

Accordingly, and with acute awareness of their impact on wellbeing, museums should be – and many are – looking to take the museum to the people in everyday environments and promote analogue content. Ideas include occupying empty retail units – a side effect of an evolving high street as well as the pandemic; pop-up exhibitions, and using public parks, as well as collaborations with other public services such as hospitals. There is precedent to these methods, but it feels necessary to be seeing them as longer term models for display and engagement; creating more accessible experiences both through physical location and public perception.

In 2017, Hull successfully filled a number of empty storefronts with exhibitions in their bid to become UK City of Culture; In 2019, Manchester Museum displayed the skeleton of Maharajah the Elephant on the concourse of Manchester Piccadilly station while the museum underwent refurbishment works; Austin- Smith: Lord has previous experience with outdoor museums having been involved with the design of Colquhoun Square in Helensburgh, the only exhibition model that will have maintained, or maybe increased, visitor numbers over lockdown; and more recently we have been appointed to convert an ex British Home Stores in Swansea into the City’s new archive and library – a trend set to be utilised by many sectors to transform the way we experience our town centres.

There will of course remain multiple considerations in implementing new museum and cultural environments; health, security, insurance, environmental conditions, collection management and funding to name a few. And as designers and problem solvers, we will have to spatialise these aspects while addressing the overarching challenges in helping museums engage with the public across all timescales; occupying temporary space, adapting current space and creating new space. Creativity is a side-effect of crisis and now the cultural sector needs to capture the zeitgeist and hold on to a new vision of accessibility and inclusivity.

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Links:

Helensburgh Outdoor Museum

V&A East Collections and Research Centre

Redevelopment of Former British Home Stores, Swansea

Blog by Mike Yates, Director, Austin-Smith:Lord

The new International Centre for Shared Reading was completed in Summer 2019 in the newly refurbished Calderstones Mansion, where The Reader have been building the foundations of a community hub since 2013.

Jane Davis, Founder and Director of The Reader, explains: “What makes people happy, above all, is a network of supportive fellow creatures, a sense of purpose, challenge and meaningful occupation.

“Shared Reading can provide all this, but we know that many of the people we reach need more than a couple of hours Shared Reading each week. Even for the most obsessive readers, life is not only books and reading: we need other creative and happiness-inducing activities. 

“This is why we have created The Reader at Calderstones – a place open to all and full of possibilities, all held together by a golden thread of literature.”

The project’s story is one of rediscovering a Georgian Mansion House with its roots in the Cunard Line and Liverpool’s merchant past, creating a proper setting for and conserving the Neolithic Calder Stones and bringing back to life a post war outdoor Art Deco Theatre in a secret garden.

The Calder Stones from which the park takes its name are six pre-historic stones thought to be from a chambered burial mound on a nearby site. They were languishing in the old vestibule to the now demolished Harthill Greenhouses within the park. The stones were poorly displayed and difficult to access. Repositioning the Calder Stones to a more accessible location was a significant objective, reconnecting the park with its history.

The capital works include reading rooms, library, a period room, a function suite including bar, café, offices, tenant spaces, workshops, shop, exhibition space, gallery and outdoor theatre, which was jointly funded by the NLHF and Liverpool City Council.

The project is the next phase of a masterplan which began with The Reader Ice Cream Parlour (2015) and The Storybarn (2016) in the stable block courtyard and future phases that include the conversion of the stable block into residential accommodation.

The Calderstones community, volunteers, group members, staff, visitors, customers and local residents are at the heart of what the Reader do, they are immensely proud of the community and consider themselves fully accountable to it.

During the design period The Reader held regular meetings with the Friends of Harthill and Calderstones Park and regularly sought feedback from the community through customer surveys, social media, notice boards and by staff being visible and approachable on site. This served to provide continual feedback during the design stages as the plans developed.

Substantial community consultation and engagement took place with 1,400 people attending Open Days and dozens more attending public meetings during which the plans were shared.

Comments were taken on board and incorporated into the brief and design development. Typical feedback was:

“What will be on at the Mansion House?”
“Will there be a bar?”
“What about the Park toilets?”
“Will the building be fully accessible?”
“Can I bring my dog into the Mansion House?”
“What is happening with the Calder Stones and the glasshouse?”

Consultation endorsed the vision and the facilities to be provided. It also informed the detailed briefing such as: a temporary café being provided in the stable courtyard during construction and the new café being dog friendly.

Typically feedback was positive such as the following comment on the proposals for the Calder Stones:

“Very nostalgic! I grew up passing the Calder stones which originally stood outside the park gates every day as I lived across the road. Glad they will have a lovely new home where they can be appreciated.”

The mansion house with its associated stables, coach house and walled garden at the heart of the former estate, now Calderstones Park, is an important historical relationship which had arguably become more tenuous over the years. The reconnection of the house and its outbuildings with the park was an important part of the design concept.

The project reunited the house and its outbuildings under one ownership enabling the community to access both the house and park much as family and friends of the mansion’s owner would have done in earlier times, giving visitors an insight into the history of the estate while providing a sustainable contemporary use for the mansion house.

The grand original house largely accommodates public and events spaces such as the café, function space and bar. The existing character of the original mansion house creates a “boutique hotel” feel for special events such as weddings and festivals with the restrained classical façade and portico providing an impressive setting and entrance. To the rear the mature “secret” garden” is the perfect outdoor auditorium for the theatre and backdrop for weddings and festivals.

The Calder Stones are positioned in the courtyard between the “secret garden” and the interpretation space. They are arranged in two rows and covered by a domed green roof to recreate a sense of their association with the structure of a prehistoric chambered burial mound

The former service wing of the house primarily accommodates The Reader facilities including reading rooms, library, volunteers welfare facilities, tenant spaces and The Reader’s offices.

The interpretation room is also in this part of the house which recreates a Victorian sitting room furnished as it might have during the ownership of the McIver family. Next to the interpretation room is a gallery space for sale of artwork by local artists.  

“Every building must have… its own soul.”
Louis Kahn

The soul of a building can depart if it is not loved and cherished by its occupants and community. At Calderstones Mansion its soul had long since left when The Reader came to the rescue of the badly neglected building.

 From the outset we developed an approach with the Reader to strip away the inappropriate layers to reveal the original character and history of the Mansion House and its Art Deco theatre and place the Calder Stones at the heart of the park. From this starting point we were able to reach back into the past to reignite the soul of the building with the spirit of its new owner and a sense of continuity.

Key to this approach has been the rediscovery and opening up of the grand entrance hall which had been destroyed as a space with inappropriate internal partitions and the careful insertion of new elements such as the café and bar in a contemporary style that establishes the personality of The Reader while articulating old from new.

The Reader have fully realised their vision by adding to the interior design with an eclectic mix of period furniture, chandeliers and signage artwork. The partnership between The Reader, the community and the architectural team has been a great success. The resulting rich architectural mix and vibrant community carry the torch of the new soul of the Mansion House.

The Covid 19 pandemic has caused The Reader to close its facilities in Calderstones Park, but the community continues to meet virtually while the kitchens have been providing an essential service for the local vulnerable community. The café has now re-opened beginning the road to reclaiming the vision. As with many other community services the future will undoubtedly incorporate innovations in the virtual world, but the joy and benefits of a physical community that underpins this project is its strength and can never be replaced.

Blog by Rob Firman, Director, Austin-Smith:Lord

In 2018, based on our experience of delivering similar projects throughout the UK, Diller, Scofidio + Renfro of New York invited us to act as their Local Representative for a project to prepare designs for a new Collections and Research Centre for the V&A and together we were successful in securing the commission.

Just like the RCA project 25 years before, this commission is focussed on the provision of state of the art facilities for the Museum, although in this case those facilities will accommodate its collection of artefacts and objects currently stored in an adapted and out-dated, inefficient Victorian building in Olympia.

Also mirroring the RCA project, the new V&A Collections and Research Centre will be located in an existing building, albeit a contemporary one – Here East at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London. Constructed for the 2012 London Olympics and offering a vast internal volume within a 21^st Century envelope, the building will be adapted to provide a purpose-built home for 250,000 objects and an additional 917 archives from the V&A’s collection of fashion, textiles, furniture, theatre and performance, metalwork, ceramics, glass, sculpture, architecture, paintings and product design.

From the outset the project has represented a paradigm shifting experiment, the first of its kind to give the public anything like this level of access to one of the nation’s priceless collections. A central public collection hall will turn the storage inside out and a rich array of objects will be on display for visitors to explore – from some of the smallest curiosities in the collection to the largest and most significant rooms and building fragments. Further spaces within the Centre will host pop-up displays, education workshops, performances and screenings alongside live encounters with the museum’s work – from conservation and research to exhibition preparation.

The introduction of visiting members of the public into the archive and collection storage spaces raised significant challenges for the design of environmental controls as well as bringing considerations for visitor and staff life safety and security to the forefront of design thinking.

The process of coordination of the architectural concept with mechanical and electrical services, sprinkler installations, security controls and a complex fire strategy and storage racking systems took many hours of our team’s time. In one further echo perhaps of the RCA precedent, all services installations within the Collections Hall volume, workshops and conservation studios will be exposed to view within the ‘industrial’ aesthetic adopted for the architectural concept.

Construction operations for the new facility commenced on site in the spring of 2020, 25 years after the completion of our first project for the V&A. It will be ready to receive the collections in the second half of 2021 and when they have all been moved into the new facility the CRC will open to visitors in 2023.

The CRC project has drawn from, and built upon, our existing extensive experience of designing Museum and Archive projects and we believe will set standards for this building typology for many years to come.

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Read Part 1 of this blog (1992-1995: The Conservation Department) here

Blog by Rob Firman, Director, Austin-Smith:Lord

Austin-Smith:Lord has a long and proud history of designing buildings and spaces within buildings for the care and storage of precious objects and artefacts and has continuously worked on Museum and Archive projects for almost 30 years. We are especially adept at inserting state-of-the-art facilities and systems into existing buildings, often buildings that are of historic importance and listed.

Early on in this sustained sequence of projects we were delighted to be commissioned to prepare designs for the conversion of the Royal College of Art Building in Kensington for the V&A. The parts of the Museum affected were the North Wing, East Wing and the North Yard, just south of the RCA building and the project was completed in 1995.

The aim of the project was to bring together all of the Museum’s conservation operations which were previously widely distributed around the Museum in South Kensington and its West Kensington and Osterley Park outstations in a new custom-made facility. The project also involved moving curatorial, research and educational departments, as well as administration offices. It was carried out in a rolling programme of three distinct phases. The complexity of moving six of the most highly serviced and equipped areas in the Museum to a new location cannot be underestimated and the task required patience and understanding on all sides and close co-operation between all those involved.

The RCA building is Grade I listed and the interventions and adaptations required to deliver the brief called upon Austin-Smith:Lord’s expertise in Architectural Conservation as well as intimate understanding of operational and environmental needs of artefact conservation best practice. Our design strategy was fully supported by English Heritage and enabled us to add 50% internal floor area to the parts of the building forming the project area and to retain all features of historic importance identified by EH.

Original exposed wrought iron beams and column heads, were treated with intumescent paint to give them the required fire resistance whilst the cast iron columns were encased in concrete to give them adequate fire resistance while stiffening and strengthening them to support the new loads imposed by new mezzanines inserted between the floors. To differentiate between conserved elements of the building and new elements, all new interventions were modern and visible. In the studios all of the ventilation systems, the specialist extracts, and electrical containment and systems are fully exposed and carefully co-ordinated with the roof trusses and structure.

Using our experience and creative approach, our designs for the layouts of studios and laboratories accounted for the re-use of existing equipment, working practices, specialist extraction, the supply of specialist gases, reverse osmosis water, task lighting, black out facilities and smoke and fire detection systems to suit best conservation practice and our specifications for finishes to benches and floors were selected to be resistant to mechanical and chemical damage with surface textures and colours designed to minimise glare colour cast and reflection.

We were delighted to receive the following testimonials from end-users at the conclusion of the project:

“The finished studio is architecturally beautiful.”  Richard Cook, Head of Sculpture Conservation

“I must thank all the people concerned who have achieved this work space. The design process has been a little traumatic at times but the result is most certainly good”. Lynda Hillyer, Head of Textile Conservation

“The architects have created an impressive space considering the complex range of activities and interactions the Paper Sections undertake and unlike hospitals or many industrial sites, we do not always have clearly defined requirements which are published and recognisable to architects and the construction industry.” Merryl Huxtable, Senior Paper Conservator

“Has it worked? Basically yes. It is beautiful.” Helen Shenton, Head of Paper and Book Group

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Click here to read Part 2 of this blog (2018-2023: The Collections and Research Centre)

Blog by Siobhan Vernon, Director, Austin-Smith:Lord

April is World Landscape Architecture Month, and this would often coincide with spending more time outdoors, enjoying our public space, as spring emerges. However, this annual event for celebrating all things landscape may now be better spent reflecting on our current situation. 

During this period, when the UK is in “lockdown” to slow the spread of the Coronavirus, most of us are missing our lost freedom to spend as much time as we please outdoors in public space. 

When we reach the other side of this crisis will we view public space in a different light?  And therefore, will there be significant changes in our approach to public space design and how we inhabit it. This wouldn’t be the first time there has been a design response to epidemics throughout history. It is widely documented that cholera, smallpox, typhoid and tuberculosis outbreaks instigated design responses to assist in resolving and preventing reoccurrences. Measures included reconfiguration of city infrastructure, the introduction of sanitation, housing reform and planned green, open space.

At the moment space (and hand washing) are the primary defence against Covid-19 due to no known cure or current vaccine. Therefore, space is the weapon to address this pandemic. Spatial design may address possible future pandemics to come. 

A normal daily routine for many of us, involves waiting in large groups in public transport hubs to start our commute on crowded public transport. We may arrive at a densely populated City or Town to a place of work. Will we simply revert to this way of life, after lockdown? Or do we need to consider what anti-pandemic spaces would look like, coupled with anti-pandemic behaviour to alleviate crowding together? 

Recent and sudden changes in behaviour include the move to remote working from each other, which has involved expanding our technological infrastructure. Perhaps a direct comparison to the infrastructure of sanitation after previous epidemics. Furthermore, sales of bicycles in the UK have risen by 15%, according to a BBC report, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK. This is presumably due to the desire to avoid public transport and maintain independent travel. Cities are fantastic and many enjoy the city experience however the reaction to Covid-19 may produce a behaviour change response. New daily routines may evolve to avoid the crowded commute. Staggered working days may be the norm plus an increased use of walking and cycling routes. More walking and cycling would be a positive change on many fronts.  This needs support with the implementation of the correct infrastructure such as attractive walking routes and generous, bike lanes. This would facilitate distancing in our commute and general travel. 

Recent news reports of large numbers of people gathering and congregating in local parks and green space, despite being asked to maintain social distancing, perhaps points to the fact we love it and need more of it. It may also suggest that we need green space better interspersed into our local communities as well.  

Access to public space is of paramount importance in our current state of isolation and social distancing. It is likely to be considered of greater value, as a facilitator for cathartic activity, and our reaction to the enforced indoor lifestyle. Public open space accommodates movement, exercise, access to fresh air, bird song, wildlife and green infrastructure. All of these things are important for our immune system and our mental health. In the absence of an antibody or a vaccine for Covid-19, this is very valuable indeed.  

Blog by Ed Harrison, BIM Manager, Austin-Smith:Lord

One of the fundamentals to the future digital strategy surrounding BIM is the use of asset information to drive the In-Use stage of the process; to enable a Client to better manage their new investment and understand what that investment can return in the future. Instead of pouring money into seemingly bottomless bucket, the right asset information will inform a Client of almost anything they want to know about their building or ‘asset’. At handover of a project they would be in possession of an ‘Asset Information Model’, the AIM as it has become known.

When Austin-Smith:Lord introduced BIM in 2014 we aligned our internal processes to the then recently released PAS1192-2:2013 document. We also began a root and branch change to all the 2D and 3D objects in our libraries to enable asset information to be added as and when needed. We chose Revit as our platform of choice and later versions of the software added the parameters to our objects automatically in a more structured manner.

Because of our forethought in appreciating the importance of asset data and the likelihood that Clients would demand the provision of such information by default, we developed a set of Maintainable Asset Categories in liaison with one of the first Clients we worked with who required an AIM as a deliverable. This placed us in a primary position when we were subsequently appointed on a number of large scale projects, many of which were in the further education sector. The asset categories we had identified were based around the key parts of a building requiring regular maintenance and replacement or which may be subject to excessive use or damage especially within heavily used public areas.

All this groundwork was worth the effort, but we encountered problems when trying to engage a Client who, while requesting BIM Level 2 as a deliverable, didn’t understand their obligations under the PAS suite of documents. We still encounter this today, even after the withdrawal of the PAS documents and the introduction of the ISO BS 19650 BIM standards. Our extensive experience with BIM meant we were sometimes appointed as a BIM consultant and authored Employers Information Requirements (EIRs), BIM Execution Plans (BEP) and for advice on BIM procurement generally.

When a Client has only a small understanding of BIM and especially the concept of asset information and its uses, the lack of clarity for the design team can lead to errors and an over-production of information that the Client doesn’t need or actually can’t even use. The design team may introduce their own set of asset requirements based on their anticipated needs of the Client. The Client may not understand these in any detail and may end up receiving irrelevant or incorrect data. Ultimately this results in wasted time and resource. Early stage Client engagement with the BIM process and a simple set of initial plain language questions can alleviate this. Don’t assume anything that the Client may want from a Level 2 BIM delivery requirement without asking and checking.

In 2014 Austin-Smith:Lord were appointed to design a new digital media building for the University of West England. This was completed in 2017 and coincided with the University’s strategy to have digitised 90% of the 70 hectare estate by mid 2020. The asset information requirement at the time was COBie based via a detailed list of parameters within the most comprehensive EIR documents we had seen up to that point. This meant writing the BIM execution plan was a relatively straight forward process and a Client who completely understood their own requirements made the implementation of BIM a much more fluid process. UWE, who run a BIM MSc program, are ensuring they practice what they preach.

Austin-Smith:Lord were then also appointed to design another building on the university campus, to house the Fabrication Department, Centre for Print Research and Studios, known as Building 2. Asset data was a fundamental deliverable for incorporation into the University’s CAFM software. Information was delivered to the Client who then used Revitzo to check and validate both the asset and graphical data during each stage of the process. The ‘finished’ data was uploaded to their Archbus CAFM platform. We have also recently been appointed for the refurbishment of another building on the campus (B Block), again to BIM Level 2.

One of the key personnel driving this innovative strategy for the University is Mike Ford, the Digital/BIM Manager at UWE. Austin-Smith:Lord asked him for some feedback on how the provision and use of asset information has benefited the University.

Q. WHEN DID THE STRATEGY TO INCLUDE ASSET INFORMATION DATA IN NEW BUILD PROJECTS START?
A. Late stages of construction of the business school building (Faculty of Business and Law).  Around 2016/2017.

Q. WHAT WAS THE IMPETUS BEHIND THAT STRATEGY?
A. Streamlining.  BIM was already a requirement on that project, in having a separate asset management process we were effectively asking for the same information by two different methods.

Q. WHO FORMULATED THE STRATEGY WITH REGARD TO THE INFORMATION REQUIRED? WAS IT SOLELY UWE DRIVEN?
A. Information strategy was solely UWE driven, at the time the project Architect and BIM lead gave us advice on how to use COBie.

Q. HOW IS THE INFORMATION NOW MANAGED AND USED?
A. Disappointingly our CAFM system (Archibus) was miss-sold as having a working Revit plug-in. It does have a plug in, but it doesn’t work and was passed back to their development team about 6 months ago.  In the meantime we’ve developed an Excel based system.  Information is extracted from the model using a Rushforth tools add-in.  I created an Excel sheet which takes the data and applied validation rules.  When the data is cleaned up and validated, the sheet produces input sheets for Archibus and Rushforth.  Archibus and the model are then updated using the validated data.

Q. HAVE YOU SEEN TANGIBLE BENEFITS FROM HAVING THE ASSET DATA AVAILABLE?
A. The data has always been a requirement. The things that have changed is the method for acquiring it.  The data is business and safety critical. What has changed is the amount of data and the number of assets we collect data on. We’re also more successful at collecting data, as BIM has built data into the ‘business as usual’ workflow, granted not everyone has caught up to this way of thinking yet.”

Q. IN WHAT WAY COULD THE PROCESS BE IMPROVED DURING THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION STAGES?
A. Construction professionals don’t tend to understand the importance of data and the way it is structured and standardized.  Terms like data structure, field size, data type, data validation etc are all unfamiliar but all critical for construction data to migrate into a database.  COBie does attempt to address this, but in my opinion will always fall short because the data restrictions are dependent on the clients’ system which will be different for each client.

Mike has written & presented across the country on the strategy the University is following.

http://www.bimplus.co.uk/projects/university-goes-bim-beginner-award-winner-year/

http://www.bimplus.co.uk/analysis/how-get-asset-data-field/

What Mike’s responses indicate is that firstly, a Client who fully understands the advantages of the BIM process & especially asset data, is the Client who will benefit the most through the lifecycle of the built asset. Post Grenfell, the use of the ‘golden thread’ term has spread & UWE use the information for health & safety purposes as well as for managing the facility & supporting academic purposes. With the right information, structured in the right way, there are number of potential benefits to a Client.

They also demonstrate that to understand the advantages, a Client needs to invest, at the very least, some time in researching the advantages. Those advantages must be aligned to what the Client actually wants from the asset. If, upon analysing the process, a Client doesn’t require asset data, but can see the benefit of coordinated and clash resolved design prior to site start, that basic requirement allows the design team to work to that target more efficiently.

The key to understanding this is education & increasing awareness. That needs to be taken on not just by willing professionals able and competent enough to advise and guide a Client, but also by industry advisory bodies & professional organisations.