Stephen Jeffrey Architects - Architect design in Essex

Raising standards of design & construction for Historic Buildings

Working with historic buildings (broadly speaking, those constructed before 1890 and using lime in their construction instead of cement) requires an altogether different approach than would be adopted when dealing with modern buildings.
 
Unfortunately, many Building Owners and Builders neither recognise this nor understand the basic principles involved, such as the need for historic buildings to 'breathe', resulting in inappropriate repairs and new construction which, ultimately, will be damaging to the historic building's structure and its fabric, causing its premature decay. Old buildings have suffered greatly (including listed buildings) in this respect, particularly since the middle of the twentieth century and the widespread use of modern materials, notably cement amongst other things.
 
Today, old buildings which are particularly vulnerable are those which are not listed but have been subject to 'restoration' or 'renovation'. A note of caution: these buildings, although having passed Local Authority Building Regulations, are probably concealing costly problems which may only become apparent to Owners several years down the line.
 
Common mistakes, amongst many that one regularly sees, are as follows:
  • The application of cement render to old walls, whether of timber frame construction or brick.
  • Damp-proof course injection into the base of an old wall because a perceived damp problem is mentioned in a surveyor's report or recommended by a 'specialist damp-proof surveyor' (actually a commission-based salesman), both highly unsatisfactory ways of ascertaining any informed diagnosis. When dealing with damp, the best approach is to deal with the cause or causes and not just the symptoms.
  • Constructing new solid concrete floors with damp-proof membranes into the rooms of old buildings originally designed to function without damp-proof courses.
  • The application of modern plasters and fillers over supposedly inferior lime plastered wall surfaces.
  • The covering of old floors with sealants, modern tiling or foam-backed carpets, all of which prevent the floor's ability to 'breathe'. 
Old buildings should be thought of not as inferior to modern buildings, but as different and treated accordingly. Old and modern buildings are in fact two very different constructional technologies and problems arrise when these technologies are mixed, e.g. during ill-thought out repairs or alterations. This is the situation commonly encountered today, and therefore any new works have to be based on a careful assessment of how the building is actually functioning in order to determine an appropriate detailed design solution. Essentially, new work should:
  • seek to improve the building's health and 'breathability' of its fabric - usually using a combination of traditional materials and bespoke detailing.
  • recommend repair as a principle rather than replacement, particularly regarding windows & doors.
  • sensitively incorporate modern construction, where appropriate, taking special care with the detailed design at the interfaces between the old and new.

Fortunately, the recent establishment of the conservation movement and, in the last few years, the Building Regulations' recognition of the special nature of historic buildings, means we are better able to protect and safeguard the nation's historic building stock than previously. This is all the more timely given the incredible pace of change and increasing pressure for new development sweeping the country, often endangering historic buildings and their settings.

Stephen Jeffrey Architects have the necessary skills and knowledge to develop sensitive designs for historic buildings, revealing the building's essential qualities and latent character, exceeding Client expectations and creating viable, unique and intriguing spaces in which to live and work.