After twenty years working as an interior designer on residential refurbishments with an emphasis on the lifestyle of the client and the function of the interior, I realised that none of the buildings for at least ten years of that time were younger than one hundred years old. With the team of contractors I worked with, we took roofs off and walls out, reconfigured the layout and created additional space. We made buildings fit for family life.
It made me very curious, all these changes to existing buildings. It was fascinating seeing under the skin of a wall and seeing how doors and windows were inserted. Who knew that bricks and mortar could be so compliant? But I felt I needed to understand more about the buildings I was helping to transform and went back to university to do a Masters in Architectural Conservation. I chose this because even though the buildings I had worked on were largely unlisted, they had the same construction methods as those that were. And I wanted to understand why buildings suddenly developed problems when for centuries they had been fine.
Learning about the materiality of our built environment has shown me that like-for-like repairs should be used on all traditional buildings. That modern materials like cement, are not compatible with historic fabric – any building constructed before WWI (and some as late as WWII) can be considered historic because of the methods of construction.
I now largely work on historic buildings, those with significance and a designated status, protected in law for future generations. These buildings tell us about the way the UK developed, the innovations in architecture and the lifestyles of those who built them. Protecting this gives a continuity with the past and grounds us in the traditions that have shaped the way we live. It makes us feel safe and gives a sense of belonging.
Since graduating in 2022 I’ve been lucky enough to work on several heritage projects in collaboration with a Conservation Architect, as well as several projects for my own clients. I’ve researched primary materials at archives and tracked down people related to the property through census searches and newspaper articles from long ago. I’ve created Conservation Management Plans, Heritage Statements, written feasibility studies and expert witness statements. I’ve conducted condition assessments and commissioned specialist reports. I’ve liaised between stakeholders and owners and shared that information with a larger community via press releases.
I realised in the process that this type of information is also helpful for consent applications and for providing content for handbooks, published material and social media. In this fast paced world, being easily found is important for driving business toward you, sharing information and promoting events. It works the same way for heritage properties as it does for any other business and contributes to the property being able to sustain itself. Contacting an audience via online platforms gives you the ability to reach far more people at one time – and to develop contacts that support your community.
I’ve also taken the largest research project I did and created a manuscript for a book, combining history and architecture, art and social history as well as innovations in engineering and reform, placing the site in context with the contemporaneous events that shaped it. Please click on Where Sea Meets the Land above.