No two buildings are the same and so every project is 100% contextual. Let the challenge of each building lead the design, rather than the other way around.
We are custodians of our heritage assets and they will be here in a 100 years’ time because of their cultural significance – the best way for these buildings to survive is to be used, and the best way to keep them being used is to flex for our current times. This mantra should help re-frame retrofit strategy, planning consents and budgets.
Getting all parties to the table early, including heritage officers, to understand the challenge and how stakeholder decisions need to be integrated and flexible for the future of these buildings is vital. Officers can vary in how they interpret guidelines and engage - a balanced approach will ensure the building is protected yet remains fit for purpose.
By starting now and gathering data on these buildings, or even digitally twinning them, we can bring confidence into retrofit decision making. This will demonstrate the science behind the art-of-the-possible in whole-life cost based decisions.
It is important that the university's decentralised structure does not become a barrier: the collective knowledge within Oxford's colleges is a powerful resource and can be leveraged to support Net Zero gains on heritage buildings.
James York and Tim Clement pick up on the discussions around what would the founders of the buildings want - we think they would want them to stand the test of time for the next 600 years and to do that, they must continue to be flexible...
In this short clip, James and Tim explain that despite the ambitious 2040 Net Zero targets, Oxford is making great progress, and when it comes to heritage, it has to be about reframing what that means in terms of Net Zero achievement.
