Retrofit - industry resolves to step up its act

Featured on the NLA website

Marion Baeli, shares thoughts from the second session of the Retrofit Conference with New London Architecture.

Within the space of a year or so, the number and depth of conversations around retrofit has increased exponentially, as we all collectively focus our thoughts and efforts on this immense task. It is therefore refreshing – and timely – that NLA has hosted a whole conference dedicated entirely to this topic, to help us understand what we can do.

The second session of the day was opened by Shirley Rodrigues, London’s Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, who presented the GLA’s strategy and response to the challenge. The aspirations here are not only to reduce CO2 emissions and meet our climate change targets, but also to help curb the impact of the rise in energy prices and the broader cost of living; to limit the number of people living in fuel poverty; to improve people’s health by providing comfortable, healthy indoor environments; and to focus efforts on helping the BAME population - who are statistically worse affected.

So, how is the GLA responding to these goals? It is providing a free London-wide energy advice service, with a focus on owner-occupiers (who are not retrofitting as fast as the social housing sector), as well as working on mobilising private finance. There are a number of initiatives in place such as the Warmer Homes Grant and Retrofit Accelerator, together with the creation of a Centre of Excellence, which will help social housing providers access funding to make their homes fit for the future. The Mayor has also announced a £90 million injection for new green bonds, supporting both social housing and public buildings as well as local energy projects providing sustainable energy across the capital.

But we also need to be able to physically deliver these projects and there are issues surrounding a real lack of resources in addition to a skills gap. To help embolden those who are young - and/or unemployed - to get involved, there will be free training available. The bottom line: a call to action has been issued and we have to help people embark on the journey to answer it.

Of course, none of this will be possible if there isn’t a unified approach. Reassuringly, the London Councils are presenting a united front and have together produced a joint statement on climate change, demonstrating the determination and commitment of all 33 councils. Dominic Millen, Head of Climate Action and Sustainability, London Borough of Enfield highlighted the Retrofit London Housing Action Plan – a collective action plan built around eight core principles, which aims to bring forward a cross-tenure home retrofitting programme for London, to achieve an average EPC B rating by 2030.

What are the next steps? Dominic believes that we should finance a retrofit task force and work on the perception of – and communication around – retrofit. People need to be shown that retrofit can be affordable and desirable. To put this in context, the current bill for HS2 is the same as the bill would be for retrofitting the whole of London. To further demonstrate the financial viability of retrofit, an exemplar case study in LB Enfield was shown, where an opportunity was identified to provide ground source heat pumps (GSHP) for 400 flats across eight 12-storey tower blocks. These GSHP have resulted in reduced emissions of 773 tonnes of CO2 per annum and have a lower cost in use, saving each tenant up to £400 a year in heating and hot water costs. With the help of ECO funding, this project was effectively cost neutral. A fantastic example for others to follow.

Other initiatives across the borough include the insulation of 343 homes through Smart Homes and the application of Energiesprong principles to 30 properties in Edmonton as part of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Demonstrator. Each time there is a need to visit a property in the borough, the council is using it as an opportunity to assess the property and make a retrofit plan. Dominic made the point that looking at retrofit on the basis of payback time alone is not a suitable measurement. It is, instead, far better to focus on the value added to the property – better efficiency, reduced running costs and increased comfort will translate to a better capital value.

We then turn our attention to 60 London Wall, a case study presented by Mark Tillett, Director, Heyne Tillett Steel, which exemplifies the value in re-using as much of the existing structure as possible as part of the drive to have a more circular industry. This re-use is also part of the solution to curb CO2 and a way to be more resilient and responsible with our natural resources. A previous iteration of the building had been demolished and replaced in 1990, so there was a real sense of responsibility felt by the investor to re-use as much as possible and avoid further unnecessary demolition. This is a major refurbishment of an existing post-modern office building where - in spite of the creation of an additional four floors plus a new basement level - incredibly, 49% of the existing building and 30% of the structure has been retained, equating to an estimated 8,596 tonnes of retained embodied carbon. By working efficiently with the existing structure and collaborating with the architect, only 10% of the existing structural columns needed to be strengthened to carry additional load and the existing piles have also been re-used.

Adopting a long-life loose-fit and soft-core strategy (which puts the structure on the perimeter of the building to enable the core to be adjusted as the needs of occupant varies over the years) was one of Mark’s key messages.

He firmly believes we need to take a holistic approach which measures everything, across all phases from strip-out to practical completion. He pointed out that the embodied carbon related to the construction of a secondary, temporary structure to retain a façade can be very significant and is commonly not taken into account. Ultimately, we need to learn to work without temporary works to avoid this issue, which we can. He also believes that a lifetime carbon tax should be implemented, meaning all carbon should be taxed, by way of an incentive for people to lower their CO2 emissions.

Finally, let’s not forget about the importance of quality design and how that can ensure our buildings not only last longer, but are loved for longer too. Enter John McRae, Director at Orms, the architect of the final exemplar case study, The Standard hotel. Housed in the former Camden Town Hall Annexe, the existing building was an iconic 1974 Brutalist structure which was much loved by the community, but was also identified as negatively contributing to the surrounding conservation area. The solution, to give the building a new identity, bringing it to the foreground, through interventions such as the introduction of an eye-catchingly red external shuttle lift, which boldly breaks up the precast concrete façade, and the contemporary ‘crown’ atop the building, formed of the three additional storeys.

The team here (which also included Mark Tillet) has managed to retain 96% of the existing structure by working closely with the structural engineers, and the whole life carbon of the building is already at RIBA 2050 standards. As an architectural practice, Orms is now using whole life carbon calculations from Stage 1, so it’s completely embedded in the design process from the outset. Something we all should – and indeed must - aspire to achieve.

We have seen that momentum has grown rapidly in recent years, and what is most encouraging is that people are getting motivated and very creative in how they address this monumental issue for the sake of future generations. The NLA conference has managed to grasp this vibrant, creative energy, promoting it to stimulate others to embark on this new adventure for the construction industry.

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