Whether heritage be frozen in time or can it be adopted for re-use in suitable ways? Conservation, restoration and adaptive reuse are the ultimate form of recycling, if the category of the heritage structure permits.
“Research has shown that the demolition of typical brick house results in an average of 60-100 tones worth of waste. The energy required to demolish an old building and erect a new one is estimated to be equivalent to the energy required to operate it for forty years”. Thus, if legally permitted, adaptive re-use will be preserving the past and building the future.
Adaptive reuse gives economic, cultural and environmental returns. Economic and environment returns as explained earlier are immense. The beauty, nostalgia and culture that lies within the walls of the Heritage Building is retained and in the process, we preserve a living piece of history, thus bequeathing a legacy to coming generations. Further, such buildings or precincts add variety and spark visual interest in the citysc
What is adaptive reuse? Sometimes only the external shell of the building is saved which is termed as facadism. Adaptive reuse is an attempt to preserve the interior of buildings as well and make the building functional, be it an art museum, a chocolate factory converted into a marketplace, office etc. Besides incorporating new elements in such heritage buildings to fulfill the need of re-use, old elements fittings or features are also retained. Not only buildings, even open spaces have been reused. For example, in Sydney, the Paddington Reservoir Gardens are a recycled former water storage reservoir.
There are so many successful examples of reusing Heritage Structures all over the world.
London’s Tate Modern Gallery is housed in a former power station. On some days in the precinct, artificial mist and water spray created through power, creates ambience of the times gone by. In London, Camden’s Stables Market gets its name from its previous incarnation as horse stables and hospital. The 200 years old grade-II listed house hospital is now the home of a club and an art space that attracts a large crowd of people. In India, City Palace in Jaipur is partly being used by the royal family as residential and also partly being used as a museum and is a big tourist puller. Many Heritage havelis and forts of Rajasthan have been converted into resorts and are thriving commercial ventures.
However, three main points shall be considered before repurposing any Heritage Structure.
- Legal
- Practical
- Financial
Heritage buildings are the buildings possessing architectural, aesthetic, historic or cultural values which are declared as Heritage Building by the planning authority / Heritage Conservation Committee or any other competent authority in whose jurisdiction such a building is situated. They are further graded into hierarchical series which determine subsequent conservation decisions about internal changes and adaptive re-use but are subject to strict scrutiny. Hence, care should be taken to ensure the conservation of all special aspects for which the structure is included in that particular category.
It is very important that the adaptation needs to create enough financial value to cover the cost of conservation and adaptation as well as the long term maintenance of the building. Structure conversion feasibility becomes an important aspect while re-purposing the Heritage Structure. If not viable, then incurring expenditure is of no us
Conservation and restoration of heritage buildings provides a sense of identity and continuity in a fast changing world for future generations. It is not merely preservation of a facade or freezing a building in time but also preserving the ambience, character and a living piece of our history. Besides, such buildings or precincts add variety and spark visual interest in the urbanscape. Thus conservation of our heritage plays an important role in sustainability where there is saving of demolition waste and subsequent energy on one hand and enhancement of the historic environment on the other hand.
The re-use of a building that has lived its original purpose, for a new requirement, is the ultimate form of recycling where the original material is not wasted and new material is not used thereby cutting on energy use.
Dr. Sonia Mehta