Good for the planet. Good for the pocket.
Why do we go to all the trouble of restoring old buildings when it would be so much
simpler to build brand-spanking new ones?
Firstly, there’s the architectural value. There are so many beautiful buildings around, steeped in history and with real soul, that can be transformed into modern, vibrant space with bright architects and a little TLC. Take a look at St Pancras...
Then there’s the environmental value. Most ‘green’ discussions about new buildings only go as far as the land gobbled up to build them. (And when you hear that every sq ft of English countryside lost to development in the last 60 years takes up an area the size of the south-east, that’s not surprising.) What’s overlooked is the huge amounts of energy used in construction; in machinery and materials for example. This is called ‘embodied energy’. The amount of embodied energy in a new building is equivalent to the running costs for that building for 15 years. No amount of low energy light bulbs can significantly reduce that. But recyling can.
