4 C O N T E X T 1 1 2 : N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 9 ‘There is an awful lot of flannel about sustainability and about zero carbon, but this [Masdar, Abu Dhabi, ‘the world’s first eco-city’] is the real deal. Except of course, that it has to be built, and construction is just about the most polluting activity there is. If architects truly want to be really green, there is only one answer – don’t build new buildings.’ Edwin Heathcote writing in the Financial Times ‘WE NEED to make planning easier to understand. Once we’ve done this we will invite people from all over to pitch in and create a community. ‘It will work a bit like an iPhone. People come along with great ideas that go way beyond what the makers of the phone could have imagined. Open-source enables that to happen. I want planning to be open-source. I want a model where a local plan is created by the local authority, published online and people are invited to make it work as a community, a completely transparent, open-source approach. ‘We will be pro-development.Where this is a local plan that has identified what will happen you won’t be able to object with any other made-up reasons.’ Shadow housing minister Grant Shapps quoted in PlanningResource ‘We are extremely confident that two years of detailed discussions mean that this master plan represents the aspirations and concerns of all the stakeholders involved, not least the Battersea community. It is a plan that, vitally, will finally deliver this important site’s regeneration and create a compelling and vibrant new urban quarter for London. ‘At its heart will be the power station, giving new life for generations to come and standing as a commanding reminder of London’s industrial past and thrilling future.’ Rob Tincknell, managing director of developer Treasury Holdings UK, on yet another plan for Battersea power station Built to conceal Context 109 (May 2009) reported that Soho Lodge, a Grade II listed summerhouse in Soho Square, was being renovated.We noted that the lodge was built at the expense of the residents of Soho Square. AContext reader has phoned with more details. Apparently road sweepers’ carts were kept in the building. The list description, dating it to c1925-6, calls it a ‘garden arbour/tool shed’ and records that it was built ‘as a disguise for an electricity substation’. The construction was of brick with a breezeblock core, with timber framing re-using 17th or 18th century floor beams, and ‘an old (pre C17?) four-centred head to south door’. Sash window heat loss A major study into the thermal performance of sash windows by English Heritage suggests that even the simplest repair and basic improvements will bring significant reduction of draughts and heat loss. Using a combination of these methods will upgrade a window to meet the targets in the building regulations Simple repairs to mend cracks and eliminate gaps can significantly reduce the amount of air infiltration or draughts. On the window that was tested, air infiltration was reduced by one third. Air infiltration through a sash window in good condition can be reduced by as much as 86 per cent by adding draught proofing. Heat loss through glass and frames can be significantly reduced by adopting simple measures like closing thick curtains and plain roller blinds. In the test, heat loss was reduced by 41 per cent and 38 per cent respectively. More elaborate measures reduce heat loss even more. In the test, wellfitted shutters were able to improve the window to meet modern building regulations, which target a U-value for windows of 2 or below. In the test with shutters closed, this value was 1.7. High-quality secondary glazing produced similarly good results. The best result was when the two methods were used together, resulting in a 62 per cent reduction in heat loss and a U-value of 1.6. Details of the research are available from www.climatechangeandyourhome. org. ChrisWood, head of building conservation and research team, English Heritage St Paul’s Cathedral’s £40 million Tercentenary Restoration has been named RICS Project of theYear 2009.The programme involved cleaning and repairing the building, and making the most of the internal spaces to provide better facilities.The work was carried out under the guidance of the surveyor to the fabric Martin Stancliffe, a senior partner with Purcell Miller Tritton, and Martin Stancliffe Architects. The multi-purpose Soho Lodge
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