weekend saturday august 23 /sunday august 24 2008 past ... · draught-proofing, improved...
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Flying high
At home on hotelierWilliam Barron Hilton’sNevada ranch Page 3
FT | Saturday August 23 / Sunday August 24 2008WEEKEND
HOUSE&HOMEProperty Architecture Design Gardens
Mixed fortunes
Exploring a dividedmarket on Spain’sCosta del Sol Page 4
Two’s company
Three design duoson what makes theirpartnerships work Page 5
Past, present, futureFaith Glasgow meets the homeowners turning historic properties into energy efficient ecohouses
If you want to make your home asgreen as possible, received wisdomsays that you’ll find the job easier andthe results more effective if you livein a well-insulated, draught-free mod-
ern house. But what if you don’t? What ifyou live, as so many of us do, in a character-ful pile of a building with its own eccentrici-ties and a personalised collection ofdraughts? What if your home is architectur-ally significant, or even a nationally impor-tant, protected building? How feasible is it tocombine the latest eco-friendly features witharchitecture dating back hundreds of years?
That was the challenge Barry Morgan sethimself when he bought dilapidated GradeII-listed stables in Kent, south-east England– the only significant structures remainingof the grand Palladian estate of Foots CrayPlace, which was built in the mid-18th cen-tury and destroyed by fire in 1949.
Morgan, a builder specialising in restora-tion, embarked on the project intending tocreate an eco-home for his own family,although he recently sold the property to alike-minded buyer. “The increasing pressureon us all to reduce energy consumption is aparticular challenge with old buildings, so Iwas very keen to make Foots Cray as ecolog-ically high-spec as I could,” he says.
Like all new dwellings in the UK, theproperty had to be audited for its energyefficiency and impact on the environment bya qualified assessor. And the results wereimpressive. Notwithstanding the age of theoriginal buildings and the size of the fin-ished property – it comprises 10,000 sq ft ofluxurious living space – Foots Cray has thesame energy-performance rating as a two-bedroom, new-build apartment constructedto current standards.
Of course, such an achievement comes ata price. Morgan says the eco-features addedabout 15 per cent to the cost of restorationand the expense, combined with his failureto sell his previous home, is why he had tosell the place. Still, he emphasises, “themost important things might be expensive toinstall [but] once they’re there, the savingsare continuous, with no further costs.”
The walls, roof and floors at Foots Crayare fully insulated. And “proper ventilationis crucial,” Morgan adds. “We recycle heatfrom foul air drawn from the kitchen andbathrooms to heat fresh air going into theliving rooms. We also have a rainwater recy-cling system to water the garden and flushthe toilets.”
Solar panels provide the hot water, heatthe swimming pool and contribute to theunderfloor heating. “I was drawing heat offthe roof through solar radiation at over 50°Cwhen the air temperature was 6°C. Withoutthe pool we could cover almost all our waterneeds through solar power and use gas onlyas a back-up,” Morgan says.
Yet the property’s relatively low carbonfootprint has not come at the expense ofmodern amenities. It includes an air-condi-tioned gym, a triple garage, four bedroomswith ensuite bathrooms and huge livingspaces. Purists could argue that this juxtapo-sition of sustainable ideals and the trappingsof a top-end 21st century lifestyle is a contra-diction. After all, aren’t the principles ofsustainable existence grounded in the reduc-tion of overall consumption?
Morgan disagrees. “Residential usagewithout sub-division was the only viable andsustainable way of preserving this building,”he says. “By incorporating modern greentechnologies, plus a granny annex, a homeoffice suite and a large kitchen garden withfull composting features, the environmentalimpact of an extended family living at FootsCray Place can be equal to, or less than, thatachieved in many modern executive homes,particularly as the buildings are already 250years old and, now they they’re restored, aregood for another 250.
“Compare that to the design life of 60years for a new mass-market home.”
English Heritage, the UK government-backed body responsible for the preservationof the country’s historic environment, dis-putes the sense in trying to rate historicalbuildings for energy efficiency on the samecriteria as modern homes. “The idea that oldhouses are less energy efficient than newones is an assumption that has never beenproperly measured,” says director of conser-
vation Bill Martin. “The present methods formeasuring efficiency are simple energy-in,energy-out measures but they take noaccount of the whole life-cycle of the house.”
Certainly, old houses are in some waysinherently green. “In renovating, you’rerecycling the whole building and preservinghistory at the same time,” says DavidHilton, the eco-expert at the UK’s NationalSelf Build and Renovation Centre.
Laura Goldstein, executive editor of thespecialist US magazine This Old House,points out that older houses also tend to besmaller than homes built more recently,which means less energy is needed to heat,cool and light them.
Moreover, she says, “they already incorpo-rate green design principles – for example,interior transom windows for ventilationand daylight and overhanging eaves to helpblock the heat of the sun.”
In southern Europe, too, the natural venti-lation and high ceilings of many historicbuildings helps keep them cool. DeveloperSteven Carmichael is converting Buriano, aTuscan hilltop palazzo dating back to the12th century, into 55 serviced apartmentsand says the need for air conditioning isdebatable. “The rooms are big and airy andthe windows have slatted shutters to keepthe sun out,” he says.
The thick walls and small windows foundin many historic British and European ver-nacular buildings also help keep them
warmer in winter and cooler in summer.When it comes to improving the energy
efficiency of old houses, English Heritage’sgeneral position is that modifications shoulddo no damage to the appearance or function-ing of the building; these might includedraught-proofing, improved insulation, theresurrection of internal shutters, the use ofa condensing flue gas boiler and secondaryglazing. Hilton also recommends a heatingsystem that allows unused parts of thehouse to be zoned off and left unheated. Butthere might be limited workable options, hewarns. “When you have solid brick or stonewalls it’s often hard to insulate them. Theonly option is to super-insulate the loftspace.”
It can also make sense to use historicbuilding materials and features chosen pre-cisely because they will last a lifetime. Sal-vaging window frames is one option. Alter-natively, adds Goldstein, “it’s now possibleto get historically accurate windows withthe latest energy-saving technology.”
Eco-renovations can also prove effectivewhen people are prepared to take a tradi-tional approach. Richard and Lucy Pashbought a structurally sound but basic300-year-old stone house in the medievalmountain village of Chiavenna, on theSwiss-Italian border and decided to followsustainable local practice as far as possible.They joined the village hydroelectricity co-operative, which taps into the mountain
streams to produce the community’s power.Heat and hot water come from a wood-burn-ing stove that runs on pellets of sustainablyproduced wood or recycled paper. The win-dows have been double glazed. And thereare plans to restore and reinsulate the gran-ite slab roof. By taking the “native”approach there was no need for any specialpermissions – though they will needapproval before adding solar panels.
For many UK eco-restorers, the biggestchallenge is winning support from the localcouncil and English Heritage, which adjudi-cates on important listed buildings. Restric-tions are often imposed, as at Foots Cray,where, for example, the Georgian windowson the façade had to remain single glazed.
Morgan says he would also have installeda wind turbine – “I think they look majestic”– but “the planners would have been apo-plectic”. Still, on the whole, officials were“very supportive”.
As a general rule, anyone wanting tomake an old property greener needs to bemethodical and do their research, saysHilton. “Consider the fabric of the building.What features could you use more effec-tively? For instance, do you have an Agawhere residue heat could be used?”
It is also worth investigating grants, taxbreaks and utility company rebates. Forexample, says Goldstein, “until the end of2008 the US federal government is offering atax credit of up to $2,000 for solar upgrades.Austin Energy in Texas gives discounts andlow-interest loans to homeowners looking tomake their houses more energy efficient,while Montana gives tax credits for home-owners investing in domestic wind power.”
Ultimately, creating an eco-home involvesdoing the best you can with what you’ve gotand, perhaps just as importantly, adjustingyour behaviour too. As Martin says: “Youdon’t have to go down the high-tech or high-expense route to get real results.”
Morgan acknowledges that his own tri-umph at Foots Cray Place has been bitter-sweet; another family is living the eco-friendly life that should have been his. But“I have kept my sanity and [the property] isoff the English Heritage ‘at risk’ register,”he says. “It has a secure and sustainablefuture that will outlive me.”
Ecological Barry Morganpictured on his solarpanelledroof at Foots Cray Place,Kent, top; the potting shed,above; a view of the housefrom the garden, above leftDaily Telegraph 2008, Philip Hollis/
Andy Scott
AUGUST 23 2008 Section:Weekend Time: 20/8/2008 - 16:21 User: murphym Page Name: RES1, Part,Page,Edition: RES, 1, 1