Residential property prices have risen dramatically over the years, yet there are thousands of dilapidated and unused buildings which can present a much cheaper way of acquiring a home. In this new paperback edition for 2010, every aspect of converting types of redundant property is examined, including surveys, legislation and regulations, planning applications, professional help and advice, finance, budgeting, and insurance. The study also discusses evaluation and preparation of plans, briefing of professional consultants, design and location of various living spaces, external features, lighting, heating, ventilation, mains services, energy conservation, and acoustics. Guiding the reader through details such as tenders, contracts, specifications, and quotations, this guide also assists in choosing builders, timetables, and on-site operations. A number of case studies which demonstrate what can be achieved with different types of property are also included.
The 2008 global recession and the nearly universal awareness of significant climate change have begun to alter architectural thinking. Even though architects will continue to dream up seemingly function-free building forms for the most conspicuous consumers, mainstream architects are being asked to provide energy efficient, cost-driven forms that also delight the eye. The movement to preserve and reuse existing structures has gained momentum, and the incidence of new and old architectural juxtapositions has increased. Forward-thinking planners are advocating m ore concentrated urban density, in part to decrease inefficient use of energy for transportation. As this thinking becomes public policy, architects will be challenged to adapt historically significant buildings for new uses, often by creating additions to existing forms. Although not entirely new, architectural dilemmas concerning how new meets old will occur revealing issues that most architects w ho design new buildings have not often thought about. Historic preservationists and sustainability advocates seem to concentrate solely on single issues leading to aesthetically clumsy architecture while agency review panels and the public approval process continue to erode the integrity of building designs making the creation of truly excellent designs difficult. Reclaimed Buildings: New Meets Old explores these topics in depth, with a focus on architectural design. The book addresses the question of aesthetic sustainability given the new influences and design tools that have emerged during the first decade of the 21st century. It is written for practitioners as well as students of architecture, and includes examples and case studies of built works that have successfully wrestled with the question of how new meets old in architecture.
"Big house, little house, back house, barn"--this rhythmic cadence was sung by nineteenth-century children as they played. It also portrays the four essential components of the farms where many of them lived. The stately and beautiful connected farm buildings made by nineteenth-century New Englanders stand today as a living expression of a rural culture, offering insights into the people who made them and their agricultural way of life.