Thoughts on.... Nov 13, 2009
Avoiding Heritage Pitfalls - Ian Macaskill
Heritage issues in a project needn't be the big hairy gorilla in the cupboard that's going to jump out and bite you. The trick is to recognise the issue, and do your planning.
In fact, it's critical to have a framework in place that considers conservation values and what's important about the building before you even start thinking about design. In that way, when you start your design process you won't end up in a situation where you've got a design solution that meets project parameters, but doesn't meet heritage values.
Heritage values are important, and if you acknowledge and work with this you'll get a much better outcome than if you put shutters up. Often those shutters go up because people see conservation of heritage fabric as a big cost risk and a limiting factor to adaptation. But it doesn't need to be that way. Good knowledge and proper planning will always give balanced outcomes the best chance.
A good example of how this can happen is with archaeological issues. If you bury your head in the sand and then strike an archaeological issue in the ground, it can very quickly become a huge cost issue, simply because you have a contractor there burning time and money waiting for something to happen, whether that be a decision on whether they can touch it, information on how important it is, or the go-ahead to remove it. But that risk could easily have been minimised with a front-end mitigation strategy that involves research and assessment of potential archaeological issues, and work stage planning to provide time contingency.
In our work on the Supreme Court we also found a conservation report, developed at the outset, provided direction that avoided time-consuming navel gazing about how to balance heritage values with functionality and project parameters (see lead story).
It's about thinking of ways to work with heritage constraints so that project objectives are not overtaken by surprises. If you're strategic, and thinking ahead and planning, you'll help mitigate any unknowns, or at least have a contingency plan in place for when things don't go as expected to ensure project delays are minimised.
The other key to avoiding the gorilla is to have a good understanding of processes, including implications and effect on timelines of the RMA and other legislation such as the Historic Places Trust Act. A good understanding of the process can help the client achieve archaeological and conservation objectives, while also meeting the building's objectives. With processes such as "Archeological Authorities" to be issued by the Historic Places Trust and approval requirements for listed buildings, the issues are complex and never black and white, with numerous subjective decisions that get made around scope and importance and necessity. But if you understand the process, you can help steer it better rather than being overtaken by "the experts" or by a regulatory process that captures the project.
For more information on how The Building Intelligence Group can help with your heritage project requirements, contact me on phone 021 439 532 or email i.macaskill@tbig.co.nz.
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