Heritage and Sustainability

October 28, 2011 at 1:17 PM

If you asked someone the benefits of retaining heritage buildings, the most common response is likely to include the contribution they make to the historical and cultural identity of local communities and their ability to help create a sense of place.

A less common response might be that the retention of heritage buildings can also have sustainability benefits. It avoids the need for replacement building materials and minimises the creation of waste, as well as reducing the energy consumed during the processes associated with constructing a building.

Retaining a heritage building can therefore amount to substantial environmental and financial savings, in addition to the more obvious cultural and historical benefits.

On the other hand, traditional buildings can inherently have high energy consumption levels. Therefore, if you own or are considering buying a heritage property it is important to consider ways of improving its energy efficiency, particularly during the planning permit application process.

Some ways of achieving this include, but are not limited to, the following.

Effective insulation.
Energy efficient heating and cooling systems.
Secondary / double glazing.
Solar panels for electricity and hot water systems.
Rainwater tanks.
Careful orientation of a new addition / extension and new windows and doors to maximise passive heating and cooling.

Whilst the inclusion of these sustainability measures may enhance the building’s longer term viability, some of them may also be considered to have adverse impacts on the building’s heritage character / qualities. Careful placement of these devices is therefore required to ensure that they do not adversely impact the significance of the heritage building.

Below are some examples of traditional heritage buildings where sustainability features have been incorporated – whether they impact on the integrity of the building is highly subjective… we’ll let you be the judge!

Keen Planning regularly obtains planning permits for sites affected by heritage overlays and proposals which incorporate Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) features. If you wish to discuss your development options, call us today on 9596 9000 or email info@keenplanning.com.au.

Freestanding solar panels avoid any adverse impact on the facades of the heritage building and can be screened by vegetation

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