Durham History Centre
Durham History Centre is a new central hub for the collection and exhibition of almost 900 years of the county’s history.
Retrofit
There are several definitions for retrofit that are used by different organisations across the industry. Many of these definitions tend to focus on interventions that increase the energy performance of a building, commonly referred to as a ‘deep energy retrofit’.
Deep energy improvements will of course be critical in the fight against climate change. However, despite its seriousness, the climate crisis is not the only issue that we currently face. There are several other social, environmental and economic factors that are, in many cases, equally as important and need to be addressed. It would therefore be insufficient to define retrofit solely around deep energy, as this diverts away from these other issues and the myriad of benefits that can result from a successful retrofit project.
Due to its holistic nature, and the spectrum of issues that it seeks to address, our definition of retrofit transcends that of deep energy and includes any upgrade to a building that increases its resilience, or the resilience of the community or location. This is across eight categories.
- Seismic – strengthening a building to keep occupants safe in the event of an earthquake and to limit damage to the building itself.
- Life safety – alterations to a building for improving the safety of occupants by removing hazardous structures or installing safety equipment such as sprinklers.
- Inclusion and accessibility – adapting a building to ensure equal access and opportunities for everyone. This can be done through the reconfiguration of spaces, entrances and exits, as well as the installation of automatic doors, lifts or ramp access.
- Heritage – the renovation of a protected or listed building to extend its life and maximise its historical value.
- Deep energy – major alterations to the envelope of a building to reduce its energy consumption, often accompanied by the installation of low carbon technologies such as heat pumps or solar PV.
- Regeneration – an upgrade to a building that results in economic, ecological or social regeneration.
- Critical infrastructure – the renovation of healthcare, education, transport or culturally significant infrastructure.
- Climate resilience – upgrades to a building that increase its resilience to climate related impacts such as flooding or heatwaves.
Chelsea and Westminster NICU and ICU
The redevelopment and expansion of a major general hospital in South West London, originally completed in 1993.
Lipman Building EnerPHit
The concept design was developed to Passive House EnerPHit standard, making it the largest EnerPHit project in the United Kingdom and the third largest in Europe at the time.
ICHNE Laboratories
COVID testing laboratories designed for Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals, including delivery areas, staged laboratory testing areas, and support and welfare space for approximately 1,000 staff.
Nuffield Health at St Bartholomew’s
The redevelopment of part of St Bartholomew’s hospital estate to provide private healthcare facilities for Nuffield Health including outpatients, theatres, diagnostics and inpatient wards.
Pathology Centre of Excellence
The facility is part of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital site in Gateshead and is one of three labs that form the ‘South of Tyne Bigger Picture’ project.
Bolam Coyne
Byker was rebuilt in the 1970s to the designs of Ralph Erskine, with 2,000 houses and flats. Bolam Coyne is considered one of the most imaginative and remarkable developments within the Byker estate.
School of Law and Social Justice
The retrofit entailed the strip out and refurbishment of the existing building back to the concrete frame, internal shear walls, beams and upstands which were all retained and remediated.