Date: Tue 20th October, 2009
Venue: One New York Street, Manchester, M2 3AZ
Number of Guests Attended: 120
Sustainability and legacy were the main topics for discussion at Insider’s architecture & development breakfast, held at one of few buildings to reach completion in 2009 in central Manchester.
A full house packed into the landmark new building by property business Bruntwood – one of the event’s sponsors – to hear why developers should continue to strive for design quality and not lose sight of their environmental responsibilities. It was also a chance to explore client-architect relationships and the value of collaboration.
Chris Oglesby, chief executive of Bruntwood, said there has been “a lot of junk” built in the past 30 years in the name of regeneration, and developers needed to think more about their legacy.
“Future generations will look back on the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s and refer to them as a time for really poor architecture,” he said. “There have been some obvious exceptions, but we’ve got to build buildings that strive for high quality. There's no use in building something that environmentally friendly but will be demolished in 30 years’ time. Manchester already has a good stock of buildings, and so if you’re going to build something new, it has to stand the test of time.”
He added that One New York Street was “four or five years” ahead of where the market is in terms of its green credentials, and said that the environment is "the new internet" for developers. “The scale of the challenge that faces us is so significant,” he said. “Because of the economic downturn everyone is predicting that the environment will go down to the bottom of the list for developers, but there is no way that can happen. The internet changed the way everyone does business and the sustainability agenda is the same.”
Stephen Quinlan, the director responsible for the UK part of Australian-owned Denton Corker Marshall (DCM), the architecture practice behind One New York Street – and prior to that Manchester’s Civil Justice Centre - agreed and said the firm is only designing BREEAM Excellent-rated buildings at the moment.
When questioned on which is more sustainable in the medium to long-term – refurbishments of existing buildings or construction of new ones – he said there will always be a requirement for “something new and brilliant” but echoed Oglesby’s view that developers need to have a long-term view.
The event, held in association with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), also saw the launch of the RIBA Client Handbook, an indispensable guide to the North West’s architects and designers.
