SPAB [Alliance Member] has launched a new series of online talks continuing their theme of transformation. Through a mixture of recent projects and current thinking about heritage, sustainability and conservation, they consider physical change and new uses for old buildings on the one hand and, on the other, the power of conservation projects to transform places and communities. They will also look at how new ways of thinking about heritage can transform the way people engage with old buildings and historic places.
The lecture series is as follows:
- 4 March – From Granby Four Streets to Spitalfields: community led regeneration – The “Granby Four Streets” project in Liverpool brought architecture and design collective Assemble and Toxteth residents wide recognition for an approach to regeneration that placed a community’s affection for its local heritage, at its heart. Over the last decade they have worked together to realise a sustainable and incremental vision for the Granby area. Fran Edgerley, a founding partner of Assemble, will discuss Granby Four Streets and other current projects, which demonstrate the potential and success of community led regeneration.
- 11 March – Transforming Places: revitalising historic high streets – “Ordinary” town centre heritage often goes unremarked and underappreciated, and can fall into serious decline. Yet these places are a vital part of our built environment and, if well cared for and used, can be assets that contribute to a community’s quality of life and create a strong sense of place in an increasingly homogenised world. The Architectural Heritage Fund’s (AHF) [Alliance member] Chief Executive, Matthew Mckeague, will describe the aims and progress of their initiative Transforming Places, which seeks to improve town centre buildings.
- 18 March – Brixton Windmill: from building at risk to revival – Before Brixton was absorbed by the urban expansion of London in the mid nineteenth century it was a wheat growing area, which Ashby’s Mill was built to serve in 1816. When it was placed on the Buildings at Risk register in 2002 the Friends of Windmill Gardens (FoWG) was formed and has worked tirelessly to secure a viable future for the Grade II* listed mill. 2020 saw completion of a new building by Squire & Partners, providing meeting and workshop space to support flour production, education and visitor activities at the mill. The Chair of FoWG, Jean Kerrigan and architect Tim Gledstone, partner at Squire & Partners will describe the windmill’s rescue and future.
Other SPAB events include:
- 13 March: Understanding Your Old House Course, SPAB course, London.
- 25 March: A Marriage of Minds: John Betjeman and John Piper, SPAB evening lecture, London.
- 24 April: Sketching with Thread, SPAB workshop, London.
- 27 April: Tour of St Anne’s Church, Limehouse, SPAB event, London.