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In the July 2007 issue:
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Barn Storming
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Shedding Light on the Part L Debate
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Rooflight Company Champions Excellence in Architectural Design
Barn Storming
Preserving and enhancing traditional or historic buildings involves taking into account the visual characteristics of original features and matching them as closely as possible, while still conforming to contemporary standards and regulations. Planning and Conservation Officers will often refuse applications if they change a building’s character too much. So how best to reconcile an authentic appearance with modern requirements – especially when changing the nature of a property’s basic usage? Architect Peter King of the Rooflight Company singles out a modern application for consideration – the barn conversion.
Barns are buildings directly related to their function, with no design frills or furbelows. These examples of the vernacular system of design were constructed without the aid of architects or planners, and face the same problem as all buildings dedicated to a specific function – difficulty in adapting them to other uses.
West Oxfordshire District Council’s current thinking on the matter
is that conversion of barns is generally accepted as inevitable, even desirable
if the barn has fallen into disrepair. Continuance in use is seen as preferable
to dereliction, but new use should alter the character of the barn as little
as possible. Conversion to residential use is at the bottom of the desirability
list.
Rob Parkinson, Conservation Officer at WODC, said: “
Where planning permission has been granted for a barn conversion, detailed
proposals which seek to substantially alter the basic character or which
amount to a rebuilding will not be acceptable. The character of a barn
is derived from its original use as a working agricultural building, so
we advise applicants to try to retain the original form and alter it as
little as possible externally.” The alteration
with most potential to change character involves fenestration.
There are many different types of barn, with varying degrees of difficulty
in conversion depending upon existing fenestration and doors. An aisled cattle
barn, for instance, typically has a
solid / void ratio of approximately 99%. There is a difficulty in providing
natural light and ventilation without inserting numbers of new windows and
rooflights, so the chances of retaining the essential character of the barn
are low. The same problem occurs with an oast barn, which has a solid / void
ratio of 90%. Contrastingly, a stable with a hayloft has a high chance of
its fundamental qualities being retained, as its solid / void ratio of around
80% means that there is little difficulty in providing natural light and
ventilation without altering the building too drastically.
So when a barn is converted for another use – particularly residential – there are a number of planning issues to be faced. The single most important of these is usually how to provide natural light and ventilation without altering the barn’s essential character.
With most barns, this typically includes a low window-to-wall ratio and
large unbroken expanses of roof. This often renders them difficult to adapt
to other uses. Employing rooflights in barn conversions is extremely useful,
as they admit around 20% more light than vertical windows size-for-size.
This means that the rooflights can be smaller, or they can admit more light – whichever
is appropriate to the circumstances. However, it is the retention of character
that is vital in winning support from planners, so
where rooflights are used, these should be as near to the cast iron models
farmers would originally have used as possible.
Rooflights were a rare sight until the Victorian period and after, by which time the heyday of traditional barn building had all but come to an end. Victorians confidently altered many medieval buildings, including barns, installing rooflights to brighten the interior. Many different types of mass-produced cast iron rooflights were used, and most rooflights seen on barns today are additions by later owners ‘improving’ or otherwise altering their barns to suit changed uses and circumstances. The cast-iron variety had the advantage of being relatively cheap for thrifty farmers to purchase and install, and they are still available - but they are only single-glazed, are not truly watertight or draught proof, and are susceptible to condensation.
While they meet contemporary performance standards, in terms of preserving the character of a historic building, most modern, mass-produced rooflights are inappropriate. They look nothing like original cast-iron models, often featuring bulky, crudely-detailed frames clad in a modern material (aluminium), fake (or no) glazing bars, and large sheets of undivided glass (where only relatively small sheets were likely to have been available at the time of the construction of the original building). They also tend to stand well proud of the level of the rooftiles.
In contrast, the Conservation Rooflight® has been especially designed to look like a cast-iron rooflight, with a low profile and slim steel glazing bars, but has been fully adapted to use in habitable accommodation. Meeting and often exceeding current building standards, it will not leak, is draught-proofed, double-glazed, and has a thermal break device to obviate condensation. There are over 20 different sizes available, from the miniscule to the enormous, to suit each particular application.
Provision of adequate natural lighting and ventilation – without altering the character of the building – is fundamental to the conversion of barns to other uses. These buildings present a unique spatial and textural environment that offers us a chance to work with natural light in an inspired way – introducing the ethereal qualities of white light from above, for instance. Character in a building is made of contrasts of light and shade, and the need to preserve the character of barns offers a golden opportunity for architects to show what they can do.
Shedding Light on the Part L Debate
By Peter King RIBA, practising architect and chairman of the Rooflight Company
As more and more people recognise the importance of natural light and the benefits it can bring, the demand for buildings that allow greater amounts of sunlight to penetrate the interior has increased exponentially. ‘Daylighting’ techniques are employed in more constructions, while in the residential sector, conservatories and sunrooms are hugely popular. But is this ‘extra’ natural resource really worth the extra cost, and how can we enjoy its advantages while still complying with tough yet ambiguous legislation?
From scientific experts to teachers, doctors and multinational conglomerates,
people are increasingly aware of the benefits of sunlight and the profound
ways it can affect a person’s wellbeing. Natural (or ‘full-spectrum’)
light has been established as providing a range of positive effects: it improves
mood and combats depression; boosts energy and increases production levels;
makes interior spaces appear larger; renders colours true; reduces eyestrain;
conserves energy; and brings the outdoors in. In the past, many health cures
advocated ‘bathing’ in the rays of the sun. Such exposure may
be undertaken more cautiously today, but certain benefits remain. Sunlight
causes the body to produce Vitamin D, which boosts the immune system
and builds strong bones and teeth. It is also credited with helping people
combat a range of disorders, including some cancers. This essential vitamin
can only be obtained by enjoying enough sunlight to trigger the response,
or to eat foods to which it has been added.
In this day and age of busy lives and long work hours, we spend as much
as 90% of our time indoors away from natural light – sometimes being
exposed to sunlight for less than an hour a day. This situation worsens over
the winter months, when sunlight is in even shorter supply and people commonly
leave for work and return in the dark.
An estimated 90% of people experience seasonal mood changes, with up
to 10% of those suffering from the condition known as seasonal affective
disorder (or ‘SAD’), which is characterised by fatigue, gloom,
change in appetite, sleeplessness and feelings of despair. This can have
an extremely debilitating effect on a person’s life, at work and at
home. The most effective treatment for these symptoms is exposure to more
full-spectrum light. Depriving people of natural light can trigger apathy
and depression. The associated tiredness causes a loss of mental acuity,
while hormonal changes linked to light deprivation can affect blood pressure,
heart rate, body rhythms and other physical processes.
‘Daylighting’ – employing techniques that optimise the
use of natural light to illuminate interiors – is becoming ever more
popular not only because of the way it can radically revitalise a room, but
also for its natural healing powers. Though it has been accepted as fact
for many centuries, the power of light to rejuvenate the body and mind has
only recently been confirmed by scientific studies. On top of its many other
benefits, daylighting also offers passive solar gain as well as increased
illumination, contributing towards a reduction in energy consumption and
carbon emissions.
Over recent years, hospitals, businesses and schools alike have been
taking advantage of this natural resource because of the substantial benefits
it provides. In the education sector, studies involving schoolchildren exposed
to daylight as opposed to traditional electric lighting have found that attendance
records improved, students had nine times less tooth decay and developed
physically at a faster rate, concentration levels increased and a better
overall scholastic performance was achieved. In hospitals, research has proven
that the recovery rate of patients is much faster in areas with high levels
of natural light.
These dramatic findings are echoed in the workplace, where daylighting can
significantly increase productivity and boost staff morale. Lighting for
all workers has long been a concern in many European countries, where construction
codes dictate the maximum distance a worker can be from a window as well
as how much of a building’s natural light must come from the outdoors.
In the USA, research into the subject led retail giant Wal-Mart to install
skylights in one section of its store in Lawrence, Kansas. They found that
this resulted in considerably higher sales per square foot in that portion
of the store. Other companies around the world have reported dramatic falls
in absenteeism after natural light was introduced, and workers generally
report feeling happier, healthier and more productive. In fact, many businesses
report that the resulting boost in productivity more than paid for the cost
of introducing more light.
Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations (1992) state that: “Every workplace shall have suitable and sufficient lighting, which shall, so far as is reasonably practicable, be by natural light.” Installing rooflights is a highly effective method of brightening the interior of a building and lifting the spirits of its occupants, as well as providing extra ventilation if required. A spokesperson for the National Association of Rooflight Manufacturers explains: “The extent to which exposure to natural light – or lack of it – can affect our behaviour is dramatic. For instance, suicide rates are considerably higher in parts of the world where daylight is very limited for a large part of the year. More prosaically, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that buildings enjoying high levels of natural light are literally more successful than those more reliant on artificial light. In all environments, the eyes and brain function better in natural light. Daylight improves concentration so that working environments, be they factories or offices with natural light, tend to achieve increased productivity.”
These proven benefits are acknowledged for the first time in the revised Building Regulations Approved Document L, which also cites the effectiveness of rooflights in providing daylight into a structure. In the drive for energy efficiency the revised Regulations set minimum acceptable levels for natural daylighting. Rooflights must achieve a U-value of 2.2 W/m²K or lower in order to meet thermal requirements and, while windows can provide daylight to areas within 6 metres, rooflights are the only practical means of introducing daylight to any wider buildings. An appropriate area of rooflights should be included on all roofs, as they are up to three times more efficient at introducing natural light than windows of a similar area. For commercial and industrial buildings, a minimum rooflight area of 10% is recommended, and a notional Standard is based on a rooflight area of 20%.
However, the current regulations have raised concerns over whether adequate natural daylight can be provided through rooflights without creating the risk of solar overheating. Now a research project commissioned by the Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development at De Montfort University has concluded that it can. Using improved assessment methods involving sophisticated computer modelling, the research investigated issues raised in Building Regulations Approved Document Part L2, which states that “special care needs to be given to confirm that levels of daylight are adequate” if the rooflight area is less than 20%. On the other hand, it also suggests that one way of avoiding risk of solar overheating is to limit the rooflight area to 12%.
The new study was able to quantify the solar gain from rooflights inside large span buildings, defining the maximum area of rooflights that can be fitted while avoiding risk of solar overheating. It established that the minimum rooflights area required for ‘adequate’ natural daylighting are lower than the maximum limits to avoid solar overheating. As a means of ensuring effective illumination, even distribution of light and improved thermal efficiency, there is no doubt that rooflights really are coming out on top.
Rooflight Company Champions Excellence In Architectural Design
As part of its ongoing commitment towards supporting excellence in architectural
design, specialist manufacturer the Rooflight Company has announced that
it is to sponsor the RIBA Manser Medal Award in 2007 and 2008. The prestigious
honour – along with a cheque for £5000 – is awarded for
the best one-off, architect-designed house or major extension in the UK.
Recognising new and innovative approaches to residential design and technology and established in 2001, the prize was named after Michael Manser, former President of RIBA, who was renowned for his own steel and glass housing designs. These same materials are utilised throughout the Rooflight Company’s own range of products, which encompasses the widest selection of high quality roof windows and skylights for pitched and flat roofs in the UK.
Valerie King, Managing Director of the Rooflight Company, comments: “We
are delighted to be given the opportunity to sponsor this award, particularly
because we have always aimed to help facilitate the design process by providing
innovative solutions created from an architect’s point of view.”
Founded by the inventor of the Conservation Rooflight®, architect Peter King RIBA, the Rooflight Company also offers a bespoke service delivering special rooflights made to order. With an illustrious background in conservation and heritage projects, it is rapidly expanding its repertoire in contemporary architecture, having recently worked with such prominent names as Will Alsop and Zaha Hadid. Innovative design continues to be the driving force of the company, and the newly launched, frameless neo™ Rooflight demonstrates clearly how form and function can be successfully brought together in one product.
Featuring a shortlist chosen from winners of RIBA Awards, the winner of the 2007 Manser Medal will be announced at the RIBA Stirling Prize Dinner in October
