{"id":655586,"date":"2022-03-16T12:57:03","date_gmt":"2022-03-16T12:57:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=655586"},"modified":"2022-03-16T12:57:03","modified_gmt":"2022-03-16T12:57:03","slug":"retrofirst-stories-matt-explains-why-it-isnt-replacing-the-baltic-exchange-with-a-tower","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/retrofirst-stories-matt-explains-why-it-isnt-replacing-the-baltic-exchange-with-a-tower","title":{"rendered":"RetroFirst stories: MATT explains why it isn\u2019t replacing the Baltic Exchange with a tower"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

With up to 40 per cent of carbon emissions coming from the construction industry, the profession needs to find ways of adapting the type of buildings it designs, and fast.<\/p>\n

In order to tackle the climate crisis, the\u00a0default \u2013 and less carbon-hungry \u2013 option for any project should be to adapt and reuse an existing building, one of the key demands of the AJ\u2019s\u00a0RetroFirst campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With the spotlight on retrofit, our ongoing\u00a0series<\/a> seeks to celebrate the projects that save buildings from demolition or cleverly give them a new lease of life.<\/p>\n

Today Matt White of MATT Architecture reveals how the practice has parked plans to build a 44-storey tower on the site of the Baltic Exchange and opted instead for a \u2018deep refurbishment\u2019 of the listed 1920s City headquarters.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Existing building<\/p>\n\t

<\/p><\/p><\/div>\n

Tell us about the project?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Baltic Exchange is one of the City\u2019s oldest and most respected institutions. This is a deep refurbishment of its headquarters, which will create the City\u2019s first BREAAM Outstanding listed building.<\/p>\n

The project is located opposite the Gherkin, right next to where the Tulip was being proposed, and, coincidentally, will provide about as much net area over six storeys as the Tulip was going to provide over nearly 80!<\/p>\n

What were the challenges of the existing building\/site?
\n<\/strong>The building is listed, which always makes the planning process more difficult. In this case, the existing building had already been substantially altered and augmented in the 1990s to create more net area \u2013 but the widening of floorplates and infilling of lightwells had created space of substantially lower quality than in the original 1920s design.<\/p>\n

Having been almost destroyed by the IRA\u2019s tragic 1992 bombing of the original Baltic Exchange building next door, in which three people died, the Baltic\u2019s current headquarters was rebuilt. Architecturally, it\u2019s organised with a \u2018primary\u2019 decorative Portland Stone elevation to St Mary Axe (by Edwin Cooper, who was also responsible for the 1920s fa\u00e7ade retained within Richard Rogers\u2019 Lloyds building nearby). There\u2019s then a \u2018secondary\u2019 fa\u00e7ade to Bury Court, which is much less ornate and was originally concealed by buildings that have now been removed as part of the building of the Gherkin.<\/p>\n

Our proposals reimagine how Edwin Cooper might have designed this \u2018secondary\u2019 fa\u00e7ade as a \u2018primary\u2019 fa\u00e7ade \u2013 had he been presented with the open civic space now in front that has arrived 70 years later – as part of the landscaping around the Gherkin. This means adding more assertive architectural elements, for example, new projecting dormers to the roof, and reinforcing a latent symmetry in the design by creating a new glazed \u2018notch\u2019 between the St Mary Axe and Bury Court elevations.<\/p>\n

The glazed \u2018notch\u2019 also reintroduces natural light into the deepest part of the building plan and enables the creation of balconies on every floor of the building \u2013 providing external amenity space for the well-being of occupants.<\/p>\n

Had demolition or partial demolition ever been considered?
\n<\/strong>We did consider partial demolition at one point, which is tied in with the slightly unusual story behind why the project is happening at all. It goes back to when our relationship with the Baltic started \u2013 with a small commission to refurbish its members\u2019 bar.<\/p>\n

We took this on in part as a favour to a friend, but it certainly wasn\u2019t a money-spinner. And perhaps recognising this, on completion, the Baltic advised us it was likely to \u2018put a floor on top\u2019 in the near future. This would be a larger commission that would enable us to make some money!<\/p>\n

We decided to dig into the detail of this opportunity and, realising that the site was in the City\u2019s Eastern Cluster, we came back with a proposal for a 44-storey tower. This would have retained the existing building\u2019s facades to provide a four-storey open public space between the street frontage and tower base. Within this, we also proposed retaining and suspending the historic panelled boardroom as a sculptural, but still useful, artefact and meeting room.<\/p>\n

\"\"

MATT Architecture’s proposed (and never realised) Baltic Tower<\/p>\n\t

<\/p><\/p><\/div>\n

We still think that\u2019s a good idea, by the way, but perhaps something for a future developer with a different financial model.<\/p>\n

Aside from retaining the original fabric, what other aspects of your design reduce the whole-life carbon impact of the building?
\n<\/strong>There are some obvious active<\/em> measures, like full electrification and replacement of the air handling gear, alongside more passive<\/em> measures to improve the environmental performance, such as replacement windows and a general upgrading of the thermal envelope. Cooper, the original architect, was particularly celebrated for his facades so we\u2019re using a specialist insulating plaster on the internal<\/em> face of the envelope to enable us to improve the overall U values while maintaining the external appearance of the solid masonry elevations.<\/p>\n

Are the planners supportive of the proposals?
\n<\/strong>Generally it\u2019s been a really positive conversation with the planners. Making alterations to a listed structure can be difficult but they\u2019ve really embraced our efforts to reconnect this much-altered building with its original design principles. Most obviously, that\u2019s meant the glazed \u2018notch\u2019 \u2013 providing natural light back into the deepest part of the plan where the original building\u2019s full height \u2018oculus\u2019 had been infilled.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s meant a simpler palette, cleaner and more legible spaces, and an approach to detailing that reveals the different layers of the building\u2019s history rather than covering them up. To date the interior design strategy from the 90s seems to have been \u2018if in doubt, add an architrave\u2019 This means we\u2019ve inherited a very congested, heavy, and needlessly oppressive interior \u2013 something we\u2019re going to fix (see planning appilcation here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

We have recieved an early objection from the Twentieth Century Society. This was regrettable, but also understandable, probably necessary, and ultimately helpful. Its comments have ensured our design is properly challenged and is properly and robustly justified. Our proposals are deeply responsive to and respectful of, the building and<\/em> its setting\u00a0and<\/em> its history. All of which have changed, sometimes violently, over its life.<\/p>\n

The C20 Society\u2019s objection was regrettable, but also understandable and ultimately helpful<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We also have to be mindful of not only its 20th-century past, but also its 21st-century future, which is why we\u2019re so focused on providing an exemplary BREEAM Outstanding building.<\/p>\n

Oh and we\u2019re also now going to include a new public museum at ground floor, to tell the story of all of the above. And what historical society doesn\u2019t love a museum?<\/p>\n

What have been the main lessons from the project that you could apply to other developments?
\n<\/strong>A model we can apply to similar buildings elsewhere is how we can improve the environmental performance of existing UK building stock. And particularly in the case of listed buildings how to improve that performance without damaging the historic architectural features that underpin the listing.<\/p>\n

As a studio, we\u2019re acutely aware of the Green Building Council\u2019s analysis that 80 per cent of the buildings that will exist in 2050 already exist \u2013 so improving their energy and carbon footprint now is absolutely critical.<\/p>\n

Is your approach to retrofit and the way you talk about it with clients changing, especially given the increased focus on the climate emergency?
\n<\/strong>Yes \u2013 hugely. Parliament declared a climate emergency in May 2019 but that only really started to sink in nine months later with lockdown. Everyone\u2019s recent experience of the pandemic really focused collective minds on the fragility, brevity and interconnectedness of our existence. That sounds scary but is actually really positive. The changing world of work and the impact that\u2019s having on workspace is a good example.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re now seeing clients interested increasingly in only two types of space: really cheap or really good. And really good means with environmental performance, wellbeing and environmental, social, and governance\/corporate social responsibility <\/span><\/span>issues right at the top of the agenda.<\/p>\n

The trick of course is to be able to do both.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Proposed office collaboration space in MATT Architecture’s revamp of the Baltic Exchange<\/p>\n\t

<\/p><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With up to 40 per cent of carbon emissions coming from the construction industry, the profession needs to find ways of adapting the type of buildings it designs, and fast. In order to tackle the climate crisis, the\u00a0default \u2013 and less carbon-hungry \u2013 option for any project should be to adapt and reuse an existing …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":915,"featured_media":655671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[681],"tags":[4074,5950,6196,1342],"yoast_head":"\nRetroFirst stories: MATT explains why it isn\u2019t replacing the Baltic Exchange with a tower<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The latest in the AJ's series looking at architects who have saved buildings from the bulldozers or given them a new lease of life\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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