TAKEAWAYS FROM

UDL Challenging Practice: Tall Buildings

Tuesday 29th September 2015

We need to think of tall buildings as having three separate components; a base, middle

and top. They each serve a different purpose and will impact their surroundings in different

ways. It is therefore important that tall buildings be designed, and assessed, with this is mind.

Tall buildings studies should be used to steer future tall building applications. By fully

understanding the opportunities and constraints tall buildings could bring to an area, local

councils would be in a much better position to asses how they should be designed,

accommodated and used.

Ensuring Quality: To ensure quality beyond the planning permission Local Authorities may

want to consider one of these options. Firstly, planning departments could secure funds from

the developer through s106 agreements to retain the architect as a design advisor or planners

could strongly encourage architects to clearly specify the design particulars of a scheme prior

to approval’ through detailed plans, in order to maintain the intended quality standards or

design codes could be used to set parameters for the details worked up after permission has

been granted.

Microclimate: Planners are urged to question thresholds for, and carefully examine how

wind, temperature and light penetration will be affected by proposals. These rarely take into

account the cumulative effects of many tall buildings in an area, but they should.

Waste Management should be a fundamental consideration for tall building schemes.

Currently there are inefficiencies in the way waste is removed from high density areas and

new innovations need to be adopted if we are to keep our city clean.

Speakers

Michael Ball, Waterloo Community Development Group

Impact on Communities David Birkbeck, Design for Homes Waste Management Roger Hawkins, Hawkins\Brown Ensuring quality beyond the planning permission David McDonald, Heritage Consultant Impact on Historic Environments Euan Mills, Greater London Authority

Dealing with tall building applications Paul Runaghan, Terry Farrell Architects Design and tall buildings – an overview

Michael Tsoukaris, London Borough of Southwark The plan-led approach (a case-study) Chris Twinn, Twinn Sustainability Innovation

Microclimates, energy use and myth busting high rise