WORKING WITH HERITAGE PART II

“WHEN YOU STRIP BACK UNSYMPATHETIC ADDITIONS TO SAFE AND SOUND BARE BONES, YOU GET A HANDLE ON THE VOLUME, THE HERITAGE CANVAS YOU’RE WORKING WITH.” – MARK MCQUILTEN

HARD HATS AND SPEED SKETCHES

Compared with new construction, Heritage work generally delivers more surprises and changeable on-site conditions, which require the architect, engineer and builder to be more reactive and, often, more present. The Environmental Arts Hub at Albert Park College (APC), therefore, required project architect, Mark McQuilten to be on the APC site about twice weekly during the hub’s one-year build.

“Things falling down, or not being there. All the weirdness you get with really old buildings,” says McQuilten. “The architect needs to be ready to do a quick sketch to resolve a junction [between old and new], and make decisions about all sorts of unforeseen issues.”

Suffice it to say,