ABSTRACT
Access is always an important consideration when planning and installing services but particularly in old buildings, where future damage to fabric must be minimised. Removal of the poorly executed, piecemeal accretions reduced past conflict with the local flood ecology and allowed future flood risk to be addressed through the construction of a new embankment at the back of the site. The building or elements within it may already be contributing positively and any scheme resulting in change must not undermine the structure’s existing performance characteristics, ruin its carbon status or jeopardise its future. Incorporating environmental and sustainability measures into buildings is an essential part of good design and allows new work to reinvigorate the old so that historic structures will continue to stand the test of time. Sun tubes or sun pipes are useful for bringing natural light into buildings, particularly when dealing with internal bathrooms and windowless hallways.
