IGS CONSERVATION POLICY
accepted by IGF at its Board Meeting, December 2007; reviewed 2011
The Proposed Conservation Policy PROTECTED STRUCTURES AND OTHER BUILDINGS OF SIGNIFICANCE:
It is agreed that, first and foremost, the Irish Georgian Society is an organisation
whose basic remit is the encouragement of the appreciation and protection of
Ireland’s built heritage of all periods; that is the reason it was founded in 1958. While
virtually all these buildings are Protected Structures, as established by the National
Inventory of Architectural Heritage and the Local Authority Development Plans, the
IGS recognises that these ‘lists’ are not totally accurate or inclusive, and that there
are some buildings that are not PSs but merit the IGS’s support, and vice versa. The
IGS is primarily concerned with buildings of significance, be that architectural,
historical, or cultural in some other way, as the “mission statement” on its printed
stationery says. Its strategy is to be in line with the various internationally accepted
Conservation Charters, such as the Venice and Burra Charters, all of which originally
spring from William Morris’s Manifesto of the Society for the Protection of Ancient
Buildings [1877], as well as the Architectural Heritage Guidelines of the DoE and the
2000 Planning Act. This strategy is to be regularly updated to keep abreast of any new
charters, and revisions of the existing ones.
The IGS should strive for the establishment of differing grades of Protected Structure,
as already indicated in the NIAH, and the rationalisation of ‘listing’, including the
upgrading of worthy buildings, and the de-listing of unworthy ones (but their inclusion
perhaps as part of Conservation Area) Local Authorities are to encourage to record
their listing decisions, and the reasoning for these decisions, and to employ
Conservation Officers, in compliance with the 2000 Planning Act.
The IGS accepts that the built heritage is a precious and irreplaceable resource that,
once damaged or destroyed, cannot be satisfactorily re-created; therefore all
alternatives to such damage or destruction must be fully examined, discussed and
dismissed before reluctantly agreeing to it. It also requires that such discussions must
involve properly accredited professionals to validate such decisions. It does accept
that there are certain examples where the re-creation of a missing part or element of
a building may well be the correct solution, to re-establish symmetry or the integrity
of an original design, for instance, and that in such circumstances ‘restoration’ is to be
encouraged. It accepts that the built heritage is not a suitable vehicle for some of the
present-day theories of ‘architectural honesty’ or ‘improving on the work of the past’.
The IGS accepts that within this basic framework each case must be judged on its own
merits, and that there should be no rigid and inflexible rules – the Society recognises
that its already respected opinions are partly the result of it being seen as balanced
and reasonable, and it wishes to maintain that reputation.
The basic tenet is that there is a natural assumption and preference for the retention
of the historic / existing building, and that intervention to enable it to continue in use
will be minimal and reversible. It is also assumed that before any work is specified, let
alone carried out, there will evidence of a thorough understanding of the cultural
significance and architectural development of the building, and of its problems [both
physical condition and owner’s ‘use’ requirements] and issues threatening it [its
‘vulnerabilities’], and that these have guided any conversion scheme, rather than the
converse. If this is not evident, the need for it is to be strongly recommended and
encouraged for without this the IGS will find it difficult to either support the proposals
or give its approval to any accompanying planning application.
REPAIRS:
The IGS encourages all repairs to be kept to a minimum, and the maximum amount of
historic fabric be retained, to ensure that the building is handed on to the next
generation in as complete and original state as sensibly possible. Buildings are not to
be ‘renewed’, or made to look new, purely because the funds for such a result are
available [a real possibility in the present climate of Ireland’s economic success]. It
also requires all works to be carried out to the highest standards of care, design,
materials and workmanship, and that no decisions should be made purely to ‘keep the
costs to a minimum’.
INTERVENTIONS:
The IGS requires all works to Protected Structures [and buildings that should be PSs] to
be proposed, designed and monitored by suitably qualified and accredited
professionals, and encourages all building owners to employ such professionals. This is
to both fulfil the aims of the AH Guidelines and to ensure that all works and
interventions cause the minimum amount of disruption and damage to the built
heritage. Where sensibly possible, works should not cause damage to the original
fabric, and should be reversible / removable. It also requires all works to be carried
out to the highest standards of care, design, materials and workmanship, and that no
decisions should be made purely to ‘keep the costs to a minimum’.
The Society is concerned by any inappropriate use of salvaged building materials. It
will not condone the use of salvaged materials purely as a ‘sop’ to local planning
authorities or public opinion, nor if these materials only have a short life remaining.
NEW BUILDINGS:
The IGS accepts that while it is extremely concerned about the design and appearance
of new buildings in the proximity and context of PSs, it is not a Good Design or Good
Planning society, nor does it have either the professional training or skills to be an
authority on such matters. It accepts that the correct agency for making such
decisions is the relevant Local Authority and its Planning Department, acting on the
advice of its own Conservation Officer. In such a situation, while giving its opinion on
how new buildings may impact on PSs, it will therefore resist any attempt to be
encouraged to comment on the design of proposed new buildings, except to request
that any new building should respect the PSs in its proximity, and be carried out to the
highest standards of care, design, materials and workmanship, and that no decisions
should be made purely to ‘keep the costs to a minimum’. The IGS will not actively
encourage the replacement of any PS by a new building – it has the right to maintain
its silence in such a circumstance.
JOHN R. REDMILL, FRIAI, WG2 Chairman, for and on behalf of the IGF Board
24th February 2007
Note:
This document is the result of a number of meetings held in 2005, 2006 and 2007 by
the Prospectus Review Working Group 2 [members Marion Cashman, David Griffin,
Christopher Moore and John Redmill [Chairman], some attended by Nick Sheaff and
Donough Cahill. It also takes into account the discussions of IGF Board members at
their meeting of 9th February 2007 on two planning applications involving Protected
Structures [the Clarence Hotel Dublin and the Casino at Marino] which significantly
helped crystallise the thoughts of the Working Group members. This document was
discussed and agreed by the Board as the Conservation Policy for it, the IGS
Committee, the staff of the IGS, and thus the Irish Georgian Society as a whole.