Executive Summary

 This study aims at evaluating the conservation work performed for a listed building in the UK with regards to the various guidelines and principles defined for preservation of sites and buildings that are of archeological and historical significance. The different statues and related legislative framework defined by the UK government for the protection of the cultural and historical significance of the buildings is analyzed. The chosen listed building for the evaluation of conservation work is the Royal Institute of Great Britain in London that serves as a central scientific hub for learning and research for people across the globe. Conservation and repair work to protect the heritage and cultural value of this national asset was carried out in 1995 and recently in 2008 which is evaluated with reference to established principles for conservation work.

 Question 1: Explain, with reference to relevant statutes and policies, how the legislative framework operates to ensure that the historic significance and public value of the selected building is maintained.

 Conservative work on a building facilitates the sustainability of the built environment ensuring a greener place for generations to come. In fact, the conservation principles are defined to ensure that a building or structure is useful to the community and its surrounding environment providing benefits to the national economy and to the community serving as a strategic unit of historical and cultural significance. There are various conservative policies and legislation related to the different kinds of work involved with the conservation or preservation of the building or site.

Typically a listed building is one where conservation work needs to be done, the site has been built before 1948 and where the site holds value in terms of historical and cultural significance. Such listed buildings are maintained to obtain use related to heritage sustainability and contribution to economic development. In order for a listed building to be repaired, altered, demolished or expanded, general consent has to be obtained from the City council to start conservation work on the site. In the UK there are many sites that reflect cultural significance and are historically important being a means of attracting tourists from all across the globe providing value to the tourism industry and driving the UK economy (Bernard, 2003)

The government in UK has paid considerable attention to the tourism industry and specifically to preserving sites of cultural and historical importance. There have been policies and laws defined to ensure conformity to conservation principles before any alteration or repair work is planned and executed for a building. This paper also highlights the conservation work performed in a listed building in the UK and provides a critique on how it conforms to the conservation principles and guidelines established for building conservation.

The chosen listed building for this paper is the Royal Institute of Great Britain in Westminster that dates back to the 1838 era and was repaired in 1995 with most of its special features and assets retained. Significant alterations and repair work was recently done in 2008 in consultation with the English Heritage and after review report of the conservators. The Royal Institute is one of the most popular places of cultural importance in Great Britain, a place where Micheal Faraday gave his famous lecture in the late nineteenth century. The building has been listed as Grade 1 and conservation work has made important contribution to its popularity and heritage as a tourist attraction and a place of national significance (Gwendy, 1985).

Figure 1: Royal Institute - Gallery (ISG plc, 2016)

The basic legislation related to building and development planning is Section 54A of The Town and Country Planning Act 1990 as defined by the City Council and the UK government that allows the council to review and undertake planning for development projects. For conservation work and listed building control the city council will review alteration, repair work and other necessary conservation work in conformity with the unitary development plan, UDP for maintaining sites that hold significant value historically and culturally according to the section 66 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. The Royal Institute of Great Britain under the vigilance of the city council has been listed as a Grade 1 building and conservation work undertaken has been in conformity with this Planning Act 1990 (Supplementary Planning Guidance, 2016)

The City Council is therefore granted permission and assent by the government as per defined statues and legislation to make efforts to preserve old monuments and buildings of cultural and historical significance. The DES 8(A) framework provides details for the protection and safety of the sites that possess archeological interest whereby the City Council is responsible for the preservation and conservation of historically significant features, fabric and assets of the building. The Royal Institute in Great Britain was hence extensively conserved in 1995 with alterations and repair work done to retain historic features like materials, brickwork, Metalwork and general character of the site. The aim was to preserve and protect this national asset that holds cultural and historical value serving as a science hub for the tourists and researchers all across the globe. 

The article DES 8(C) of the planning Act 1990 pertaining to the listed buildings and conservation areas provides details about the change of use related to the historic building. The City council reviews applications for the new utility of the building provided that its repair or alteration is within the principles of the development plan and that the new use does not affect the historic value of the building. Over the years the Royal Institute of Great Britain has been expanded and altered to enhance its cultural value and utility over the long term. The institute consists of the Faraday Museum, Library and the high-tech theatre amongst other features that enable it to be used for scientific research and learning. The multiple uses of this historic site conform to the highlighted legislation and repair work was carried out in accordance with the English Heritage consultation and City Council consent.

Figure 2: Royal Institute - Theatre (ISG plc, 2016)

The article DES 8 (D) relates to the details of all planned conservation work to be clearly stated in the application for permission to start work that is submitted to the city council for review and consent. All repairs, expansion, demolition or alterations with the complete description and scope of work including site investigation must be clearly mentioned. The article DES 8 (E) states the requirements for the conservation work explicitly providing details regarding the quality of conservation including the use of material, fabric and features for alterations, repairs, expansions and other preservation work applied to the listed building. The Royal Institute was hence repaired keeping in consideration the historic value, character and ambience of the site ensuring that most of it was retained through the use of quality materials and fabric closer to the original that can be seen in the metalwork, sculpting, brickwork and material use of the listed site. (Supplementary Planning Guidance, 2016)

Article DES 8(F) states that extensions to a listed building will only be allowed where the requirement strongly justifies the need to retain historic value of the site. Special labour and professional craftsman should be employed to carry out conservation work while Article DES 8(G) describes conditions under which a specific work for conservation that is not within the area of permitted preservation work would be allowed by the city council. During conservation work or while the building is empty the City council has the authority to request added security mechanisms for the protection of the listed building and its historical features from theft and damage as stated in Article DES 8(H). Development work that is considered detrimental to the preservation of the listed building will not be allowed as stated in Article DES 8(I). The conservation of the Royal Institute was carried out after comprehensive review of the work involved and the feedback from conservators and the English Heritage. The City Council also ensures that there is effective security mechanism in place to protect the listed building and its archaeological features.

Question 2: Provide, with reference to other examples of historic buildings, an informed explanation of the guiding principles and philosophies to be considered when undertaking works of conservation.

 According to the Guidebook for Repairs and Alterations to Listed Building, Supplementary Planning Guidance (1995) published and regularly revised by the City of Westminster, the fist guiding principle regarding performing any sort of conservation work on a listed building such as repairs, alteration, demolition or expansion requires specific approval or listed building consent. This is defined in the PPG 15 that highlights the criteria for evaluating a listed building application for conservative work. Particular approval or consent from the city council is needed that provides the go-ahead based on assessment factors such as the historical and cultural significance of the monument, building or structure, the general physical attributes of the listed building such as design, materials,  assets and location, the contribution of the building to it's surrounding environment and lastly, the benefits that the conservation work would bring to the economy at large and its surrounding environment including the communities that are directly affected by it.

The Trafalgar square monuments, for example have been preserved keeping in consideration the guidelines defined by the City council. Floodlights have been implemented recently in the National Gallery and the Nelson's column both of which are listed as Grade 1.The conservation work for these historically significant buildings shows professional craftsmanship and conformity to conservation principles. (Supplementary Planning Guidance, 2016)

The guiding principles for the particular use of listed buildings state that the structure should facilitate sustainable development and should reflect feasibility in terms of economic growth contribution. The buildings that are conserved must serve the purpose that they are preserved for to ensure viability with regards to cultural heritage and economic contribution. However, some buildings are left without any proper use after conservation work and therefore serve no useful purpose deteriorating over time due to negligence. The guidelines clearly state that the listed building must be maintained especially after conservation work to retain its value and to enhance it feasibility and utility over the long term. In cases where there is no longer a certain utility for a building then they must be altered and designed to serve some other purpose. The PPG 15 guideline states that a feasible use of the listed building must be determined keeping in consideration the design, materials and the fabric of the structure before undertaking conservation work as detailed in the City Council's policy DES8.  (WBDG Historic Preservation Subcommittee, 2015)

For the demolition of listed buildings or structures, the guidelines state that only those structures will be allowed to be demolished that cannot serve any particular purpose in their current form and where redevelopment is the only viable solution. Paras 32.16-3.19 of the PPG 15 clearly highlight the requirements under which consent for demolition work may be granted. These factors include the particular structure's condition, financial estimate of the repairing or maintenance work with regards to its historical significance, the benefits that would arise from its use over the long term, the appropriateness of the actions taken to maintain the building and the viability of other options for the site or building.

The guidelines state that consent won't be granted just because a site developer prefers redevelopment more than retaining the site's historical significance or because the price of the building that the developer purchased the site at was more apt for redevelopment than the maintenance of the existing condition of the structure or historic site. The general city council policy for demolition work is DES 8(B). Applications for demolition work are generally reviewed in consultation with the English Heritage that maintains a list of the conservative projects referred to as the register of listed buildings. (UDP, 2016)

 The guidelines with regards to alterations to buildings is also recorded in the planning guide for performing conservation work on listed buildings. According to PPG15 the alteration works to the listed buildings should ensure that the fabric, historic attributes and important features of the structure are maintained and retained. Alterations to such sites should be done with the purpose of repairing damaged parts of the structure especially the fabric and features that are of historical and cultural importance.

The aim should be to retain and preserve such features instead of replacing them with modern fabrics. The original features that are missing and hold considerable archeological significance are encouraged for refurbishment by the City Council provided they have an authentic missing record. The evaluation for listed building control entails assessing the structure for special features that reflect historical importance which typically includes the entire interior of the building or in certain scenarios just the facade. (WBDG Historic Preservation Subcommittee, 2015)

In alterations to buildings and listed structures the guidelines state that all concerned stakeholders should show mutual understanding of the need to preserve the character and historical significance of the site and therefore alterations should be aimed at retaining the building's special features. In sensitive areas of the interior there should be minimum alterations to ensure effective conservative effort. Creative imagination and aesthetics should be exercised by developers to ensure that conformity to requirements such as floor plans, materials, space planning and floor loadings is in place. When doing alteration work or repairs to a listed building, proper materials closer to the original should be used and quality should be maintained.

An example of repair work is the Grade 1 listed Eris Forms figure that is part of the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain by Alfred Gilbert (1893). It was repaired many times in the past especially after the appearance of cracks due to damage in 1990 by Vandals. Eris was then sent for repairs after complete review for repair work that suggested a durable aluminum casting to retain asset value. Eros in 1994 was reinstalled after repair and continues to serve as a symbol of cultural heritage. (Repairs and Alterations to Listed Building, 1995)

Question 3: With reference to relevant conservation principles and philosophies, and appropriate conservation technologies, evaluate the work undertaken to the selected building.

 The selected building for conservation work is the Royal Institute of Great Britain that was founded by Henry Cavendish in 1799, a popular British Scientist and by George Finch the first president. The institute in London is a place of strategic and historic importance serving as a place for scientific research and development. In 1995 the center was repaired and extensive conservation work was carried out. The palatial home of the center was significantly repaired and redeveloped maintaining the original ambience and historic theme of the place. The building has since then been listed as a Grade 1 building. It was recently refurbished in 2008 with important repairs, a conservation project that had a budget of almost 22 million pounds (ISG plc, 2016)

Figure 3: Royal Institute - Balustrade Staircase before conservation (Rupert Harris Conservation Ltd, 2016)

The aim of the conservation was to expand the institute to enhance its utility as a center for scientific learning and research. The conservation project in light of the guiding principles defined in the planning Act 1990 was completed in August 2008 largely constituting the redevelopment for the Faraday Lecture Theatre and the accompanying library. The institute also includes the palatial home with the public restaurant and other high-tech facilities for research work. The recent conservation work to the building enabled it to serve as the national hub for science and technology.

The redevelopment that was thoroughly reviewed by the city council before it's execution for conformance with defined conservation principles included the construction of a five-storey atrium at the back of the institute containing a glass lift serving as the central point surrounded by glass bridges that span the atrium. Reconfiguration of the ground floor, first floor and the lower ground floor was also part of the redevelopment work with repairs made to the Faraday laboratory and its accompanying labs that are a source of showcasing science exhibitions. Restaurants and a public bar were also constructed for the extension of its utility (ISG plc, 2016).

Special alterations were made to the Micheal Faraday Theatre that included walls restoration, floor panelling, seating arrangement, roof-work and lighting to enhance its archaeological value while ensuring that it conformed to modern architectural trends and served its prime purpose in parallel. Repairs were made to the balustrade staircase made of wrought iron. Before conservation the Metalwork and casting was in fair condition and required repairs. Hence comprehensive paint and casting analysis was carried out to decide on the best use of materials to preserve the historic value. The staircase was then conserved with bronze re-casting closer to the original while retaining much of the original patterns. The paint theme chosen after careful deliberation was a non-original scheme that was matched with the site's visual aura after the paint analyst's feedback. (Rupert Harris Conservation Ltd, 2016)

Figure 4: Royal Institute - Balustrade Staircase after conservation (Rupert Harris Conservation Ltd, 2016)

Highest quality of materials and professional services of labourers were acquired to ensure that the site retained its historic glory. Where necessary original archeological features were retained and properly conserved. The conservator developed designs and conservation details in conformity with English Heritage principles with focus on standard techniques and materials for preservation of listed buildings. Roman cement repair was applied to the facade, cornice was repaired with original plaster repairs including replacement, walls were repaired using lathe and plaster while the timber floor paneling were repaired and other panels replaced with decorative themed wallpapers. Throughout the execution of the conservation project it was ensured that the repair work confirms to defined guidelines.

Question 4: Evaluate the current use of the building, and, from a conservation perspective, critically review alternative options for its use.

 As defined in DES 8 of the planning Act 1990 with regards to listed buildings and conservation areas article, the building use should be relevant to its construction and conservation purpose. Buildings should be best used for what they are built for. The Royal Institute of Great Britain in London hosts scientific exhibitions and science programs that impart knowledge and learning for science enthusiasts. There are modern high-tech and state of the art research facilities available to explore technological advancements and gain scientific knowledge. The Institute has a comprehensive library with a plethora of records and books available for the science students, researchers and visitors. The Institute is a focal point of attraction for the tourists with places like the Faraday Museum, Theatre, Library, Davy-Faraday Research Laboratory (DFRL) and public cafes, bars and restaurant largely contributing to the UK economy through tourism services (ISG plc, 2016).

Further alternative uses would include expanding the existing structure to include research centers that are equipped with modern technology for experimentation and driving innovation. However, the building is also serving many useful purposes already and any further alterations or expansions for alternative use might result in loss of character or the loss of original heritage and archaeological value, something that does not tally with the defined conservation principles and legislative framework.

SECTION 1:

Explain, With Reference To Relevant Statutes And Policies, How The Legislative Framework Operates To Ensure That The Historic Significance And Public Value Of The Selected Building Is Maintained.

The government of United Kingdom is very keen towards the protection of cultural assets of the country. The development of a “Listed Building” ideology is a concept that reflects this government concern. Buildings which are on the list by Historic England are those which have special architecture or historic interest. Buildings which are on this statutory list cannot be demolished, extended or changed unless there is a special permission from the local planning authority, which grant this consent after consultation with the central government agency. There is an entire system that ensures the original sanctity of the building on the list. Once a building makes its way to this statutory list, this system came in action to protect the existence and preserve the importance of it. Manchester Town Hall building is on this list with its roots back in 1877. It is a marvel of architect Alfred Waterhouse. Town Hall houses grand ceremonial rooms, one of which is Great Hall decorated by Ford Madox Brown’s Manchester Murals demonstrating the history of Manchester City. Town hall is a symbol of Manchester history and culture. Statues of John Dalton and Barbirolli are placed at its entrance hall. The exterior of the building is a 280 feet clock tower containing Great Abel, the clock bell (Simon & Inman, 2010).

Historic England is a special government body officially designated as Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England to protect the historic environment of England. Its core responsibility is to guard the perservance of the listed buildings and ancient monuments as per central and local government advisory. It is patronized by the Department of media, culture and Sport-DCMS. This can be regarded as a prime legislative body that works to ensure the historic significance of listed buildings in United Kingdom. It was officially formed under the National Heritage Act 1983 and after several modifications completed in April 2015 with a new name of English Heritage. Listing the building is a first step towards acknowledging the importance of historical building. Grading system has been developed to categorize them more effectively. There are two kind of grading system, Grade I and Grade II. Grade I are buildings of exceptional interest. Manchester town Hall comes under Grade II as it states “particularly important buildings of more than special interest” (Jenkins, 2015).

Conservation and Modification work to any listed building require certain approvals to ensure that the real asset value is intact. Planning Act 1990 of listed building is a statutory framework with detailed explanation of each and every action that could be done and could not be done to listed buildings. It legally bound the authorities to act as per historic interest to maintain the public property of national significance. Historic buildings due to their old architect need conservation and repair work periodically to keep it safe and attractive for public and tourists. The conservation of the historic structure not only signifies the culture history of the region, but it also has considerable economic benefits. Therefore, historical structures are considered to highly significant assets of the country, and much effort is done at the governmental as well at social level to ensure safety and optimum utilizations of these assets (Bernard, 2003).

Planning for Manchester Town hall, which is the focus of this research, began in 1863; the corporation wanted it to be the superior building in the country that time. Albert Square was chosen to be the place for construction considering its spacious avenue. Construction began on October 26, 1868 and completed in 1877 with 14 million bricks ("Details of facades, Town Hall, Manchester". RIBA - Royal Institute of British Architects). Since its inaugural, the building has not been fully upgraded. In 2014, The Manchester City Council shared a report that showed an agreement after thorough consideration of all the aspects to refurbish the town hall building. Heating and electrical system, along with windows, stone work and roofs require maintenance and repairing. As per Jeff Smith, Labour councilor of Old Moat ward that the improvements done to town hall will complement its transformation, preserving the historic gems and adding to the services they support. Rigid framework and system established by UK government is solely responsible to keep intact the uniqueness of historic assets and it is doing an exemplary job (Manchester Govt officcial page, 2015).

SECTION 2:

Provide, With Reference To Other Examples Of Historic Buildings, An Informed Explanation Of The Guiding Principles And Philosophies To Be Considered When Undertaking Works Of Conservation.

Works of conservation is regularized by the city council and the local and central government authority under the principle of Planning Act 1990. It cover entire steps starting from the evaluation, requirement, methodology, legal consent, and way work should be done. For the compliance of planning Act 1990, a supplementary planning guidance for Repairs and Alteration to Listed Building was published in 1995, which undergoes periodic revision and updating. The very first step of conservation activity is to seek consent for it, which is referred as “Listed Building Consent” under Planning Act. Listed building control is a special kind of planning control which has the duty to protect a building with historical and architectural importance. This is ahead of any other planning regulations that apply generally, as indicated by pplanning and licensing guide UK Government, repairs and alterations to listed building, 2015 and manchester town hall complex transformation programme, 2014).

The most vivid reason to form such a control is

“To prevent the unrestricted demolition, alteration or extension of a listed building without the express consent of the local planning authority or the Secretary of State”, as per 7^th section of the Planning

(Listed Building and Conservation Areas, Act 1990, LBCA Act). 

According to these regulations, executions of any works related any modifications, alterations, demolitions and/or extensions cannot be undertaken unless comprehended / approved by the regularity authority. This is to ensure that the historic interest, architectural relevance (outline, design etc.) and the overall character of the building (such as historic materials, timber, frames etc.) is not affected. According to the 1990 Act section 9, violation of this regulations can result in guilty of an offense. During any conservations, the primary aim of the engineers and the constructors is to ensure that original fabric is preserved as much as possible, and the materials compatible with the historic fabric is utilized only for the modification / repair / maintenance works. The FENSA Building Regulations part L details such practices in detail, and can be referred to gain further information on how an optimum balance can be maintained between the building conservation and the proposed alterations.

The city council assesses the application for conservation activity of any listed building based on some established factors under PPG 15 that caters general physical attributes of listed buildings including its material, design, location, its historic and cultural importance, consequent benefits on economy and to public interest and services. There are many examples in history where this system has taken lead and restored the historical assets. In 1989, the original 18th century paneling was removed unauthorized from the Paneled interior to first floor room at 67 Dean Street Soho. A fine of £14,000 was imposed in prosecution and panel was reinstated. The Royal Institution, Albemarle Street, Mayfair is listed as Grade I building. It was repaired in 1995. Extreme caution was taken into consideration to retain the originality. The original material was used and it was painted in imitation of natural stone. The methodology adopted for this repair work was developed in consultation with English Heritage (Bernard, 2003).

Once the application for consent with all the requisites is sent, the processing of application begins. Each city council has design officers with expertise in historic buildings. Consent applications are dealt by them, who review it critically, visit the place and evaluate the credentials and prepare an advisory report against the proposed application. The next phase is consultation with all the concerned authorities including English Heritage, National and local amenity societies and other relevant bodies.

The report is then evaluated for special procedures against The Ecclesiastical Exemption (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Order 1994. Application is assessed against article DES 8 of Planning Act 1990 that demands clear understanding of the material of construction to be used and explicit nature of conservation work to be carried out. It requires stated details for every alteration, repair, extension and preservation. After thorough review, a decision is made. It normally takes six to eight weeks to reach at a decision for an appropriate application. According to Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, no conservation act can be done without going through this scrutiny and series of steps

SECTION 3:

With Reference To Relevant Conservation Principles And Philosophies, And Appropriate Conservation Technologies, Evaluate The Work Undertaken To The Selected Building.

 The selected building is Manchester Town Hall. It was designed in 13^th century in Gothic style but was very innovative as it had air heating system and fourteen million bricks arranged in Spinkwell stone. In the 2010, a process was initiated to repair the Manchester Town hall for its electrical and heating system, along with roof and windows repairing. A conservative approach was planned to be used for preservation of as much original fabric as possible, therefore much considerations were given to the planning aspect if the proposed alterations

Alongside, the proposal of refurbishment and expansion was in consideration. An entirely new technique was employed to get this conservation work done. Building Information Modeling (BIM) was new to Manchester City Council but they wanted the best things to be done for this grandeur asset. This town Hall extension is located in the center of the city and a grade II* listed building. Its architecture is known to be the best of its time and exquisite and innovative for its genre. The refurbishment was began in September 2010 and completed in March 2014. The project included the redesign of town hall extension and central library and cost around £100m (Mallett, 2015).

After the approval from the authorized bodies for refurbishment, the following were marked as the core objectives by the Manchester City Council:

• Modify the building energy system to enhance and optimize the operational performance of heating, cooling and power system of the entire building; to enhance the sustainability aspect of the structure
• Enhance the control of building energy management system
• The BS 5454 conditioned archive spaces within central library archive areas
• Meet Energy saving targets to ensure carbon/energy savings.

The work was completed by a new BIM technique, which was a flagship project not only for UK but internationally. It was so unique in its module that it gave the Council utmost confidence that the building is respected and a series of planned and well informed decisions resulted in very few alterations and restored the originality. Refurbishment of town hall extension and central library using right-first time approach saved a significant amount of cost and time. English Heritage and stakeholder consultants were constantly kept in loop and were informed of project timeline and progress. Manchester City Council’s operational team was actively a part of all the decisions and supervised the asset information system focusing on the mechanical and electrical data for the building. The BIM technology enabled to evaluate the isolated systems of chilled water and power and heating system and added efficiency to the restoration work (Robert Mallett, 2015).

Figure 1: Manchester Town Hall central Library

Figure 2: Town Hall Extension and Central Library Model

This technique made this refurbishment center of attraction for the stakeholders. This not only made town hall a historic icon but a green building of Manchester. A system has been installed that monitors the energy consumption of entire building in terms of heat, light and power at 30 min interval and plot this data to spreadsheet that correlated this consumption to the actual cost. This tool was very effective in gauging the savings and making the building greener. The work completed for town hall extension and central library earn reward for its stakeholders and emerged as an exemplary project in restoration of historic building.

The advantages that are obtained by the application of BIM with respect to appropriate conservation technologies on this historical architecture are as follows (Mallett, 2015):

• Complex interpolation into existing structure creating interactive demonstration of sequencing and methodology for stakeholders. This developed clear understanding of the work to be completed among all the participating teams, outline clear objectives, aims, methods / techniques to be adopted, and activity planning etc. This enables the teams to transfer critical information regarding the structure and ensure that conservation is undertaken as per the requirements of the project.
• Implementation of various design options into a 3D environment using collaborative team of client, contractor and consultant. This facilitated the stakeholders to review / analyze different options / methods of conservations and compare the different techniques; enabling them to select the most appropriate (cost effective as well productive) design and method of conservation.
• Integration of the data into a computer aided system, to analyze all the structural elements of the buildings. This enabled the stakeholder to precisely review the requirements of the building in terms of the changes required, materials to be procured, generate bills of quantities, and in ensuring that the required materials are fabricated as per the original fabric requirements of the structure. It also ensured that offsite manufacturing of geometrical elements are exported to its primary design model
• Ongoing project management using transferring of construction data to the client FM team. This ensured that the facilities management team can obtain critical information regarding the complex at any time with high precision. This enable the facilities teams to maintain the building at the required level, sand undertake optimization as well as periodic repair and maintenance works as per their requirement

SECTION 4:

Evaluate The Current Use Of The Building, And, From A Conservation Perspective, Critically Review Alternative Options For Its Use.

Town Hall is a tourist attraction. There is a Sculpture Hall to the right of the Hall’s main entrance and has statues of notables. As stated by Sir John,

“Amongst the statues are those of conductor Sir Charles Hallé; Anti-corn Law League campaigners, Richard Cobden and John Bright and the remarkable triptych of celebrated Hallé Orchestra conductor”

(Sir John Barbirolli)

The current structure has two floors connected with grand staircase. Second floor of the town hall has some grand halls and staterooms including The Lord Mayor's Parlor, The Reception Room, The Banqueting Room, The Conference Hall and The Great Hall. Once council meetings were held there but now Town hall extension is used for this purpose while these halls are now licensed for wedding events and conferences. The external clock tour tours are arranged for tourists by external tourist organizations.  The clock tower is the sixth tallest building in Manchester. Town Hall and Town hall extension hold sanctity for this city. It is a hub of administrative offices that accommodates 3500 working staff that offer direct public service. It is not only a symbol of civic pride but also an emblem of the existence of Manchester City Council. It is also used as a location for television shows and films. There used to be a police station back in 1937 which was reopened in 2014 for public service, unlike traditional police station with custody cells it only facilities the interviews and administrative tasks (Codinhoto et al., 2013).

After the refurbishment of town hall extension, there is a huge shift in the usage of town hall. Manchester Town Hall itself is a Grade I listed landmark of global importance and is praised for its extraordinary architecture. Town hall extension and central library has gone through a historic refurbishment that had changed the way the people look up to the services of city council. But it didn’t do any good to the Town Hall. A recent report has been published that demand the up gradation of Electrical and mechanical system of the building along with repairs to the texture. It was assessed that building need to undergoes maintenance to ensure safety.

Waterhouse's plan for the town hall bridged the gap between ceremonial and office requirements and increased the space on its triangular site. Moreover the ground-floor Sculpture Hall comprises of statues and sculptures of people who are regarded significant towards the development of Manchester. The landing area comprises of glazed skylight on which the names of lords, mayors, and chairs of the council are inscribed on glass panes since Manchester received its Charter of Corporation in 1838 (Codinhoto et al., 2013).

The alterations to the applied changes made to the building were to homogenize the entire setup. All modifications that have been applied to town hall exterior should be done for the town hall and extension in museum should be done.  As per Planning Act 1990’s article DES 8, the listed building conservation should be done to preserve its historic significance, and should be best used for what it’s constructed for. After the town hall refurbishment it is licensed for weddings and other such events as well, and it should be restrained to its core purpose.

Overall it is evident that BIM proved its value in terms of project as well as all facilities management, and all the objectives which were necessary for making the delivery of services economical, productive and well-organized in less space were successfully achieved. Allowing BIM as the foundation model for the project during design, specification, construction, operation and maintenance proved its value by retaining the structural importance while ensuring it is utilized in the most productive manner. Therefore, it recommended that the building use in its current state is viable, hence any major / significant alternate use may not be considered in this case. Only the facilities management must be focused in a way to facilitate the community is the most effective way, and utilize the complete complex for all the purposes that been accommodated in its latest conservation. 

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