ring Gibraltar’s contribution to world sustainable
development.
OPPORTUNITIES
The construction industry plays an important role
in the impact of various industries on the natural environment.
It is a typical industry with high energy
and resource consumption and high pollution.
Although ‘green’ building refurbishment creates
many opportunities for meeting the United Nation’s
SDGs, most green buildings are new builds rather
than retrofitted/refurbished existing buildings, as the
latter is yet to enter the mainstream practice despite
the many well-established and known benefits, and
the dire need to take action in order to achieve sustainable
development and urban renewal.
Irrespective of the above mentioned, the green retrofitting
of existing and ‘old stock ’residential buildings
generated over time has become an important
breakthrough for the construction industry to achieve
sustainable development, hence being upgraded to
the national strategic level. The greening of existing
houses improves their performance, saves resources,
protects the environment and prolongs the lifecycle
of buildings, hence being also able to lead
in improved operational efficiency. The strategy is
equally important in urban renewal. Therefore, green
transformation is advantageous in promoting economic
and social sustainable development.
IMAGINE OCEAN HEIGHTS & MONTAGU
COUNTERGUARD
SDGs are interconnected, and many can be achieved
simultaneously. Furthermore, in order to achieve
a truly sustainable refurbishment, all principles of
sustainability should be exhausted where appropriate,
such as building orientation, form and other main
design parameters including internal layout alterations,
fenestration alterations, upgrading insulation,
enhancing ventilation, improving air tightness, adjusting
thermal mass and landscaping to improve microclimate,
use of more energy efficient equipment
and appliances, as well as the building’s ability to
promote the health and well-being of its occupants,
enhance their quality of life, strengthen community
cohesion and seek opportunities to revitalise the
local community, enhance and promote its heritage
and preserve the sense of attachment to place.
The following graphic does not illustrate findings
of an in-depth comprehensive study of Ocean
Heights and Montagu Counterguard due to various
pre-imposed restrictions and limitation. In turn, it
seeks to demonstrate through specific examples how
a conscious approach to refurbishment without need
for a radical transformation offers the opportunity of
material improvement of the existing stock by satisfying
various SGDs whilst looking beyond technical
retrofitting, with focus placed upon improvement of
the existing building, enhancement of the structure
and its local context and improving the liveability of
this residential complex and the adjacent area.
In order to fully utilise the refurbishment opportunities
at Ocean Heights and Montagu Counterguard
comprehensive study is required in order to maximise
the potential the site offers by seeking to apply all
SDGs in a multitude of ways and allowing for trade-offs
to be identified together with ways of mitigating
against them. Environmental impact can be fully
evaluated through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of
all phases of the project.
Through applying a conscious approach to refurbishment,
Ocean Heights has the potential to become
a community where it is more convenient and more
affordable for its residents to live in a sustainable
manner, supported by a series of strategies and
incentives, such as building attractive community
spaces and introducing new residents at the development
to community activities to help achieve a
sustainable standard of living.
Precinct-scale design can contribute to sustainable
development by incorporating various building
typologies, climate sensitive designs, urban greening,
water and energy management strategies,
affordable housing options and strengthening a sense
of place and community, as well as inclusive urban
planning and design, which can lead to achievement
of various SDGs, as per examples showcased above.
Aforementioned precinct-scale planning examples
in respect of Ocean Heights have been primarily
focused upon improving the liveability of the development
through community building, retrofitting,
climate sensitive designs, urban greening, heritage
considerations, as well as a sense of place and community
engagement strategies (among others).
Although we talk about an individual building and
its adjacent area for the purpose of this article, let
38 OTWO 12 / JULY 2020