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Aesthetically, people love old buildings. However, people also love modern building code that keeps us safe in things like earthquakes. Also, preservation laws
by madrox 8y ago
Aesthetically, people love old buildings. However, people also love modern building code that keeps us safe in things like earthquakes.
Also, preservation laws are wild [1]. If you own an old building, you usually have to agree to the preservation laws that came with it. They usually state you can't mess much with the exterior, but go nuts on in the inside.
In face of all these barriers, facadism is the loophole.
https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/hpg/ https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/hpg/
- onion2k 8y agoThese buildings are in London. There aren't any earthquakes.
- Analemma_ 8y agoEarthquakes can occur anywhere: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intraplate_earthquake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intraplate_earthquake. I don't know what kinds of regulations London has around earthquake safety, presumably it is laxer than in Japan, but they are still important. There are other safety reasons to prefer new buildings too. Fire safety, perhaps? Particularly topical in London at the moment!
- SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago> There are other safety reasons to prefer new buildings too. Fire safety, perhaps? Particularly topical in London at the moment! Ironically in the case of Grenfell it was the new additions (the cladding) that allowed the whole building to burn when the original design would have kept the fire contained.
- pas 8y agoA bit more info for those wondering: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/may/17/hackitt-review-grenfell-style-cladding-building-regulations https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/may/17/hackitt-revi... "[...] council building inspectors approved the use of cut-price combustible cladding and insulation on the 24-storey block after 16 inspections."