Well-built
Here, our secondary school’s 1967 campus was deemed unfit for purpose more than ten years ago, while its original 1833 building, after a long-neglected refurbishment is implemented, is probably good for another 180 years.
What is it about many of our public buildings, not only from the much-derided 1950s and 1960s but as recently as the late 1970s, that their life-spans are so short?
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Hide AdWe bean-counters cannot take all the blame – we would hardly approve of the immense annual costs of amortising initial capital outlays over such a short time.
Clearly it is difficult to foresee how developments in technology (and for schools, in educational methods) might impact on practical state-of-the-art designs, but surely it is not beyond the wit of our architects and planners to devise buildings flexible enough internally to accommodate such developments, while being environmentally-sustainable and aesthetic externally, thus enabling at least 100 years of service?
John Birkett
Horseleys Park
St Andrews