The archives of the past are the key to the future
14.08.2024
We are sharing our structural drawing archive platform — The Building Archives — with the industry
As designers, engineers and landowners, you understand the importance reuse and adaptation play in progressing a more sustainable built environment.
You also understand better access to historical building archives is critical to facilitating reuse.
Archives reveal opportunities and help us understand how a building was constructed. They also tell us about the people, the culture and the history behind a building.
That's why we're sharing our structural drawing archive platform — The Building Archives — with the industry and inviting practices to host their archive lists for free.
Why reuse and adaptation matters
We are extracting more materials than ever.
This rise has shrunk global circularity from 9.1% in 2018 to 8.6% in 2020 and now 7.2% in 2023.
Find out more in the Circularity Gap Report 2023.
Our industry has a significant role to play.
The global built environment accounts for 50% of material extraction and nearly 30% of biodiversity loss.
The data shows that, on average, UK species have decreased by approximately 19% since 1970, with almost one in six species (16.1%) currently at risk of extinction.
Find out more in the State of Nature 2023.
But archives are hard to find
They can be scattered between different practices, and a one-stop shop for archives doesn’t exist.
That’s why we’ve launched The Building Archives.
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To dramatically shift our industry towards reuse, we need to dramatically shift the way we collaborate.
Join our digital platform for reuse and heritage
The Building Archive is a digital platform for facilitating the reuse and preservation of our built heritage.
Currently, it houses records from the Bylander Waddell Partnership. We are adding Clark Nicholls Marcel (CNM) and Elliott Wood archives as we speak.
But to dramatically shift our industry towards reuse, we need to dramatically shift the way we collaborate.
That’s why we’re sharing our platform and inviting practices to host their archive lists for free. We believe the past is the key to the future, but we can only succeed if we, as an industry, work together.
About The Building Archive
Built on the foundations of the famous Bylander Archives, The Building Archives is a collection of thousands of structural drawings from across the UK.
Originally drafted in pen and ink, then captured onto microfilm, the drawings are now available as a growing digital resource to explore, enquire and purchase.
With adaptive reuse now at the forefront of design practice, The Building Archives is a resource to empower architects, engineers, and landowners to unlock and maximise the potential of existing building stock by understanding how buildings of old were shaped.
Get in touch at info@thebuildingarchives.co.uk
The Building Archive contains records of thousands of buildings constructed from the early 1900s to the present day.
These include landmarks like Selfridges, smaller provincial factories and private residences.
While the level of detail in each record may vary, each offers valuable insight into its structure and design.