{"id":18832,"date":"2018-04-27T17:41:17","date_gmt":"2018-04-27T16:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ihbconline.co.uk\/newsachive\/?p=18832"},"modified":"2018-04-27T17:41:17","modified_gmt":"2018-04-27T16:41:17","slug":"kevin-mccloud-new-ambassador-for-the-spab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=18832","title":{"rendered":"Kevin McCloud: New Ambassador for the SPAB"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Kevin<\/a>A familiar name, face and voice to anyone interested in architecture and design, broadcaster Kevin McCloud is also a thoughtful and informed advocate for building conservation, and the Grand Designs presenter has just become the SPAB\u2019s first official Ambassador.<\/h3>\n
image Kevon McCloud – The SPAB website<\/em><\/h6>\n

<\/p>\n

The SPAB writes:<\/p>\n

At first glance, it might seem surprising that someone often associated with modern design and innovative architecture should be a passionate and eloquent supporter of the Britain\u2019s oldest heritage charity (SPAB was established by William Morris in 1877), but Kevin McCloud has been a member of the SPAB since 1991.<\/p>\n

In an interview in the Society\u2019s spring magazine, he explains: \u2018I joined the SPAB because I admired its steadfast adherence to a philosophy steeped in rigour, but underpinned by romance. And because I have always loved ancient buildings and places.\u2019<\/p>\n

Wryly describing SPAB as \u2018the paramilitary wing of the conservation movement,\u2019 he adds: \u2018SPAB is still relevant \u2013 more than ever when UK conservation has become muddied with nimbyism and when the majority of consumer and lobbying groups peddle a soft soap and ambiguous approach to the historic environment. The one thing I\u2019d like people to understand about SPAB is that it is progressive, and pragmatic. It takes the wisdom of its learning and of practice in the field to constantly evolve and reinterpret its approach.\u2019<\/p>\n

Although the buildings featured in Channel 4\u2019s popular Grand Designs are generally cutting edge new-builds, when it comes to home, McCloud\u2019s heart seems to belong to the past. He tells readers: \u2018I make programmes about new architecture and seemingly nothing else. And yet I have lived in, since I left school, only old buildings, which I\u2019ve repaired and cherished. I took a degree in the history of art and the history of architecture, and by nature I\u2019m a conservationist, so I haven\u2019t yet fully resolved the paradox of what I do and where I live.\u2019<\/p>\n

Appropriately, along with respect for historic fabric and patina, the SPAB approach endorses good, imaginative new design in the context of old buildings, so McCloud\u2019s dilemma is a neat encapsulation of the Society\u2019s interests and concerns.<\/p>\n

SPAB Director, Matthew Slocombe says: \u2018We were delighted when Kevin responded so enthusiastically to our invitation to become our first official Ambassador. He has been a member of the SPAB for more than a quarter of a century and in that time has actively supported our work and projects, ranging from the Philip Webb Award to National Maintenance Week. We are grateful for his articulate, informed enthusiasm for our future as well as our past, as well as his clear-sighted understanding of the challenges facing conservation today.\u2019<\/p>\n

Responding to a question on these issues, McCloud concludes: \u2018The old challenges remain \u2013 how we square conservation and repair with their long-established uncomfortable bedfellows; how buildings are used in the 21st century; our expectations of comfort; the more liberal alternatives of restoration and dramatic reconstruction that seem popular at the moment; and historical revisionism (which seems to change tack with each generation). But I\u2019ll add one more group of challenges which are enormous: those, of course, of\u00a0 climate change, sustainability and energy efficiency and we how now, therefore, allocate resources to our historic environment \u2013 which is recognised (for example, in One Planet Living) as a key component of resilient and sustainable society\u2019.<\/p>\n

Read more….<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A familiar name, face and voice to anyone interested in architecture and design, broadcaster Kevin McCloud is also a thoughtful and informed advocate for building conservation, and the Grand Designs presenter has just become the SPAB\u2019s first official Ambassador. image … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sector-newsblog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18832"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18834,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18832\/revisions\/18834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}