Review 2021

Welcome to our Review of 2021

When we wrote the 2020 Review, no-one imagined that in 2021 we would still so firmly be in the grip of Covid-19. The past year has been one of compulsorily reduced horizons. We have stayed closer to home, working and living in one place, meeting our colleagues on MS Teams and Zoom. Even so, Insall have been engaged in a variety of projects, which have put us at the heart of the national debate about heritage, and the value it has for us today. The articles in this year’s Review describe Values in Heritage, which come to the fore in locations across the UK.

As architects and heritage consultants, we are, we are in a privileged position as participants with a long-term viewpoint in many of the more contentious contemporary arguments about communal significance. The functional aspects of buildings, giving them a beneficial and sustainable use, encourages their retention as part of our heritage, give or take a change of name. The theme of communal significance takes precedence among Values in Heritage, through its ability to motivate public and financial support for restoration, while delivering benefits for our common sustainable future.

The Library Renewed

Helen Warren in our Oxford studio writes about Exeter College. The contribution to the enjoyment and significance of a place made by the patina of age, retained through programmes of modernisation is enormous. The ghosts of former readers are brought to life and you will want to join them in Oxford once the work is completed in 2023.

Grant Funding for Public Benefit

Matt Vaughan, from our Birmingham studio leader observes; “It seems everyone in the local community has a story to tell about Moseley Road Baths.”

Saved by the Community

Dorian Proudfoot in our Chester studio provides impressive statistics which support the bold claims made for the level of community involvement, their engagement with the Heritage Lottery funded project, and the results they have brought to a spectacular location at the edge of the Pennines.