Pooling Resources

Review in Building Magazine 21 October 2016 by Ike Ijeh

Poplar Baths in London’s East End is a historic example of state architecture used to improve public health. But to preserve this listed building, the project team had to demolish part of it and rebuild through a PPP agreement

The obvious principle of conservation is to conserve as much historic fabric as possible. It comes as a surprise therefore to come across a major refurbishment project of a locally loved grade II-listed building where English Heritage permitted half of the building to be demolished. Demolition is rarely seen as the most sustainable redevelopment option but this was identified as the only strategy that could deliver the wholesale renovation so desperately needed at Poplar Baths in London’s East End, a building that had stood empty for almost 30 years.