Architect suggests taller buildings
GUERNSEY’s construction industry needs to stop being scared and use its imagination in order to deliver the homes needed to solve the housing crisis, according to local chartered architect Olly Brock.
Increasing the height of buildings on already-developed land, attracting businesses to operate factories and test building materials on-island, and getting local architects to agree to design using a ‘tool box’ of standardised components are just some of the ideas being put forward by Mr Brock.
He stepped back from his 25-year architectural career earlier this year in order to dedicate more of his time to how to re-shape the island’s built environment.
Mr Brock has created a series of AI-generated images showcasing a number of potential ideas.
‘What I want to do is at least show the options we have available, and find solutions that would be acceptable to the general public,’ he said.
‘If I come up with five ideas, and four are considered to be really bad but there’s one that people like, then that’s a 20% success rate and that’s good.
‘It’s about quantity over quality, finding solutions beyond building white boxes in the countryside.’
An advocate for more high-density housing, Mr Brock said the idea that there were not enough opportunities to provide housing on existing brownfield sites was ‘crazy’.
‘It’s about height,’ he said.
‘Increasing the height of the retail buildings on the Bridge, for example, would not make a significant difference to people’s experiences of the buildings, he said.
‘You could fit a lot flats in a relatively small space and current planning policy would allow for that.’
He said that buildings could be reconstructed to make them more densely-populated with no impact, meaning that surrounding areas would become more vibrant, social and desirable.
‘The risk would be no garden or outdoor space, but Delancey Park is nearby, or people could go to the beach, as they do anyway, especially during the summer.’
Because Guernsey was a ‘small fish in a large pond,’ Mr Brock said the island needed to be entrepreneurial and lead the way when it came to attracting lightweight and sustainable housing solutions to the island.
He wondered whether this could be achieved via attracting material manufacturers to the island to build panels and units, which would be monitored for standards.
‘Architects could then agree to design using a “toolbox” of these standardised components, thereby reducing the cost and speed of construction and protecting homes on-island,’ he said.
A further suggestion included taking advantage of the island’s climate by encouraging companies such as insulation and building envelope company Kingspan to test their products at a ‘centre of excellence’, which would be situated on an exposed area of land near the coast in Torteval.
‘The local construction industry lacks imagination, they’re confident in building houses in concrete blocks,’ Mr Brock said.
‘It’s a fear of the unknown. They’re scared.’
Ultimately, he said he wanted to redirect Guernsey to a ‘sustainable’ position, where it could be proud of what it had done.
‘I can’t think of a recent landmark that’s been built that demonstrates our pride.
‘We need to overcome the fear of change, open people’s eyes and get a grip on our identity.’
