Opinion: Transforming old into new

Among the recent winners of architecture’s Pritzker Prize, this year’s triumph by French architects Lacaton & Vassal must be one of the most popular. Specialists in reviving unloved, and some would say unlovely, postwar social housing schemes, L&V’s work resonates with current concerns over how we best use our existing resources and lighten our impact on the environment.

I first came across their work when putting together a publication examining the various approaches to housing regeneration. L&V’s method of adapting intimidating slab-blocks, often by retrofitting steel frames to the exterior to create additional living space, featured prominently. The architects viewed the demolition of these buildings as a blunder.

They had been doing these kinds of projects for years, but renovation is neither glamorous nor inundated with cash, so few people outside of architecture knew much about them. Within the cognoscenti, they are revered. And rightly so. Their ideas make a great deal of sense – these buildings are incredibly robust and, properly looked after, will pay off their carbon debt. Indeed, they owe us that much.

The question is, what can other industries – I’m looking at you automotive – learn from Lacaton & Vassal. Take my family car, which is knocking on a bit. I receive regular bulletins from my local dealership reminding me of the incoming London ULEZ extension and how my supposedly decrepit Dad Wag will soon fall foul of the new charges. It won’t as it is not diesel, but the message is loud and clear – get rid of it while you can and invest in a new car. In truth, the dealership, which has done me more than a few favours over the years, has a point.

My car is old, inefficient and slow. It is also comfortable, safe and, such is its vintage, has probably paid back any carbon debt owed to the world. However, there will come a time when the parameters will shift once again, probably pretty soon, and to keep it will be impossible.

Now, if it were a building, Lacaton & Vassal would revamp it to suit the needs of me and, by extension, my fellow citizens. Of course, this kind of retrofitting is all too rare. Orléans-based Transition One (again the French) specialises in converting small hatchbacks from ICE to EV, is one company that is looking at reskinning old models. My two-tonne Swedish box wasn’t built that way and neither were any of its compadres in the family car segment. Why not? Surely it is worth exploring how we give aging cars a second life? More to the point, how does the car industry ensure that it looks beyond the next market cycle and designs in a way that enhances longevity and sustainability?