PERHAPS the earliest ecological green shoot in the British art business emerged tentatively in 2002, when one of Sworders’ partners, the surveyor Robert WardBooth, persuaded his colleagues that, rather than seek another industrial site for expansion, the Stansted Mountfitchet auctioneer should create an unprecedented building of its own. Five years later, the business proudly opened its new complex, with what was then the largest straw-bale building in Europe, on a four-acre slope running down to the Cambridge Road, half a mile north of the Essex village. The outsides of the compressed bales were lime-rendered and the insides lime-plastered. Rainwater was directed from the cedar-shingle roof to flush lavatories and, together with a biofuel woodchip boiler and solar panels, provided much of the hot water and the heating for the reception and offices. At night, fans blew the day’s warmth into the salerooms. At that time the energy requirements of the 12,000sq ft complex were no more than for a three-bedroom semi.
Unsurprisingly, Sworders was an early supporter of Antiques Are Green (AAG), a movement launched in 2009 to ‘promote the green credentials of antiques’. Since then, AAG’s message has been helped by the expansion of media channels and the development of online antiques marketing. Other supporters include both national and multinational dealers’ and auctioneers’ associations.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 14, 2023 من Country Life UK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 14, 2023 من Country Life UK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
