Posts Tagged ‘adaptive reuse’

Hawthorn Town Hall

The City of Boroondara plans for the old Hawthorn Town Hall to be used for performing arts as the focus of an arts and cultural precinct.

I was suprised to learn that this magnificent building does not have state protection and is only afforded heritage status with the local council.  I thought all former town halls should automatically be offered state protection due to their architectural and historical contribution to Melbourne.  Even the National Trust listing is only a local group classification.

Anyway, the Hawthorn Town Hall is a reminder of the days before local government area rationalisation when it was the centrepiece of the City of Hawthorn.  The subject of what to do with former civic buildings like this one and the Camberwell Town Hall has often been raised by local councils like the City of Boroondara.

The Mayor of Boroondara, Councillor Jack Wegman is quoted to have said:

“These are exciting initiatives which will result in some of our tired and outdated buildings being injected with new life.”

Personally I don’t feel that “outdated” is the right word for historic buildings like the town hall.  Town halls can still be the focus of local communities whether they be physical or virtual.   The Hawthorn Town Hall is “tired” and could certainly use some work, such as removing the paint that was at some stage put over the windows.  The Hawthorn Town Hall is in a rapidly developing precinct which was classified by the state government as an Activity Centre under 2030, putting pressure on Hawthorn’s magnificent Victorian era character.  Many of the council buildings on or near the site have been demolished and upgraded.  Rather ordinary postmodern additions were added to the town hall in recent years.

We recently posted about the fortunate outcome of the Kew courthouse saga.  It is good to see that the Hawthorn Town Hall will also continue to be used as a heritage public space however the extent of any proposed restoration work remains to be seen.

Lake Oval Grandstand in 2006

Back in 2005 I posted about the plight to preserve the 1927 Lake Oval Grandstand – the Sydney Swans fight to save it and Parks Victoria’s proposals to demolish it.

The grandstand is the only remnant of the former Lake Oval which played a large role in the history of the VFL/AFL national Australian rules football competition, hosting the Grand Final and being the former home of the South Melbourne Swans.   After the Swans left for Sydney, the oval was converted into a soccer venue and only one grandstand was left – the largest one – neglected for decades to crumble and decay.  Even so, the Swans have campaigned the hardest to retain the old SouthMelbourne landmark as part of the club’s history

Well it appears to have finally been offered a lifeline by the Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development.  Draft plans for the $50 million redevelopment of Bob Jane Stadium into a multi-purpose athletics and soccer venue include the restoration of the Lake Oval stand.

The 1926 heritage grandstand will be restored under this project and become the new home of the Victorian Institute of Sport. This project will also support the current tenants of Lakeside Oval, the South Melbourne Football Club through improvements to soccer competition and administration facilities.

Plans for the new athletics track (from the DIIRD)

Designs show the old stand’s heritage features (roof and podium) skillfully integrated into the new complex and housing modern corporate boxes and other facilites.

This is not just an excellent outcome for South Melbourne’s heritage and culture, but for sport as well.

Be sure to leave some positive feedback with the major projects department thanking them for retaining the heritage stand.

Full details on the plan are available here:

http://www.diird.vic.gov.au/CORPLIVE/STANDARD/PC_65586.html

Interesting to read an architects response to Melbourne’s growth pains and urban sprawl.  It is good to hear from an architect outlining two sides of the story.

Di Mase Architects recently blogged about this topic and has some interesting perspectives from an architects point of view.  For our city planners it is worth a read.

On one hand, Di Mase advocates for selective urban renewal and adaptive reuse of heritage and seeking to rise to rather than avoiding the design challenges of heritage.

RENOVATIONS, REFURBISHMENTS and RE-USE of existing buildings is difficult, unfashionable, expensive and sometimes dangerous work – but we see this area as being vitally important contribution in reducing more land being consumed around the urban fringe.

On the other hand it makes an interesting point out some of the problems encountered in the planning process.

It is also frustrating that inner city councils continue to prolong planning applications through a complicated process and adherence to prescriptive measures of RESCODE and odd local overlays. Inadvertently, these councils are contributing to the sprawl by making consolidation and renewal more difficult and financially less viable.

Personally I believe that the problem is not the codes and overlays themselves, it is the council’s “all or nothing approach” to doing things by the book and at the same time avoiding VCAT appeals. This has also been caused by a lack of co-ordination between state and local levels of government, both seeking control over local development. From a local level it is a matter of complacency and unwillingness to update these codes and make them clear and reasonable. For instance, Melbourne City Council’s heritage overlays have not been significantly updated since 1982 and the council has not had a clear plan or building code for the entire CBD in over half a century.

It appears that the 1888 Southbank Tea House which was last used as a teahouse in 1950 could become a boutique hotel.

The six storey heritage listed boom style warehouse is located at 28 Clarendon Street on the south side of the Yarra next to the Melbourne Convention Centre and opposite Crown Casino. It is one of just a handful of buildings (including the Arts Centre complex) left by the government during the urban renewal of Southbank. It is in a pocket of the city which is currently swamped by hi-rise hotel and apartment construction, but has uninterrupted views across the Yarra River to the central business district.

While the old tea house has had a new postmodern designed office wing added on the south side (which is primarily intended to provide the building with access to a modern elevator system), the interiors of the original building have been mostly faithfully preserved, with timber ceiling trusses, brick arched windows and wooden sashes.

The tea house was recently bought by Chinese investors who intend to turn it into a boutique hotel. This would be a good outcome for a building which has been used as offices since 1991. However we will monitor this one to ensure that the redevelopment is faithful to the heritage of this 1880s gem.

Spotted on Real Estate Source.

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