BendimoWeekly Weekly ISSUE 738 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2011
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By ROSEMARY SORENSEN
THE Australian Institute of Architects is calling it a “second gold rush�. “Design brings new life to Victoria’s regional boomtown,� they trumpeted this week, part of a campaign to focus on the important role of architecture in regional cities. Beginning with the Bendigo Bank headquarters, completed in 2008, mentioning major works on schools in the past six years as part of the Bendigo Education Plan, on
Bendigo is experiencing its biggest building boom since the gold rush. Hospitals, schools, theatres and galleries – all these and more are changing the face of a city known for its eye-pleasing heritage buildings. Will history be as kind to these new buildings? Will Bendigo in the future be a heritage haven or a horror?
to new projects at La Trobe University and Bendigo Health, the Bendigo Art Gallery planned redevelopment, and also the Bendigo Library,
the AIA called them all part of a “vision�. Praise is due, the AIA said, to the City of Greater Bendigo council,
for “continuing the civic ambition of Bendigo’s forefathers in supporting high-quality public buildings and spaces�.
But how high the quality, and for how long is that quality likely to last, are good questions, according to La Trobe planning academic Andrew Butt. “It’s really important to discuss it,� Mr Butt said. “It’s a much healthier reaction than what we had in the second half of the 20th century, where places like Bendigo didn’t have any new quality buildings being constructed.
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