Protect

Layers of Heritage

BY DAVID BURDON, CONSERVATION DIRECTOR

Heritage does not need to be static. Some of our most interesting historic places have been added to over time and are richer for it, but building on heritage is fraught, and we have a responsibility to do it in a sensitive way.

When we appreciate the layers of a place, we tie together its stories of history and human creativity and enrich our experience. The visitor to modern Rome or Athens finds it difficult not to contemplate the march of time in those ancient cities, while a visit to an English cathedral town is enriched by considering its growth and development from the invasion of the Romans through to the introduction of the railways. While individual buildings can be ‘frozen in time’ for historical purposes, our cities as a whole must evolve. Heritage should be part of, not the past of, our cities. It is what makes them interesting and multi-dimensional, not boring and flat. The trick, of course, is striking the right balance.

Sydney is a city with many layers. To the keen observer, Sydney offers an endless supply of stories, often built into the very fabric of the city itself as modifications or additions to older buildings. Some additions, such as the 1980s extensions to the Powerhouse Museum, State Library, and Art Gallery of NSW, are plain to see, while others, controversial at the time, are often mistaken as part of the original design. A history of modification The Darlinghurst Courthouse, designed by Mortimer Lewis and built in 1842, is one such example. The Colonial and Government Architects were responsible for many of the finest individual buildings in NSW, but they also had a history of adding to earlier structures as budgets and requirements increased. Lewis’ courthouse (1837–1842) was the earliest court building in Australia, and its fine classical portico was an imposing presence at the top of Oxford Street before it was dramatically expanded (1884–1888) by fellow Colonial Architect James Barnet. It was not the first time Barnet had engulfed one of his predecessor’s buildings – in 1866 he commenced his grand but ultimately unfinished extensions to Lewis’ Australian Museum on William Street.

One wonders what Lewis, who died in 1879, must have thought of these changes. History records that Barnet was certainly less forgiving when his own designs were modified by his successor, the first NSW Government Architect, Walter Liberty Vernon.

The Colonial Chief Secretary’s building at the corner of Bridge and Macquarie Streets in Sydney was one of Barnet’s major projects. Designed in the Victorian Free Classical Style and built between 1873 and 1881, the building was extended up Phillip Street in a matching style by Barnet in 1891. When further extensions were required only a few short years later, however, Barnet’s classical building was drastically altered by his successor with the addition of an elaborate attic storey surmounted by an aluminium dome, immediately changing it to a French Renaissance style – something Vernon was to repeat three years later on the GPO. Barnet was horrified.

In his retirement, he complained of “the wave of demon fashion which had reached Australia… (with its) horseshoe windows and great arches, all surmounted by blazing red tiles from France.”

New layers nothing like the past These artistic disagreements over style may seem contrary now, and perhaps tell us more about the individuals than the contributions their buildings made to the city. The scale and material of the additions have allowed them to blend in over time, and the casual observer simply enjoys these old, noble buildings of Sydney.

However, the current push to add the next ‘layer’ to the city sometimes takes a far less sympathetic approach. Inappropriate development that affects our most historic public buildings is being both proposed and permitted across Sydney. A large tower is currently proposed to literally overhang the Chief Secretary’s Building, while another is proposed to loom over and surround two sides of the Parcels Post Office at Railway Square. The NSW Government has approved a 211m tall tower to be built directly on top of one of the historic buildings of Central Station, within the State Heritage Register boundary of that historic, public precinct. This building and its neighbouring proposed towers will dwarf the Central clock tower, which this year celebrated its centenary. These developments will replace the interesting city skyline from Prince Alfred Park – with its Marcus Clark, UTS and ABC towers – with a monolithic wall of massive buildings. It is Barangaroo all over again.

There comes a point at which the great cities of the world must stop and think about what they desire for their futures. Paris has its height limits, and London has strict controls to protect views of St Paul’s Cathedral. Sydney can add layers, but perhaps we need to return to just adding one at a time. The National Trust continues to lodge objections and lobby against development that threatens the heritage of our great city. We encourage our members to make their voices heard as well.

From top Mortimer Lewis’ Darlinghurst Courthouse in 1870 (photo by Charles Percy Pickering); after it was flanked by James Barnet’s later wings (photo by Sardaka); Image showing the tower envelope proposed at Central Station, (image by Atlassian Central Development Architectural and Urban Design Report).