Australia, insurance, car, home, live, holidays

Sydney has many examples of adaptive reuse.The Walsh Bay wharves lost their shipping use when container wharves became a more efficient way to transport goods and the wharves became empty. As NSW government architect,I became involved in a growing battle between heritage bodies not wanting change and the potential developer of the site saying it was not feasible to retain every part of the ageing timber structures. We brought adaptive reuse architect,Philippe Robert,out from Paris and a new approach emerged that satisfied most of the parties. With its new uses of arts,theatre,music,offices,restaurants and apartments,it is now a lively precinct that still retains the essence of the old.

Similar adaptive reuses have occurred at Sydney’s GPO,which is now a modern hotel and theEducation Department building in Bridge Street,also a hotel. The Queen Victoria Building was rescued from becoming a parking garage and is a lively retail destination. There are similar examples around the world including I. M. Pei’s glass pyramid in the courtyard of the revered Louvre Museum in Paris and the glass dome over London’s British Museum.

Mid-rise apartment living in Zetland,as championed by former NSW government architect Chris Johnson.

More recently in Sydney,ARM Architects undertook anadaptive reuse of the World Heritage-listed Sydney Opera House’s Concert Hall,and won many awards and acclaim from music critics. At the domestic level there are innovative adaptions of unused warehouses into residential use and modern additions to terrace houses that bring natural light and open-plan living to old buildings with small windows and rooms.

Part of the problem we are facing is that those calling for new development and those advocating for the importance of heritage have become set in their ways. There needs to be a path midway between these two extremes. That path is the adaptive reuse of old buildings and the adaptation of precincts and suburbs to become more urban and affordable.

At the precinct level,we just need to look at the Sydney CBD as an example of an area which has grown from its pre-settlement landscape into a two-storey city,from a maximum height of 150 feet to the soaring towers of today. At a much scaled-down level,the same can occur across Sydney’stown centres located aroundtransport nodes. Inner suburbs must also evolve,with a swing to more affordable apartment living at heights below the tree tops on key sites. Of course,the new growth in housing needs to be well-designed and trees,landscaping and parks need to be included along with other essential infrastructure.

Our planning system also needs to adapt so that planners in suburban councils,who seem to be less supportive of change,are not the only determinants of the future shape of their suburbs. A way forward could be to have an independent decision-making body that championed quality design as long as it fitted below the tree tops and incorporated family living,large balconies,common gardens and presented a friendly appearance. This could be a role for the current NSW government architect working within a carefully crafted complying code.

Over the past decade,our lives have changed through technology,with many working from home,and Sydney has gained an impressive network of metro and light rail systems. Our ability to purchase online has changed the way we shop,and friends and family seem closer because of smartphone communication. All of these adaptations from one system to another can also occur in our built environment through a planning focus on adaptive reuse rather than preferencing heritage preservation.

Chris Johnson is a former NSW government architect (1995-2005) and executive director,NSW Department of Planning (2005-2009). He was CEO of Urban Taskforce Australia between 2011 and 2019.

The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge,champion and inform your own.Sign up here.

License this article