“Shell House is included in the Victorian Heritage Register as one of the state’s most significant buildings,” he said. “This redevelopment will destroy its setting,and undermine its architectural and aesthetic integrity.”
Shell House is Melbourne’s only tower designed byMr Seidler,a pioneer of modernism in Australia and one of the country’s most influential architects.
It has won both state and national architecture awards and was heritage listed in 2017.
Mr Ambrose said,if the development was approved,it would set a concerning precedent for future developments at heritage sites in the CBD,and undermine the integrity of the state’s heritage register.
“All Victorians should be concerned about Minister Wynne’s extraordinary decision to use his powers to ‘call-in’ the permit application,pre-empting the outcome of an appeal before the state’s independent Heritage Council,” he said. “Decisions about our most important places should not be made behind closed doors.”
The Australian Institute of Architects also objected to the proposed redevelopment in a rare intervention. It said constructing a second tower at 1 Spring Street would result in “irreversible damage” to a significant heritage place.
“One Spring Street is one of only a small number of seminal commercial modernist buildings in Melbourne that need to be protected in such a way where both the building and the landscape need to be protected,” the Institute said in a submission.
“The building and its external landscape spaces deserve Victorian government protection for future generations to enjoy.”
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Mr Wynne,who announced he would retire at the 2022 election,defended his decision to call in the application. He said it was due to Shell House’s heritage significance and the site’s position as a gateway to the city.
“Calling in the application means the heritage permit and development applications can be considered in tandem in a single forum,” he said.
“The Heritage Council will provide a report on the amended application that will inform the decision.”
Daniel Besen,director of Phillip Nominees which owns Shell House,said $40 million had been spent refurbishing the original tower over the past few years.
“I am a proud Melburnian and I want to help revitalise our city,” Mr Besen said. “One way I can contribute is to invest in high quality,beautifully designed buildings like this one we have proposed.”
CBD resident Elizabeth Loftus said she was concerned the development would change the character of the area,which was a unique heritage pocket.
“Shell House was only heritage listed in 2017 and yet here we are with an application to redevelop the site four years later. With the minister calling it in,it takes away the right of the Heritage Council to consider that application but also interested parties in the community,” she said.
Ms Loftus said she was concerned the actions showedthe minister’s push to increase his powers.
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“Normally the minister would allow the Heritage Council to have a hearing and receive public submissions,but in this case it has been called in without a public hearing.
“He is really sidestepping the purpose of the Heritage Act and the heritage listing.”
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