The shock of the new
Image: Sydney Council is heritage-listing nine Brutalist buildings, but not The Sirius in The Rocks (above), nor the NSW Police building in Surry Hills. Photo: Alec Smart
Opinion By ANDREW WOODHOUSE
In a controversial decision, Sydney Council has decided to heritage-list a range of modern Brutalist buildings. “These items are proposed for listing to recognise their significance as part of the modern movement of architecture and art in Sydney that were designed from 1945 to 1975,” says Council.
However, not all owners are happy and many occupants of retail outlets aren’t even aware of the proposed changes. This is despite Council boasting that “The City is committed to … effective, fair and consistent consultation processes and increasing transparency in decision-making.”
Yawn. Wake me when it happens.
The proposals are based on Council’s own study which recommended 14 items be listed. Only nine are now actually proposed. Why did the other five fall off the list?
Five listings missing
Council is pushing ahead to list these items:
1. Sydney Masonic Centre, 279–283 Castlereagh Street, Sydney
2. former Sydney County Council Building, 552A–570 George Street, Sydney
3. St Peter Julian’s Catholic Church and Monastery, 637–645 George Street, Haymarket
4. Town Hall House, 456 Kent Street, Sydney
5. William Bland Centre, 229–231 Macquarie Street, Sydney
6. MLC Centre, 19–35 Martin Place, Sydney
7. former Liverpool and London and Globe building, 62 Pitt Street, Sydney
8. former Horwitz House, 398–402 Sussex Street, Haymarket
9. Earth Mother play sculpture, Yurong Parkway, Cook and Phillip Park, Sydney
The list omits references to the Sirius Building in The Rocks or the Surry Hills NSW Police Force building. Or are these too ugly to contemplate and well-known for their “brutalist” aesthetic.
Kirstern Seale, a post-doctoral fellow at UNSW observes: “Brutalism is the ugly duckling of modern architecture. Its older cousin, Modernist architecture, is far more popular with tastemakers and influencers. The term Brutalism has its origin in the French phrase béton brut, meaning roughcast concrete. Post-war governments … turned to pre-fabricated concrete because it was inexpensive to produce and easy to erect … [it] was used in the construction of public housing, town halls, schools, universities, community centres and other civic buildings.
Brutalism is a truly global architectural style and there are examples of it in cities on every continent. In the popular imagination, Brutalism is defined by the blunt, brute force of its unadorned and uncompromising forms. It is often associated with Soviet Bloc-style housing or the towers of British council estates.”
So what? Is it a style or a period or merely a form of construction? Others such as critic Owen Hatherley argue that the social and political objectives of Brutalist architecture are now passé and out of step with the contemporary city. He says the dislike of Brutalism isn’t based purely on taste. It is philosophically despised by urban planners and developers because it is not a product of neo-liberal thinking.
Let’s just forget all the verbal ping-pong. Council has to base its decisions on the merits of each individual site.
Or does it?
Can it just ignore owners’ views?
No. Its consultation draft strategy states “anyone can make a submission … submissions …will be considered and acknowledged …”.
Does this really mean anything? Let’s see if this works.
The Sydney Masonic Centre, owner of the former Sydney County Council building, the Parish of St Peter’s Church and the owner of the William Bland Centre have all said they disagree with Council’s heritage study and its assessments.
Their concerns align with Council’s own heritage study. The study notes various problems with its own proposals: buildings have been altered, changed uses, were poorly made and have deteriorated, incorporated new technologies which have required radical changes and repairs of some materials such as plastics for which conservation practices have not evolved. The buildings lack originality and are not intact. Owners have been “brutalist”. They have employed specialists.
No longer Brutal
The Sydney Masonic Centre says its site “has been subject to significant and highly visible alterations and additions which have eroded the original architectural vision and fundamentally changed its external character … it no longer exhibits the key characteristics of the Brutalist style.”
Owners of the former County Council building challenge assumptions in Council’s study: “The building is at best an ordinary example that draws on elements of the International Style. Claims it is a fine example of a Later Twentieth Century International Style commercial building have not been substantiated”.
St Peter’s parish observes that “other than the Lady Chapel, little to no significant material remains”.
The heritage architect for the William Bland Centre is critical: “Apart from its glazed façade the William Bland Centre at 229-231 Macquarie St does not sufficiently exhibit the Modern Movement characteristics identified in the [council] study”.
Council now seeks your views by 5pm on Monday 16 September 2019. Comment via https://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/council/your-say or contact a councillor direct.
