Proceedings of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand.
In 1968, the Housing Commission, Victoria, built a series of high-rise towers in response to an i... more In 1968, the Housing Commission, Victoria, built a series of high-rise towers in response to an identified metropolitan planning issue: urban sprawl and the outward growth of metropolitan Melbourne. This “solution” precipitated a crisis in urban identity. The construction of the first of a series of these modern high-rise towers at Debney Park Estate, Carlton and Park Towers, South Melbourne displaced significant immigrant communities. This became the impetus for the formation of Residential Associations who perceived this project a major threat to existing cultural values pertaining to social and built heritage. This paper examines the extremely polarising events and the positions of both the Housing Commission and the Residential Associations over the course of fifteen years from 1968. The research is grounded in an historical review of government papers and statements surrounding the social housing towers, as well as scholarly articles, including information gathered by Renate Ho...
An ARC-funded research project, 'Sea change communities: intergenerational perception and sen... more An ARC-funded research project, 'Sea change communities: intergenerational perception and sense of place', has investigated the qualitative and quantitative impacts of the 'sea change' phenomenon on the physical, social and cultural fabric of the historic Victorian coastal towns of Sorrento and Queenscliff. As part of the research methodology, crossgenerational focus groups ranging from primary school-aged children through to octogenarians were undertaken, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-two community members from the two towns. These included local residents and business people, council planners and former councillors. These focus groups and interviews were based on six themes: sense of place, neighbourhood character, planning, community, future vision, and belonging and attachment. This paper highlights the relationships between people, community and place revealed through the stories, memories, connections and reflections described as a p...
ABSTRACT The sea change phenomenon has attracted new residents to Australian coastal towns and br... more ABSTRACT The sea change phenomenon has attracted new residents to Australian coastal towns and brought with it expectations of residential housing formed in metropolitan settings. Consequently, the traditional ‘identifying’ neighbourhood character of these towns is changing. Much larger houses are now being built and site coverage has increased. To date, changes in character have been measured using data based on the subjective judgement of residents through surveys and interviews. More objective information would be beneficial in understanding change. This paper describes a methodology that has been developed to quantify the change in the building footprint in the historic coastal town of Queenscliff in Victoria. Using selected aerial photographs, the building footprint of the town's residential buildings has been estimated at four intervals from 1957 until 2006. This footprint has been compared to the block size at each interval so that changes in house-to-block ratio may be compared. Over 20% of the residential homes were assessed. Building footprint has risen from 30% to over 38% in the documented 50 years. The method developed here is a low-cost method of tracking footprint change over an extended period and informing local planners and residents of when and where the changes have occurred.
Palmer et al. (1997) identified four governing principles underlying sustainable development from... more Palmer et al. (1997) identified four governing principles underlying sustainable development from the sustainability literature. These were: futurity, environment, equity and participation. How do these principles relate to heritage and its conservation? This paper critically considers how the above framework can be used to assess the changes and challenges occurring in the historic town of Queenscliff in southern Victoria, Australia. The town was initially a settlement site for strategic reasons and soon became a tourist destination for the early settlers in Melbourne, the state’s capital city. In their urban conservation study of the town, Allom et al. (1994) identified over 90 historic and/or heritage buildings, ranging from grand hotels to simple settler cottages. These historic buildings, together with the town’s unique topographical and environmental surroundings, have drawn growing numbers of tourists to the town, which has become increasingly reliant on this sector for its e...
The liturgical reforms of Vatican II proclaimed the Mass as ‘source and summit of Christian life’... more The liturgical reforms of Vatican II proclaimed the Mass as ‘source and summit of Christian life’ and encouraged the ‘full, conscious and active participation’ of all in the Eucharistic celebration. It had major implications for liturgical space in existing churches and the design of new ones and impacted the physical, social and ritual spaces in Australian Catholic churches. It also threatened the integrity of the Church’s cultural patrimony – both in its artistic objects and in the gestural practices of the faithful. The call for change occurred in the 1960s and aligned loosely with the continued quotation of Modernist principles that followed the precepts of pure form and structure and/or quoted a more organicist approach. In both cases, it seemed that history was to be discarded and tradition eschewed but at the same time there was an interweaving between evolving interpretations of post war Modernism and liturgical reform. By analysing and decoding Wardell’s St Patrick’s in Mel...
This paper examines the untold richness the city of Melbourne has “to inspire the making of new p... more This paper examines the untold richness the city of Melbourne has “to inspire the making of new places with extraordinary qualities and significance ” (Spirn, 1998:8). In Melbourne we are extremely fortunate to have a new city square – Federation Square; a new city park – Birrarung Marr, adjoining Federation Square; and to have instigated the development of a new National Park at Point Nepean, within 100km of the CBD. These ‘people places ’ are vital restorative places, physically, spiritually and culturally. The concept ‘sense of place ’ will “help stimulate reflection about the nature of both cultural and physical context ” (Seddon, 1997:141-2) in order to understand and evaluate the experiences offered by each of these places in their multi-faceted, constantly-changing relationships with context, history and culture.
New housing developments in Australia, particularly on Greenfield sites on the edge of existing u... more New housing developments in Australia, particularly on Greenfield sites on the edge of existing urban centres, need to be sustainable in environmental and social terms if long term problems are to be avoided. Sustainability is multi-dimensional and existing analyses have been found to be inadequate in assessing housing developments holistically. This paper describes research which has used five criteria (energy use, resource use, neighbourhood character, neighbourhood connectivity and diversity), representing 31 indicators, to assess three housing precincts of a regional city in southern Australia. The method has been found to produce useful assessments of sustainability. The method has the potential to inform future housing developments and to be used to improve existing suburbs.
Eighty per cent of Australians now live within 50 kilometres of the coast.1 While most of the pop... more Eighty per cent of Australians now live within 50 kilometres of the coast.1 While most of the population remains concentrated in the large capital cities, some people have chosen small coastal towns as their permanent and or second-home destination. Greater mobility and income has increased the feasibility and attractiveness of living in these once overlooked and forgotten towns. The arrival of these new residents has changed the towns in both positive and negative ways. Declining traditional industries have been replaced by tourism and service sectors, providing a much-needed economic revival. The expectations of new residents, both permanent and non-permanent, however, have also brought challenges to the towns. Metropolitan value systems sometimes impact negatively on the unique sense of place and neighbourhood character of these towns. This paper presents both quantitative and qualitative evidence of the impact on character and sense of place in two historic coastal towns, Queenscliff and Sorrento, in southern Victoria. Census data shows how employment and the number of permanent residents have changed radically over the last 50-60 years, altering the social fabric of the towns. An analysis of the building footprint over a similar timeframe shows a growth in building size as larger houses become more common, and a growth in planning appeals for the towns is indicative of a clash of expectations between the council, long-time and new residents. While these indicators demonstrate the impact on the character of the towns as defined by their built environment, some oral accounts of local residents are used to show the emotional impact of these changes on the traditional sense of place associated with these towns. Some specific examples of changes to the built environment are provided to demonstrate that local planning schemes are not always successful in protecting neighbourhood character and that further measures are required in order to safeguard the uniqueness of coastal towns from the negative aspects of development.
Proceedings of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand.
Westfield lies in the heart of Victoria’s second city, Geelong. The transformation of an entire c... more Westfield lies in the heart of Victoria’s second city, Geelong. The transformation of an entire city block into a shopping complex stemmed from necessity, as the city entered the early phase of deindustrialisation. It involved the redevelopment of an entire urban block with multiple heritage buildings. The project was conceived 50 years ago when the city’s defining wool industry experienced a significant decline following the 1970s global energy crisis and economic slump. This downturn left numerous industrial buildings in central Geelong redundant. This situation challenged the very identity of Geelong, as well as its raison d’etre. While the transformation of the site raises issues to do with urban visioning, the adaptive reuse of multiple significant heritage buildings highlights the intersections and tensions between architectural design and heritage practices. There is great potential in adaptive reuse to mobilise a critical understanding of the environment/city/economy based o...
Proceedings of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand.
In 1968, the Housing Commission, Victoria, built a series of high-rise towers in response to an i... more In 1968, the Housing Commission, Victoria, built a series of high-rise towers in response to an identified metropolitan planning issue: urban sprawl and the outward growth of metropolitan Melbourne. This “solution” precipitated a crisis in urban identity. The construction of the first of a series of these modern high-rise towers at Debney Park Estate, Carlton and Park Towers, South Melbourne displaced significant immigrant communities. This became the impetus for the formation of Residential Associations who perceived this project a major threat to existing cultural values pertaining to social and built heritage. This paper examines the extremely polarising events and the positions of both the Housing Commission and the Residential Associations over the course of fifteen years from 1968. The research is grounded in an historical review of government papers and statements surrounding the social housing towers, as well as scholarly articles, including information gathered by Renate Ho...
An ARC-funded research project, 'Sea change communities: intergenerational perception and sen... more An ARC-funded research project, 'Sea change communities: intergenerational perception and sense of place', has investigated the qualitative and quantitative impacts of the 'sea change' phenomenon on the physical, social and cultural fabric of the historic Victorian coastal towns of Sorrento and Queenscliff. As part of the research methodology, crossgenerational focus groups ranging from primary school-aged children through to octogenarians were undertaken, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-two community members from the two towns. These included local residents and business people, council planners and former councillors. These focus groups and interviews were based on six themes: sense of place, neighbourhood character, planning, community, future vision, and belonging and attachment. This paper highlights the relationships between people, community and place revealed through the stories, memories, connections and reflections described as a p...
ABSTRACT The sea change phenomenon has attracted new residents to Australian coastal towns and br... more ABSTRACT The sea change phenomenon has attracted new residents to Australian coastal towns and brought with it expectations of residential housing formed in metropolitan settings. Consequently, the traditional ‘identifying’ neighbourhood character of these towns is changing. Much larger houses are now being built and site coverage has increased. To date, changes in character have been measured using data based on the subjective judgement of residents through surveys and interviews. More objective information would be beneficial in understanding change. This paper describes a methodology that has been developed to quantify the change in the building footprint in the historic coastal town of Queenscliff in Victoria. Using selected aerial photographs, the building footprint of the town's residential buildings has been estimated at four intervals from 1957 until 2006. This footprint has been compared to the block size at each interval so that changes in house-to-block ratio may be compared. Over 20% of the residential homes were assessed. Building footprint has risen from 30% to over 38% in the documented 50 years. The method developed here is a low-cost method of tracking footprint change over an extended period and informing local planners and residents of when and where the changes have occurred.
Palmer et al. (1997) identified four governing principles underlying sustainable development from... more Palmer et al. (1997) identified four governing principles underlying sustainable development from the sustainability literature. These were: futurity, environment, equity and participation. How do these principles relate to heritage and its conservation? This paper critically considers how the above framework can be used to assess the changes and challenges occurring in the historic town of Queenscliff in southern Victoria, Australia. The town was initially a settlement site for strategic reasons and soon became a tourist destination for the early settlers in Melbourne, the state’s capital city. In their urban conservation study of the town, Allom et al. (1994) identified over 90 historic and/or heritage buildings, ranging from grand hotels to simple settler cottages. These historic buildings, together with the town’s unique topographical and environmental surroundings, have drawn growing numbers of tourists to the town, which has become increasingly reliant on this sector for its e...
The liturgical reforms of Vatican II proclaimed the Mass as ‘source and summit of Christian life’... more The liturgical reforms of Vatican II proclaimed the Mass as ‘source and summit of Christian life’ and encouraged the ‘full, conscious and active participation’ of all in the Eucharistic celebration. It had major implications for liturgical space in existing churches and the design of new ones and impacted the physical, social and ritual spaces in Australian Catholic churches. It also threatened the integrity of the Church’s cultural patrimony – both in its artistic objects and in the gestural practices of the faithful. The call for change occurred in the 1960s and aligned loosely with the continued quotation of Modernist principles that followed the precepts of pure form and structure and/or quoted a more organicist approach. In both cases, it seemed that history was to be discarded and tradition eschewed but at the same time there was an interweaving between evolving interpretations of post war Modernism and liturgical reform. By analysing and decoding Wardell’s St Patrick’s in Mel...
This paper examines the untold richness the city of Melbourne has “to inspire the making of new p... more This paper examines the untold richness the city of Melbourne has “to inspire the making of new places with extraordinary qualities and significance ” (Spirn, 1998:8). In Melbourne we are extremely fortunate to have a new city square – Federation Square; a new city park – Birrarung Marr, adjoining Federation Square; and to have instigated the development of a new National Park at Point Nepean, within 100km of the CBD. These ‘people places ’ are vital restorative places, physically, spiritually and culturally. The concept ‘sense of place ’ will “help stimulate reflection about the nature of both cultural and physical context ” (Seddon, 1997:141-2) in order to understand and evaluate the experiences offered by each of these places in their multi-faceted, constantly-changing relationships with context, history and culture.
New housing developments in Australia, particularly on Greenfield sites on the edge of existing u... more New housing developments in Australia, particularly on Greenfield sites on the edge of existing urban centres, need to be sustainable in environmental and social terms if long term problems are to be avoided. Sustainability is multi-dimensional and existing analyses have been found to be inadequate in assessing housing developments holistically. This paper describes research which has used five criteria (energy use, resource use, neighbourhood character, neighbourhood connectivity and diversity), representing 31 indicators, to assess three housing precincts of a regional city in southern Australia. The method has been found to produce useful assessments of sustainability. The method has the potential to inform future housing developments and to be used to improve existing suburbs.
Eighty per cent of Australians now live within 50 kilometres of the coast.1 While most of the pop... more Eighty per cent of Australians now live within 50 kilometres of the coast.1 While most of the population remains concentrated in the large capital cities, some people have chosen small coastal towns as their permanent and or second-home destination. Greater mobility and income has increased the feasibility and attractiveness of living in these once overlooked and forgotten towns. The arrival of these new residents has changed the towns in both positive and negative ways. Declining traditional industries have been replaced by tourism and service sectors, providing a much-needed economic revival. The expectations of new residents, both permanent and non-permanent, however, have also brought challenges to the towns. Metropolitan value systems sometimes impact negatively on the unique sense of place and neighbourhood character of these towns. This paper presents both quantitative and qualitative evidence of the impact on character and sense of place in two historic coastal towns, Queenscliff and Sorrento, in southern Victoria. Census data shows how employment and the number of permanent residents have changed radically over the last 50-60 years, altering the social fabric of the towns. An analysis of the building footprint over a similar timeframe shows a growth in building size as larger houses become more common, and a growth in planning appeals for the towns is indicative of a clash of expectations between the council, long-time and new residents. While these indicators demonstrate the impact on the character of the towns as defined by their built environment, some oral accounts of local residents are used to show the emotional impact of these changes on the traditional sense of place associated with these towns. Some specific examples of changes to the built environment are provided to demonstrate that local planning schemes are not always successful in protecting neighbourhood character and that further measures are required in order to safeguard the uniqueness of coastal towns from the negative aspects of development.
Proceedings of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand.
Westfield lies in the heart of Victoria’s second city, Geelong. The transformation of an entire c... more Westfield lies in the heart of Victoria’s second city, Geelong. The transformation of an entire city block into a shopping complex stemmed from necessity, as the city entered the early phase of deindustrialisation. It involved the redevelopment of an entire urban block with multiple heritage buildings. The project was conceived 50 years ago when the city’s defining wool industry experienced a significant decline following the 1970s global energy crisis and economic slump. This downturn left numerous industrial buildings in central Geelong redundant. This situation challenged the very identity of Geelong, as well as its raison d’etre. While the transformation of the site raises issues to do with urban visioning, the adaptive reuse of multiple significant heritage buildings highlights the intersections and tensions between architectural design and heritage practices. There is great potential in adaptive reuse to mobilise a critical understanding of the environment/city/economy based o...
Uploads
Papers by Ursula de Jong