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I too am disappointed that the facade is going to be replaced by yet another glass steel & concrete structure.
Is there really a market for 200 more shops selling the same
forgetable merchandise as across the road at Melbourne Central?
But then I am happy to go to Big W & Forges to dress myself
I am out of the target market.
Originally posted 35 months ago.
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davesaphoto edited this topic 35 months ago.
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Building was denied a listing by Heritage Victoria, as I read it? So, the experts have decided it probably is not adding much to the city?
Eveyone seems to be outraged by everything. The Age is boring and predictable. Focus on the real news. Like who will win the Coleman medal.
Not everything is worth saving. Sometimes you have to build something new..
Too bad, so sad... Vote #1 Andrew Bolt
(There is my right wing post for the month done and dusted!!!)
Posted 35 months ago.
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andrew bolt is a *#%&!
Posted 35 months ago.
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This city is going to be ruined by 2015. They might as well give it a trendier name too.
Posted 35 months ago.
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fear change.
Originally posted 35 months ago.
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.Damo. edited this topic 35 months ago.
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at least the gas and fuel towers are gone.
Posted 35 months ago.
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Actually Ziz, I don't like Fed Square that much (although much better than the old monoliths of the gas and fuel. I think they maybe should have stuck to the (what I remember to be) the original plan of opening up that area instead of blocking it with something also big.
It is nice in there though - but it would have been just as nice to have a great view of the yarra...
Posted 35 months ago.
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I wished they had've saved waverley park (VFL PARK) - I loved that place...
they are also tearing down Moorabbin footy ground - my other spiritual holy place. The joint was falling down by itself though... I went there a few months back to take some photos and had to be very careful to dodge all the nasty bits and pieces trying to "bite" me.
Posted 35 months ago.
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Damo, where's the profit in a view? We can't have an aesthetically-pleasing city, we need growth; supertalls everywhere, large, primary-coloured fibreglass features on buildings and a corporate headquarters for everyone!
Posted 35 months ago.
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Damo, that's part of the problem, heritage listings arent particularly useful if nobody is willing to foot the bill for maintenance, and the national trust lacks the legislative backing to force them to or sell to somebody who can.
The flipside is redevelopments like the GPO, does it add to the fabric of the city to still have the bricks and mortar old buildings in place if they are gutted and turned into shopping malls or apartments.
Originally posted 35 months ago.
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ziz (a group admin) edited this topic 35 months ago.
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Interesting point ziz - my personal view is that the gutted buildings do add to the heart of a city. At the end of the day someone has to pay - It shouldn't be taxpayers, so I suppose it becomes a deal with the devil to some degree.
Personally, I like the GPO and think it was a great way to save something.
Vikusia - you would love it where I work
www.damianyoung.com/damianyoung.com/Blog/Entries/2009/6/2...
Nice big black building. Lotsa designer furniture (Eames and Herman Miller originals, no less!).
I would put some of those pay binoculars up to recoup some of the costs of the view...
Any thoughts on the new name yet for melbourne. Intriguing idea. I vote we change it to Damoville...
Posted 35 months ago.
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ziz - Heritage for Heritage's sake is just stupid - if they're going to list a building, it should actually be protected, rather than the "just don't demolish it, but neglect it until it falls down" scheme that runs in Sydney and Melbourne.
If you really want to see heritage gone wrong, take a look at Chapel St in Prahran between Commercial Rd and High Sts. The "Big Store" building is a mess above the ground floor (which is occupied by Coles), while the old Prahran Arcade is also a mess (above the ground floor, which is occupied by JB).
Honestly, I'd rather the GPO (examples in both Sydney and Melbourne where they're no longer actually Post Offices) or adaptive reuse as shops/apartments (eg the old Reads Emporium on the corner of Chapel and Commercial, now "Pran Central") than the alternative of having old "heritage" buildings ready to keel over when a mild breeze blows through.
Posted 35 months ago.
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Fu*k! So you guys have this problem too? Sydney, I think, is worse. F**kin' developers are running the state. Ugly, ugly buildings everywhere. Just look at the f**kin' Toaster in Circular Quay. We could have had a truly visionary cultural precinct a la Museum Island in Berlin. But, oh no, we had to have apartments!
Posted 35 months ago.
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Which is the toaster building - can you google street view or refer me to a pic on flickr?
In my experience, "cultural projects" usually end up with me getting it in the ass, tax wise...
Still, the tax money is better spent on this kind of stuff than something like the Myki disaster. And I do like the sculptures around docklands - were they paid for by melbourne city council or the developers?
Posted 35 months ago.
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I must be the only Sydneysider (although I'm currently in Melbourne) that doesn't mind the Toaster.
On the other hand, I consider Blues Point Tower on the North side of the Harbour more of an abomination than the Toaster could ever hope to be, and it was designed by the sainted Harry Seidler.
Edit: Damo - the "toaster" is the block of apartments that sit between the Sydney Opera House and the wharves at Circular Quay.
Originally posted 35 months ago.
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Blue Tortoise edited this topic 35 months ago.
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Still, I love the opera house but can understand completely why they sacked that Jorn guy. Great design, but he had no idea how to make it!
I think I know the Toaster, and I didn't mind it too much.
Posted 35 months ago.
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@ Damo - What is the Coleman medal?
Posted 35 months ago.
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Lonsdale House is going for what... more shops? Another unique building gone forever so we can have outlets for Sportsgirl, Boost Juice and vodafone? The same generic crap that is already present multiple times in the city and in every suburban shopping centre?
I hope they chuck in a few sushi counters because we really need more of those.
Being a Premier Retail Location isn't anything to aspire to if it means the city will just end up looking and acting like a giant airport duty free shopping strip.
Originally posted 35 months ago.
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_barb_ (a group admin) edited this topic 35 months ago.
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Nobody likes sushi really. They just think it is cool. Or that is my theory.
We need more chicken parmagiana roll counters!!!
Cam, you are too funny! (or you should be deported to Sydney where they don't care about footy too much)
Posted 35 months ago.
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i get to visit a friend who has just moved his business into mitchell house, i so rule.
Posted 35 months ago.
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we need more shops, what's the problem guys? I know just how hard it is to walk 500 metres and not see another Gloria Jean'/Starbucks/coffee franchise, and don't get me started if i can't go to supre because it is more than 20 minutes away.
Screw history and interesting buildings.
Live for the now, people and live for it looking, like, so great in the same clothes as everyone else. how can we love anything (like history *yawn*) if we are not loving our hot flunky selves first?
Posted 35 months ago.
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our shiny mayor likes shops and snifters, he like shops so he can get new snifters, he loves to snift, what can i tellsya!
Posted 35 months ago.
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hehe, snifters :)
Posted 35 months ago.
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like
Posted 35 months ago.
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What's going to happen with the Power station site. Earmarked for a Shopping Centre and food court? Maybe a new ferris wheel?
Originally posted 35 months ago.
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_barb_ (a group admin) edited this topic 35 months ago.
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ooh, will they have one of these leftover that i could buy?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt-a8fxgtno
It's aliiiiive!!!
Originally posted 35 months ago.
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☆naughtyword☆ edited this topic 35 months ago.
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I missed a bit after I went to bed!
What is a snifter?
Posted 35 months ago.
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@ Barb - latest rumour is for a cluster of smallish generic apartment towers to go up there - because we need to have more Southbank, but in the city, right?
But with current financial conditions and Melbourne's magnificent record for leaving empty sites in the middle of the city, it'll probably remain a bomb site for years like Southern Cross Hotel, QV, Grand Central, Savoy Tavern, CUB et al.
Posted 35 months ago.
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snifter
it's a big glass that you normally have brandy or cognac in
oh and a #lameclaimtofame - we used to live across the road from Robert Doyle's girlfriends house.
Originally posted 35 months ago.
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nettsu edited this topic 35 months ago.
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doyle's missus is totally hot - which gives all short fat blokes hope.
maybe i should run for mayor
Posted 35 months ago.
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www.theage.com.au/opinion/a-piece-of-history-is-demolishe...
Posted 34 months ago.
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"Lonsdale House is not the best example of what we have all come to know as art deco in Melbourne."
"But the building, which began its life in Victorian times and was given a comprehensive deco-moderne makeover in the early 1930s"
My two fave quotes (just to stir the pot some more) from the age opinion piece...
1. Is is worth saving or is this more driven by some people's antipathy for big business / retailers?
2. The thing has already had a makeover once - I wonder if there were objections as well back then. It is not original itself? who is to say the new development will not be highly regarded in 100 years time?
3. are they keeping the facade? if so then i am not sure what everyone is sooking about. from what i read, the inside is a crack house.
4. I remember in the late 80's, everyone hated 70's architecture. now it is cool. who is to say that current new architecture will not be highly regarded in 2100?
I like old buildings with nice new shops in them. Consuming makes me happy.
Posted 34 months ago.
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1. Nothing to do with big business Damo - unlike in Bolt-land, not everything in real life is a battle in an ongoing class war.
2. There probably weren't objections back then - our past record on heritage is even worse than our current efforts. Maybe there were objections, and whatever was replaced was worth saving - if so, are you suggesting there's some kind of karma to be restored by getting rid of the current building?
3. According to the article, they're destroying the entire building, covering over part of the site with something new and shiny and widening the lane next door. So, that'd be a no on the facade question.
4. Current shopping mall architecture may well be highly regarded in future (although Melbourne Central is an indication that such a future may be a fair way off). They're building plenty of new stuff on the Myer site, not to mention the existing pieces just across the road at Melbourne Central and QV. So if there's a piece of architecture that's already stood the test of time left to stand amongst it all, where's the harm?
New shops in old buildings are OK. Trashing irreplaceable history and reducing architectural diversity for the sake of a wider laneway is a somewhat different issue. Making Melbourne uniform and boring makes people want to go there less. Less people going there means less consumption.
Posted 34 months ago.
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Right...I've always believed myself that a civilisation must always be allowed to speak for itself. That is, to leave their own mark by creating buildings that are in keeping with their age. Sadly, in order to make room for these new buildings we must demolish. So I have no problem with demolition, only that we are discriminate over what we destroy and/or be very precise about what replaces the demolished building.
Here's an example: the Toaster. It was good that they demolished the previous structure (as it was quite ugly) but the replacement itself, the Toaster, is almost equally ugly! It's just dull, uninspiring. The whole space in that section of Circular Quay is, as far I'm concerned, a seriously missed opportunity.
Anyway, I'm comin' down to Melbourne in a few weeks in order to attend the Ballarat camera market, so I'll check this place out then.
Originally posted 34 months ago.
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findingtheview edited this topic 34 months ago.
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it's a bit of a frankenstein of a building with art deco being shohorned into it when it was popular, and yeah it's sad to lose any history, but heritage vic didnt list it, so it has been doomed for a while now. From the mockups they are keeping the facade of the building next door, between lonsdale house and myer, which is quite a bit more interesting, ... maybe somebody will buy the little tower on lonsdale house and have it turned into a gazebo or drinks cabinet.
One comment in that linked to article has me curious, where the developers mention keeping the buildings at the lt bourke street end untouched... erm... which? the building on the corner of swanston and lt bourke that was until recently a commonwealht bank is maybe interesting, but the building on the other corner of caledonian lane, well if there's an argument for bulldozers, who could ask for more?
Posted 34 months ago.
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and although im not in buckets of disagreement with the outcry that retail is killing the city, in many ways, particularly in this town it is saving it as well, we buck the mega mall trend for some reason, with people still using the city for shopping and activities other than entertainment and commerce.
Imagine the city if Myer and David Jones went the way of Daimaru, Daimaru showed what effect that pure economics can have on a city when they decided to pull out. Myer and DJs cant keep such a large central CBD presence because it makes them money, there's obviously a social choice the number crunchers have made to acknowledge that should they pull out and turn their centres into mini malls the backlash and impact upon their brand would outweigh the financial savings.
Having said that, myer are going someway towards minimalling their bourke street store, but not to the melbourne central extents, and the restoration of the bourke street facade will look amazing for decades.
Posted 34 months ago.
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I love Chaddy.
@ Mugs - this Bolt-land you speak of... It sounds like a magical, wonderful place. How do I get there????
Posted 34 months ago.
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Just click your whale-skin slippers together and say "There's no place like Bolt. There's no place like Bolt."
Posted 34 months ago.
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ha ha ha ha ha.
Posted 34 months ago.
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I do like what they did with GPO though
that was a nice redevelopment
and to add more fuel to the fire...
seems national trust of victoria has their knickers in a twist about the proposed redevelopment of the windsor hotel
www.theage.com.au/travel/travel-news/row-over-plan-for-ho...
Posted 34 months ago.
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again sounds like a trade off, we restore the ballroom, we get rid of modern extension and reinstate the original layout of the site,.. oh and we whack a big 25 storey tower on the top.
Posted 34 months ago.
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Can't see the point of the modern extension replacement with another modern extension which is even less sympathetic than what is there now.
They can build the tower but how about the new extension being faithful to the old,it can be done but some architect has his ego riding on this one.
The wider lane way for the Lonsdale House site will always be behind MACCAS,something the photos leave out.
I wonder why?
Originally posted 34 months ago.
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davesaphoto edited this topic 34 months ago.
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