Poor quality “featureless glass boxes” and towers that are effectively “spreadsheets in the sky” are in the firing line as City of Melbourne councillors consider an overhaul of the city’s design assessment protocols.
On 6 July, the City of Melbourne’s Future Melbourne Committee will considering the establishment of two new bodies that would aim to improve architectural and design quality in new developments.
Both proposed to commence this year, the Melbourne Design Review Panel and Design Excellence Advisory Committee are two key components from the city’s draft Design Excellence program, which was endorsed by council in November 2019.
The design review panel would be an expert advisory group comprising experts from the disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture and urban design. It would include five experts at any one time, sourced from a pool of eight, who would provide formal design advice on development applications and on council-led projects.
The advisory committee, meanwhile, would be a looser grouping, offering a “platform for community, industry and academia to informally engage on a range of design challenges and opportunities within the City of Melbourne.” It would include eight technical experts, including one representative of the Office of Victoria Government Architect, up to four community members and a chair and deputy chair from the council’s planning department.
Deputy lord mayor Nicholas Reece is a vocal advocate of the changes. “We want to support designers and developers to do what they do well. That means working in partnership to improve design quality so private developments add to our city’s character and liveability,” he said.
“Melbourne has produced some brilliant home-grown local architects and has a distinctive design culture, without the reliance on global ‘starchitects’ we’ve seen in some other cities.”
“Eureka Tower, the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Federation Square and the new Parliament House Annexe are all examples of local designers creating amazing buildings that we should celebrate.
Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre by STHDI and MCR (Silver Thomas Hanley, DesignInc and McBride Charles Ryan).
“But the painful truth is that Melbourne has suffered from far too many poor developments. Featureless glass boxes that could be in any city in the world. Tall towers that set out to be seen from afar, but offer nothing to the pedestrians walking the streets of the city.
“Too many new towers are nothing more than spreadsheets in the sky, leaving the city poorer because of bad design and low-quality materials, particularly at street level. If we do not take a stand and lift standards then our world-famous liveability and appeal are at risk.
“This is about setting in place expectations and processes to shape Melbourne’s streets, buildings and skyline for decades to come.”
If Melbourne councillors endorse the establishment of the two bodies, applications will be sought for up to four community members for the advisory committee, and up to eight architecture, urban design and landscape architecture experts for the Melbourne Design Review Panel. The review panel will initially be set up as a 12-month pilot program.
In May, Perth’s deputy lord mayor Sandy Anghie, a registered architect, also initiated a motion for the city’s CEO to investigate the establishment of a City Architecture and Design Advisory Group to review council-led “significant” projects. Council supported the motion seven to two.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
