The site comprises a cluster of heritage-listed buildings that formed the Ultimo Power Station and the old post office united by an arched galleria on Harris Street,which went up in the same era as Darling Harbour and the National Maritime Museum.
Design guidelines now on public exhibition do not sufficiently protect the fabric of these additions,known collectively as the Wran Building,which have great significance for the NSW architectural profession,the NSW Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects said.
The Institute said the 1988 redevelopment was one of the most successful and renowned adaptive reuse projects in Australia,an international benchmark for a museum of this type and a fine example of NSW public architecture in the post-modern style.
The City of Sydney supported the renewal of the Powerhouse as a world-class museum,and improved pedestrian access,but said utilisation of maximum heights could have a negative impact on the heritage significance of the Powerhouse Museum,its setting and views.
Statements of heritage impacts and the Conservation Management Plan downplayed the architectural significance of the Wran Building. Indeed,there was so much confusion between heritage,urban design,and architectural guidelines that it was preferable that they should be redrafted and re-exhibited for public comment,City of Sydney planners said.
A three-metre setback of any new annex on the Harris Street forecourt,if not enforced on the upper levels,could result in an overhang,not in keeping with the existing streetscape,council said.
Kris Leveson and Karen Henoch-Ryugo of another local community group,Ultimo Village Voice,said a reoriented Powerhouse with a public entrance facing Haymarket would turn its back on the people of Ultimo and the inner west,and rendered ideas of a highly walkable village “pie in the sky”.
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Supporting the renewal was the chief executive of the Sydney Living Museums,Adam Lindsay:“In our experience,adaptive reuse of built heritage and open forms can be done very successfully,and with care,creativity,and consultation.”
But former president and Museum trustee Nicholas Pappas said the renewal project was “in its essence,nothing more than the unjustified and catastrophic destruction of a beloved and award-winning public edifice and cultural institution”.
Grace Cochrane for the Powerhouse Museum Alliance said the award-winning galleria and Wran Building appeared earmarked for demolition.
“It appears that the Museum is heading for being an entertainment centre,with its collection being of minor importance,and some of its significant buildings being demolished,” she said.
The Department of Planning will consider public feedback before finalising project guidelines.
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